Page 52 of The Outlaw and the Heir

Sometimes, I thought it might have been better if I just killed him and pretended he tried to make a break for it as justification.

"Good, that's real good," Walter said, thankfully still blissfully unaware of what Samuel wasactuallysaying. Not that the man, who’d probably never done anything abnormal in his life, would ever have a reason to think about anything of the sort. "That mean you doin' alright then, Ambrose?"

"Doin' alright," I said, trying to sound like I wasn't considering whether I had the strength and stamina to hold Samuel's head under the water without anyone noticing. Walterwould probably protest, but there wouldn't be many people who missed him if I did.

Out of the blue, I was hit by a wave of regret and sorrow, turning my eyes on Samuel and staring at him as understanding dawned on me with the force of a mule's kick and all the subtlety. He really didn't haveanyonewho would miss him if I drowned him on the spot. His family, while avenged, was long gone, and he had never spoken of any friends. Even the two he shared a living space with barely tolerated him.

I had complaints, privately, about some of the things and the people in my life but him? He was more alone than anyone I knew. Even people in those awful gangs had one another, even if some of those bonds were fragile and barely held. By all accounts, Samuel had been drifting from place to place, constantly on the move and not really establishing any bonds with people. I had my family, troubled or not, and I had the men on the ranch, and Hipolita, for that matter. Meanwhile, the closest thing he had to a friend was...me.

And Lord above, wasn't that the most heartbreaking thought?

Samuel stared back at me, a crease forming in his brow as he sensed something was happening in my head. I could read the question in his expression clear as day, but I shook my head, hoping he would drop the subject for good. For all his failings, he didn't deserve to have someone feeling bad for him. I still didn't know how I felt about the kind of life he'd led, but I knew damn well he had fought like hell to stay alive and held tight to the things he valued most about himself. Whatever I felt about some of those things, that tenacity and strength deserved some respect.

"Well," Samuel said, breaking our gaze to look past me to Walter. "Think you might help me convince this one to go and eat something before he collapses like I feared?"

"You heard the man," Walter said with a good-natured chuckle. "Go get somethin' in that belly."

I turned to look at Walter in disbelief. “You're going to help him, just like that?"

"Man's got a good point," Walter said with a benign smile. "And if you ain't gonna take good care of yourself, then maybe havin' someone else besides me makin' sure you're doin' it is a good thing."

"I take care of myself just fine," I grumbled. "Everyone needs to stop fussin' over me for no reason."

Of course, because I was never allowed to catch a break, a huff made me glance past Walter and see a familiar shape heading toward us. Bear sauntered in, clearly done roaming around, checking every nook and cranny of the ranch. He stood at the entrance, staring at me with his huge, round eyes, and I could see the pleading and recrimination. As much as he would happily scrounge and scavenge for food throughout the day, when it came to actual meals, he would never eat unless I was there with him.

I sighed. “Not you too."

Bear let out a quiet huff that told me all I needed to know.

I narrowed my eyes. “Three against one, is it?"

Samuel laughed. “Now, how can you argue with that face?"

Bear's tail wagged at that, padding in to walk past me and bump his head into Samuel's side. I stared at the two of them, eyes narrowing as I began to suspect something. "He's been with you all day, hasn't he?"

Samuel looked up, still rubbing the dog's neck and head roughly, just the way Bear liked it. "What, was he supposed to be watching over you all day?"

I glared at my dog. “Traitor."

Which had no effect in the slightest, considering Bear's eyes were squinted, his tongue lolling out of his mouth as Samuel dughis fingers in and found the spot at the meeting of the dog's neck and chest.

I had thought Bear was good around Samuel because the man had been around me so much. Now we were spending less time together, it seemed I was wrong.

"What? He's a good boy."

"Betrayal."

"That's a little much, don't you think?"

"Loyalty counts for a lot."

"He's a dog who likes being scratched, not a soldier who turned coat to the enemy for money."

"Traitor."

Samuel snorted. “Hear that, Bear? Apparently, you betrayed your dad for me."

I raised my brow. “Dad?"

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