Harder Than the Rest by Shirleen Davies

Author:Shirleen Davies
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Amazon
Published: 2013-10-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

“Alts, huh? Never met the man. Jake must’ve hired him after I left.” Grant sat at his desk and listened as Will explained the activities of the last few weeks.

“There’s something else you should know.” Will dreaded what he had to say but knew it had to be done. “Johnny Mullins was riding with Alts. He was shot and killed when we caught them in the canyon.” Will paused for a moment before he continued. “Amanda fired the shot that killed him.”

Grant’s face contorted. He sprang from his chair and slammed his fist onto the desk. “Who allowed my daughter to go out on a night raid, after rustlers?” he bellowed. “She could’ve been killed.”

The office door burst open. Amanda and Eleanor stormed into the room, but stopped when they saw that all seemed fine. Amanda’s father was known for his calm disposition and slow temper. The outburst they’d heard had surprised both women.

“Grant, what is going on in here? We could hear you in the kitchen.” Eleanor walked up to her husband and looked around, as if trying to find the source of his outburst.

“It’s my fault, ma’am. I just gave your husband some news he didn’t want to hear.” Will shot a meaningful glance at Amanda. He saw her eyes widen as she grasped his meaning.

“Do you want to tell me what possessed you to go out at night, with the men, after a group of rustlers? What the hell were you thinking?” Grant seldom swore in front of the women, and worked hard to control his anger, but the thought that he could’ve lost Amanda, never seen her again, shot tremors through his normally stoic frame.

“Father, I can explain…”

“Oh, can you now? And can you explain shooting a man?”

“Shooting a man? What do you mean, Grant?” Eleanor’s composure began to crack at the knowledge that her daughter may have hurt someone.

“Yes, Eleanor. Shot and killed a man. Johnny Mullins,” Grant said.

“Johnny? He’s dead?” Eleanor face drained of color. She looked at her daughter before lowering herself into a nearby chair.

“Father, if you’d just let me explain,” Amanda tried again. When her father didn’t respond, she continued. “I made them take me. None of them—Jake, Will, or Drew—wanted me to go, but I forced it.”

“We should’ve tried harder to stop her, sir.” Drew said. “I’ve never seen someone so determined not to be left behind.”

“They couldn’t have stopped me, Father. I would have followed them. It’s no one’s fault but mine that I was out there.” She walked up to her father and fixed her eyes on him. “And I’d do it again.”

Her father said nothing, just continued to stare at his daughter and come to terms with the fact that she’d done something he’d prayed she’d never do.

“But why would you shoot Johnny?” her mother asked.

“He was with them, Mother. He rode out with Frank Alts and was in the canyon where we keep the remuda. Two other men were with them. When Will called out to let them know we were there, they started to shoot.

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