Page 65 of The Sheriff and the Outlaw

Looking up at the stars, she thought about Daxton and the children and realized that she already thought of them as her own. If only things could be different.

Then she realized that sitting there in the dark, waiting for salvation or persecution, wasn’t doing her or the baby any good. She wanted to see Daxton again. She had to tell him the truth.

“Daxton.” Her voice was merely a whisper at first, but then grew louder. “Daxton!” She cried over and again, hoping that he found her before Austin.

Chapter 16

Daxton

Daxton looked for Josey throughout the night along with Colton, Wyatt, and Harrison. Dirk and Mr. Carson stayed back to protect the town, just in case Austin and his gang came back.

Daxton hated to leave his children overnight, but he knew they were safe with Mrs. Jenkins. Besides, he'd never forgive himself if anything happened to Josey. When the faint rays of morning sunlight peeked through the clouds, Daxton turned to the men. “Why don’t you go home and get some rest? We can start out again later.”

“Not a chance,” Colton replied. “If Austin finds her first, I’ll never forgive myself for having stopped.”

“Same here,” Wyatt agreed.

“I’m not going anywhere until we find her,” Harrison chimed in. “We’ve covered most of the area. With no clues, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

A crease formed between Daxton’s eyes. “What are you saying?”

Harrison sighed. “Let’s go back to your ranch and see if we missed anything. I have a little experience with tracking.”

Daxton sighed. “We tried that, but there wasn’t much to go on.”

“But now it’s daybreak. We’ll be able to see more. Maybe there’s something we missed.” He looked around and then added, “I’d like to give it another shot, at least.”

Wyatt looked over at Daxton. “I’m game."

“Let’s go,” Daxton agreed, and they started toward his ranch.

As the sunlight streamed through the lightening sky, all he could think about was Josey. She had been gone for two nights now and a full day. He knew that she must have been scared out of her mind. Alone and trying to stay ahead of Austin.

Austin Slater.

Daxton just hoped he found her before Austin or one of his men did. Daxton still found it hard to believe that Josey had killed Logan. She was sweet, kind, and innocent, but a very strong woman. Maybe Austin just thought she killed him. Maybe she didn’t do it. Maybe... she had a good reason.

From what he knew of her, of her behavior when he first met her, she had good reason. That is, if she even did it. Maybe it was an accident. Daxton found it hard to believe that Josey would ever kill anyone intentionally. But in order to find out her side of the story, he had to find her first. Daxton was sure that Austin could be creative and find new ways to kill her… if he thought that she had killed his brother.

Daxton vowed to talk to her when he found her and hear her out. He owed her that much.

He had only known her for a short while, but she had already wormed her way into his heart and into the hearts of his children. Unintentionally, of course. He just hoped he found her soon. Horrifying images of being too late, of her lifeless body strung up in a tree—or worse—came to mind. But he refused to think that way. He would find her before Austin did. He had to.

When they stopped at Daxton’s ranch. Harrison folded his arms across his saddle horn. “Daxton, why don’t you go inside and check again. I’ll take a look around out here.”

Daxton nodded, hoping that he wouldn’t go inside and find the worst.

“I’ll go with him,” Colton said to Harrison as he dismounted. He must have been thinking the same as Daxton, although he wore his best Poker face.

But Daxton didn’t object. If he found Josey dead inside, a part of him didn’t want to be alone.

“I’ll stay with Harrison,” Wyatt announced.

Daxton, nodded, barely acknowledging him, dreading what he might find. He headed inside and Colton followed. Out of the corner of his eye, Daxton could see that Colton’s hand was hovering near his gun. It appeared that Colton feared the worst, too. But as they stepped cautiously into the house, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Nothing was out of place.

Please, God. Don’t let me find her like this,Daxton thought to himself, hoping that he wouldn’t find her broken body, dead. He was glad that the children were with Mrs. Jenkins. He just hoped that Austin didn’t get the bright idea to go for them, too.

“Daxton!” Harrison yelled. “Out here!”

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