HIGH STAKES BRIDE (A Stone Mountain Texas Book 2) by Caroline Clemmons

Author:Caroline Clemmons [Clemmons, Caroline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Caroline Clemmons
Published: 2012-09-21T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

After a brief dawn visit, Joel walked toward his horse away from the barn.

Zach trailed his brother. “Might as well stay for breakfast. Ham and Lizzie’s biscuits.”

“No time today. Tell the aunts I’ll visit with them next time.”

They’d settled the ranch business, but even though Joel said he was in a hurry, he didn’t leave. Hands on the hitching post, Joel stared at his brother. “By the way, though it’s none of my business, I’ve got to have my say. There’s something about your fiancée’s story that doesn’t ring true. What are you leaving out?”

“Nothing to worry about.” Zach hated lying to his brother, and omission was still a lie.

“Then what was that bit Seth said at the hotel about a disguise? Why would a mail-order bride need a disguise?”

“Being a sheriff has made you mighty untrusting.” Impatient, Zach said, “Her stepbrothers don’t want her to marry. They have other plans for her.”

Joel shook his head and looked into the distance. “Something’s cockeyed about her story. Look here, I don’t believe she came all the way from Georgia with that baggage we hauled from Doyle. It wasn’t in proper shipping containers. I want you to level with me.”

Zach stared at the ground, then met his brother’s gaze. “Joel, do you trust me?”

His brother gaped and took a step backward. “Hell, yes. You think I’d come barreling to Doyle to get you if I didn’t?”

With a slashing motion, Zach said, “Then just leave it, okay? You’re right, it’s none of your business. Alice hasn’t done anything wrong. I’ll stake my reputation on that.”

“You’re staking more than a reputation, little brother.” Conversation turned contentious, testy. Joel stabbed a finger at him. “You’re risking the rest of your life.”

“My choice, okay?” Zach stepped closer. “Now tell me if you’ve heard more about the Kirby gang.”

Joel’s facial expression hardened. “Pretty sure the two men who hit the Doyle stage are part of the gang. Don’t know what happened to the others. One’s in prison, thanks to you and my predecessor, but that only accounts for one of the five. If these two who hit the stage are part of the gang, that leaves two unaccounted for.”

Hands fisted, Zach longed to pound the men who’d stolen his family’s future. “I want the whole rotten gang in prison or hanged.”

“I want the Kirby gang out of action for good, one way or the other. If I accomplish nothing else as sheriff, I’m determined to see them captured.”

“Nothing I’d like more. I hold them responsible for Pa’s death.”

“Me, too. And Mama would have lasted longer with Pa around and not losing our home.” He loosened the reins from around the hitching rail then swung into the saddle. “We’ll get ‘em.”

With a wave, Joel rode toward Radford Crossing as the sky turned from pink to gold.

Zach turned and walked toward the barn. Memories weighed heavily on his mind. All the Stones had fought hard to keep their farm after the War and reconstruction. Then on the way

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