Page 39 of The Cowboy's Justice

As Devlin’s voice rang through the air she spun around and saw him sprinting towards her.

“Thank God,” she exclaimed, running up to him and collapsing into his arms.

“What the hell’s goin’ on? I heard a shot.”

“William was here. He stole my bag. When the dogs started chasing him into the woods he threw it at them. I was already out the window by then, and that’s when the gun went off,” she explained breathlessly.

“You went after him?”

“My bag has my life in it. I can’t believe he was here!”

“Take it easy,” he said, lowering his voice and hugging her as the dogs ran up. “Are you two okay?” he asked, staring down at them.

As Jethro barked, Jezebel ran back towards the trees, picked up the bag and proudly carried it back.

“Come on, we’re goin’ inside. You said he came from the woods?”

“He must have. All I saw was the back of him when he ran off.”

“Come inside. I’m callin’ the sheriff then I’ll close the ranch for the day. I can’t have my people here with that maniac on the loose.”

“Thank goodness he didn’t hurt the dogs, and look, my wallet’s still in here. I wonder why he didn’t take it.”

“When Jezzie and Jethro gave chase he probably panicked,” Devlin remarked as they made their way back to the house. “But why would he want your bag? What’s in it that’s so important?”

“I have no clue, unless he wanted my credit cards, but he would have known I’d freeze everything. Unless…” she muttered as they walked around to the front porch. “Maybe he was planning to use my ID to transfer money from my account to his. He knows my life is in this bag.”

“That sounds more likely,” he replied as they walked in and made their way to the kitchen. “You sit down and catch your breath while I call Sheriff Cooper.”

* * *

Panting heavily and hobbling down the trail to Portia’s house, William was still cursing under his breath and trying to control his panic. When he’d seen the hobo bag sitting on the chair by the window he couldn’t believe his luck, but as he’d been sneaking away the dogs had suddenly come after him…and they’d been snarling.

He’d still been lifting his gun from his pocket when they were nearing the edge of the trees. Hurling the bag was the only thing he could think of to stop them. It had slowed them down, but in his panic the gun went off, scaring him half to death. Knowing it would bring Devlin and the other cowboys running he’d made a hasty retreat, but with his sore ankle it hadn’t been easy.

The entire episode had been an unmitigated disaster.

Reaching the back gate, he limped across the terrace, entered the living area and collapsed on the couch.

“Back to Plan A,” he muttered, leaning his head back and closing his eyes, “and if I have to fucking kill them both, I will.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

When Sheriff Cooper rolled down Devlin’s driveway he did so with a bad feeling in his gut. He’d already been alerted to keep his eyes open for Portia Peyton’s lawyer, William Buckley. Now the man had tried to steal Portia’s tote bag from inside Devlin’s home and been scared off by his two boisterous dogs. The ranch was unusually quiet, but the sheriff knew Devlin had cancelled the lessons for the rest of the day.

“Hi, Sheriff, thanks for comin’ so fast,” Devlin exclaimed as the sheriff pulled to a stop and climbed out. “It’s hard to believe William showed up here but he did.”

“There’s already an alert on him,” the sheriff replied. “If he’s still in the area it’s only a matter of time before my deputies catch him.”

“I hope so,” Portia piped up. “I’ve known him for years, and I had no clue he was such a bad guy. I still can’t wrap my brain around it.”

“They come in all shapes and sizes,” the sheriff remarked solemnly as he lifted a small, leather covered pad and pen from his pocket. “So, tell me exactly what happened.”

As Portia outlined the events of the morning, and Devlin added in that he’d heard a gunshot, the sheriff made notes, then tilted his head to the side.

“Portia, is there any way he could get inside your house? He has to be stayin’ somewhere, and there’s been no sign of him in town or at the Moonshine Campgrounds.”

“I don’t think so,” Portia replied thoughtfully. “He doesn’t have a key, and the locks are pretty sophisticated.”

---