Page 38 of The Cowboy's Justice

“Hey, where are you going?” she called after them. Though they stopped, they began barking and pacing. “Come on, we need to get to the barn.”

As she started marching away they ran after her, then raced past her towards the stable area.

“There you are,” Devlin exclaimed as he stepped out to greet them.

“There’s something up on Smooky Hill,” she exclaimed. “The dogs kept barking and looking up at the trees.”

“Huh. I’ll check it out later. Come in, it’s time to get to work.”

* * *

In spite of his sore ankle and the frightening experience in the woods the night before, William had ventured back up Smoky Hill trail so he could watch the comings and goings at the ranch during the morning hours. All he needed was fifteen minutes alone with the cowboy and Portia. But the dogs had stood at the base of the hill sounding the alarm, and now a car was comingdown the drive. There were also two other cowboys he hadn’t seen before leading the horses into the paddocks.

Suddenly the quiet barn had become a busy one.

Frustrated, he was about to turn around when a thought flashed though his mind.

His plan had been to hold Devlin and Portia at gunpoint while Portia made calls and transferred funds to an offshore account. But it suddenly occurred to him there was a much safer and sneakier way to get what he needed.

Steal her handbag.

She carried everything in it.

Her wallet, credit cards, even her passport!

With his pulse ticking up, he moved down the hill to the back of Devlin’s as quickly as his painful ankle would allow, then continued cautiously around to the front. Glancing anxiously across to the barn and not seeing anyone, he climbed up the porch steps and entered the house.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Portia had been in the tack room cleaning the bridles and saddles when Devlin poked his head in and asked her to join him.

“I want you to watch this lesson,” he declared as he marched through the barn. “Debbie is an excellent rider, and her horse is push-button perfect. She thinks it, he does it. I want you to see how effortless it can be.”

Delighted that he’d pulled her away from the tedious task, she climbed up to the viewing platform and sat down. Though she didn’t understand many of his instructions, the more she watched, the more she wanted to learn. By the time the lesson came to an end, all she could think about was sitting on Marge again.

“So, what did you think?” he asked as she climbed down from the stand and joined him in the ring.

“It was fantastic, and that girl was amazing. I didn’t see her actually do anything, but the horse was changing gaits flawlessly.”

“Exactly. We’ll talk about it more later. I have to give another lesson now and you should go back to what you were doin’.”

“I will, but I just need to run up to the house for a minute. I forgot to bring my phone and I should have it with me just in case.”

“Okay. I’ll see you later.”

As he walked back into the barn and she started to jog to the house, Jethro and Jezebel ran up and trotted along beside her.

“I bet you’re coming with me so I’ll get you a milk bone,” she exclaimed with a laugh. As if understanding her, Jezebel barked.“I knew it, and you’ll get one, don’t worry,” she promised as they trotted up the steps. Entering the kitchen, she stopped at the cabinet and gave them both a bone, then stood for a moment and looked around for her phone. “Let’s see, where did I leave it…?” she muttered, then suddenly remembering it was on the nightstand, she hurried down the hall and into the bedroom. But as she strode across and picked it up, she paused.

She’d left her hobo bag on the chair by the window, but it wasn’t there, and the window was wide open.

Her heart skipping she darted across the room and stared outside just in time to see William running towards the trees.

“Stop!” she screamed, but before she could climb through and give chase, Jethro and Jezebel leapt up on the chair and jumped out the window after him.

While she urgently texted Devlin, she could hear the two dogs snarling and barking as they ran. Moments later, as she watched William’s lanky body disappear into the trees, she suddenly saw her handbag flying through the air towards them, then a shot rang out. Horrified, she clambered out and called their names. To her great relief they stopped just short of the forest.

“Portia! Jezzie! Jethro!”

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