Page 61 of The Sheriff and the Outlaw

Daxton sighed, and then nodded. “Yes, she’s gone.”

Lilian nodded. Daxton suspected that she didn’t want to talk for fear of crying. But it was clear that she was angry. Not only had Josey left him, she had left his children, too. Pain gripped his heart as the memories of Priscilla leaving flooded his mind.

“Come on,” he said, pulling the skillet off the stove. “I’m taking you and your brother to Mrs. Jenkins’s house today.”

“No, we’ll be fine.” She reached for the skillet without looking up. “We always were before.”

“Lillian, look at me.”

She looked up at her father and hot, angry tears were in her eyes.

“Come here, baby girl.” Daxton enfolded her in his arms and pulled her to his chest.

“Oh, Pa!” she sobbed.

Daxton held his little girl, letting her cry on his shoulder, wishing he could take the pain away. He would bear all of his children’s pain for them if he could so they wouldn’t have to. But that wasn’t how life worked.

When her tears slowed, he pulled back and swiped a finger under her eyes. “Listen. You go to Mrs. Jenkins today and I need to go to work. But I’ll see if I can find Josey. I promise.”

Lillian shook her head, angrily wiping the tears away. “No. If she didn’t want to stay, then don’t bring her back.”

Andrew walked in and looked between them. “Is Josey still here?”

Daxton shook his head. “No, and I want you and Lillian to go to Mrs. Jenkins’s house today.”

Andrew’s lips formed a straight line. “I can take care of my little sister.”

“Not if that man comes here looking for Josey.” Daxton wasn’t in the mood for this. He hated to have to leave, and he hated to have to scare the children, but he had no choice. He wasn’t going to leave his children alone and vulnerable. He wouldn’t have been leaving them at all, but he needed to go to town and take care of things, and to warn everyone in town about James. “Go get ready.”

Both Lillian and Andrew left the room without another word.

As he waited for his children, he couldn’t help but think of James. That was what had really surprised Daxton. Out of all the people he suspected would be an outlaw, it wasn’t him. Daxton just hoped James didn’t stir any trouble in town before he got there.

After taking the children to Mrs. Jenkins’s for the day, Daxton headed into town.

Mrs. Jenkins had been delighted at the prospect of keeping the children and hadn’t asked any questions. When she saw the sad look on their faces, she told Lillian that she could help her try out a new recipe, and she told Andrew that he could go fishing with George, her driver. George stayed in a soddy a distance away from the main house. By the time Daxton left, both children seemed in better spirits. He would thank Mrs. Jenkins again later.

But right now, he needed to find James. Then James could lead him to Austin and Logan before they found Josey. After all, they were wanted for murder and robbery, and no one could find them. Why Austin had decided to come out of hiding now was beyond Daxton. He thought that Austin was probably justarrogant enough to think that no one would have the courage to arrest him.

But he didn’t know Daxton.

No matter what happened, Daxton knew that he couldn’t leave Josey’s fate to the hands of those men. Without his protection, she wouldn’t last a day. Then again, she had lasted a week on her own before he found her hiding in his barn.

But things were different now. She had no one then. Now, she had him and his family. Yes, he had to find Austin, but more importantly, Daxton had to find Josey before Austin or Logan did. If her husband’s brother was looking for her, Logan would surely be looking for her, too. And with James’s help, he could arrest them and eliminate the threat. Daxton shuddered to think of what could happen if they found her first.

A few minutes later, he drove into Whiskey River and pulled his team to a stop in front of the livery stable.

Dirk walked out of the barn, smiling. But his smile quickly faded when he saw the look of alarm in the sheriff’s eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Dirk took the reins of the team, watching as Daxton stepped down from his buckboard.

“Could I ask a favor of you?” Daxton took his hat off and ran his fingers through his dark brown hair.

“Always.” Dirk stroked the fur on Bee’s neck absentmindedly.

“I’ll need a fast horse in a little while. You have one I can borrow?”

“Of course.” Dirk’s eyebrows pulled together in concern. “When do you need it?”

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