Page 40 of The Outlaw and the Heir

"They're men. And ones we don't want to tangle with. Not alone. We go back...now."

The confusion was still on Samuel's face, but for the first time in our short history, he didn't argue when I gave him a direct command. Instead, he turned and made his way back to our clothes and the horses, taking the other bank to let himself dry as he walked. My eyes lingered on him momentarily before turning back to stare at the prints.

There was no way they were back...no way.

SAMUEL

The sun inched toward the horizon as we rushed back to the ranch. I still had no clue what was going on. All I knew was that Ambrose had spotted something in the dirt and looked as though he’d seen a huge bear rather than a small object. Then we were rushing back. His scowl had returned, but this time, it didn’t feel furious like those I’d seen before. His scowl was thoughtful and worry-filled.

He had been short with the stable hand when handing over our horses, and if he hadn't glanced back after walking several paces, I would have thought he'd forgotten about me. The look was brief, but it lingered on me for a heartbeat, not long enough to take whatever meaning was behind it but enough to feel the weight of its significance.

Clearly confident I would follow him, he marched toward the family home at the center of the ranch. A few people called out to him, only to look confused and concerned when he did no more than raise a hand in greeting. Some that I’d worked with were ready to look beyond my outlaw status and looked at me with questions. All I could do was shrug, knowing anything I said wouldn't answer them and would probably piss Ambrose off even more.

When we reached the house, he stopped at the bottom step and turned to face me. There was turmoil on his face before he took a deep breath and gestured for me to follow. “You're good for the day. It's too late for the normal meal, but I'm sure there's something we can find."

"Oh, of course," I said, recovering and still trying to figure out what was happening.

We entered the house, and he snorted when he looked down the hall. "It's as if you know exactly when I'm comin’ to the house and just...wait. I'm still not sold on the idea that you don't have someone waiting to tell you when I'm comin'."

I saw Hipolita's kind face peering at us with a smile. “Now, what kind of talk is that? You worry about all the wrong things. Did you know that?"

"Who said anything about worrying?" he asked, and, in one of those rare moments I usually didn't get to see up close, I saw he was trying not to smile. "I'm just trying to figure out your secret, is all."

"A woman's allowed to have her secrets, and it's not a good idea to pry into them either," she said in a grave and playful tone. It reminded me why I’d taken to her so quickly. She could have two conversations and say two different things, meaning both. "And if that stormy look on your face tells me anything, you'll be looking for your daddy."

"Yes, ma'am," he said with complete sincerity and respect. It was the first thing I'd noticed when she came to look for him yesterday: he immediately changed both attitude and demeanor. On the one hand, he was like a solemn little boy who didn't want to upset his mother, and on the other, he was a grown man who’d been taught respect and knew precisely who to give it to. "I heard he was in his office?"

"He is. Apparently, he wanted to talk to your brother," she said, and although there wasn't an obvious change in her tone orher face, something about the air around her told me the rumors I'd heard about Ambrose's brother weren't exactly off the mark. "I can't imagine you'll bring him news that will improve his mood much."

"No," Ambrose said, his face scrunching up in the way that only happened when he was well and truly ticked off. It was usually my sign to back off from antagonizing him for a while unless it stuck around, which meant I needed to keep my mouth shut until the next day. Whether that was because of the mention of his brother, his father's probably already sour mood, or the idea of bringing him bad news, I didn't know. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Well, that depends on the favor since I'm supposed to be cleanin'," she said, tilting her head.

He glanced back at me. “We didn't stop for meals on the way back and...didn't get much chance to eat before that. Can you get this one fed and send him back to his cabin?"

"Shared cabin," I muttered.

"Complain about your lodgin' to someone else after you've done your time," he snapped and then sucked in a deep breath. "Just...go with her. She'll feed you so much you'll need to be rolled out of here and fitted for new pants."

"Well, if I get stuck in these pants, will you come around and get me out of them?" I asked, watching his eyes widen at my boldness before snorting. "What? It's not like I'm going to ask Miss Hipolita to do something like that. And my, uh...cabin mates aren't exactly going to feel generous enough to help."

"Just...go," he said with a sigh, but I swore I saw the ghost of a smile on his face as he turned away.

"That boy didn't even make sure I was alright with it before strollin' off," Hipolita said with a shake of her head, tucking a rag into her back pocket and watching Ambrose walk away. "Must be something real important for him to forget that little detail."

"If I knew what we found, I'd tell you," I said with a shrug. "Just found wolf prints and from what I saw, boot prints as well. Then he picked something up from the dirt and suddenly wanted us to come back."

"Boot prints?" she asked, frowning. "Near the wolf prints?"

"Yes, ma'am, that alone was enough to get his attention. But whatever he found was the final nail, and we came back here hard enough that the horses will probably need a couple of days rest."

Her eyes flickered toward the hallway, lips thinning. "I see."

"Well, apparently, you see a lot more than I do," I said with a snort. "Because I'm still confused."

"You would be, you weren't around...well, in any case," she said, eyes snapping up at the sound of a door closing. "Let's get you into the kitchen. The cooks are done for the day, but I just so happen to know how to cook, so let's see what I can whip you up."

She clearly didn't want to talk about the subject out in the open, and I glanced in the direction she had, to let her know I understood. “I won't argue with some food. He wasn't kidding about not getting much in the way of food today. Riding that hard can be tiring, so I think a pick me up is in order."

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