Brokken Knight by Lynda J Cox

Author:Lynda J Cox [Cox, Lynda J]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: western romance, romance, sweet romance, historical western, Clean western romance, historical western romance
Publisher: Sheila Hollinghead
Published: 2018-10-14T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Abigail’s stomach roiled with the vitriol in Robbie’s voice. As with every half-truth and lie she ever heard him utter, there was the tiniest grain of truth to the words. Mathew would have worked on men who died from battle wounds.

“How many, Knight?” Robbie asked again.

Every vestige of color drained from Mathew’s face. He stiffened with the impact of Robbie’s words against his back and a muscle ticked in his clenched jaw. He shifted Ethan in his arms, as if to hand him to Abigail.

Before he could tell her to take the boy, she gripped his lower arm. “No, Mathew. He isn’t worth listening to. Come home with me.”

He inclined his head down to her in degrees. The muscle in the plane of his jaw twitched stronger. In the stunned silence that still held, the sound of his grinding teeth seemed to echo in the sudden stifling air of the barn. Abigail repeated in little more than a whisper, “Come home with me.”

Ethan dropped his head onto his father’s shoulder, adding his own, “Go home. I tired.”

Some of the rigidity left Mathew’s frame, though none of his color had returned. He acquiesced with a slight nod and they left the barn.

The dull thud of their footsteps into the dusty earth of Main Street vibrated into Abigail as mournful as a funeral dirge. It seemed even the rain frogs had fallen silent for this angry march. The freshly cut pine boards of the façade of the butcher shop glowed in the darkness, appearing like the never-ending pine boxes during the agony of that war.

A challenging voice cut through the darkness. “You killed so many sawing arms and legs off that you lost track of how many died?”

Abigail risked a look over her shoulder. Robbie followed them, as did Victoria, and what appeared to be half the town. Victoria she could understand and that her friend followed Robbie frightened Abigail. The sheriff still anticipated some sort of trouble from Robbie. But the rest of those people? No doubt they were expecting some sort of show.

“Shut up, Robbie.” Victoria’s demand cracked like a whip. “The rest of you, go back to the dance or go home.”

“You’re a coward and a liar, Knight.”

“I said to shut up, Robbie.” The murmur of so many voices muted Victoria’s second order to Robbie.

Mathew halted, so angry he visibly shook. “Take Ethan home.”

“Mathew, no,” Abigail pleaded with him. “Don’t. Please.”

It was as if she hadn’t spoken. He pushed Ethan into her. She wrapped her arms around the boy to keep him from falling. Mathew turned on a heel to face Roden.

Abigail growled under her breath. “Stubborn.”

“I sorry,” Ethan said.

“Not you, sweetie.” Abigail remained a few paces behind Mathew.

“Mathew, go home.” Victoria gestured away from the Brokken Arrow Ranch and toward the main part of town.

“Sorry, Sheriff, I can’t do that.” Mathew’s head never even tilted to Victoria. It appeared his gaze had locked onto Robbie.

Now that they had reversed the retreat, and Mathew aggressively advanced on him, Robbie didn’t appear so confident.

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