Page 123 of The Ranger

He smiled and let her approach. “You are beautiful.”

She sucked in a breath, her heart skipping everywhere, when his head snapped to the left, his eyes narrowing.

She followed his gaze. “Riders.”

Markhel stood, she had no idea he was sitting in the water! “Prince Vale, Makama. Intruders.” He started to leave, stopped, and turned to her. “Stay with the prince.” He left the swimming hole, went to the wagon, and waited as half a dozen riders approached.

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Markhel growled low in his throat as he watched the riders canter their horses across the meadow. He wasn’t sure yet if they’d give him or the others any trouble. They might be exploring the area. He’d run into unsavory characters before who did nothing to challenge him. They always moved on. But he didn’t dare use any of his normal intimidation tactics in front of Maida. It was all he could do to let her into his heart to begin with. Keeping his two hearts open took all his effort, and if he gave an inch, he feared, as the humans liked to say, they would take a mile, and close her off completely.

He stepped away from His Majesty and stood, legs slightly spread, hands on hips. He wore no weapons. But then, he didn’t need any...

“Afternoon,” one of the intruders said with a tip of his hat. He kept his eyes on Markhel. The others didn’t.

Markhel caught two of them leering and knew they were watching Makama and Maida.

He narrowed his eyes at them. “Good afternoon. Are you lost?”

“No, we ain’t lost.” The man rested his hands on his saddle horn and looked around. “Mighty pretty place.”

“This is Cooke land,” Markhel pointed out. “Part of the Triple-C Ranch.”

“Good, that’s where we’re heading. Me and the boys are looking for work.”

He took in the rest of them. They looked like they’d been traveling a while. “It is late in the season to be looking for ranch work.”

“Never too late,” he said. “Name’s Bolger. John Bolger. These here are my brothers and a few cousins. Who do I talk to at the Triple-C? Do you know?”

“That would be my grandfather or my uncle.”

Markhel sighed in frustration. “Maida...”

He grabbed his shirt off the ground and draped it around her without taking his eyes off the intruders. “I told you to stay with Vale and Makama,” he whispered.

“Sorry, but these men were asking.” She held the shirt tightly around her. “You’ll want to speak to Harrison and Colin Cook or Logan Kincaid,” she told them.

The man named Bolger tipped his hat. “Much obliged for the information.”

Markhel’s eyes swept over the riders. He could see the resemblance between several, so they were related as the man said. They ranged in age from mid-twenties to mid-thirties, and though they looked like cowhands, that didn’t mean they were.

“John, are we gonna water the horses or not?” one of them asked.

Their spokesman smiled at Markhel and Maida. “Do you mind? Someone in town mentioned this place, and we thought to water the horses here. It’s a hot day.”

“So, it is.” Markhel shoved Maida behind him.

“Hey...” she protested but he ignored it.

“Water them, then be on your way...ay...” Oh, no, not now! Markhel turned to Maida, took in her ashen face, then stiffened. “V-Vale...”

Vale left the water and strode to his side. “Take her around the tree. I’ll handle this.”

Markhel forced himself to straighten despite the pain that pounded him. “Water your horses and go.” He took Maida by the arm and escorted her to the other side of His Majesty where they would be out of sight.

Maida groaned then put her hands to her belly. “I don’t feel so good.”

“Here, sit.” He helped her to the ground then sat beside her as a sharp pain ripped through his gut.

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