Page 80 of Conveniently Wed
Edgar didn’t like the numbers. By his count, there were sixteen of them, and twelve cowboys in his group.
Except his cowboys were busy keeping the herd in line.
Without at least a few riders constantly circling, the herd would scatter. If they wandered too far, it could take hours or even days to round them up again.
And he didn’t have that kind of time, not with the buyer’s deadline looming.
Which meant he couldn’t spare many of their twelve to keep guard over the girls, should they need it.
It wouldn’t be a fair fight, if lead started flying.
He’d given Fran a pistol to hide in the front of the wagon, but dearly hoped she wouldn’t need it to protect her sister.
By the time Edgar thundered up to them, the wagon had rolled to a stop and Fran and Emma stood huddled between his brother and the wagon’s scanty protection. The riders neared.
Edgar jumped off his horse, leaving it standing untied behind the wagon. If he or the girls needed to take off, having it unencumbered would be important.
Both girls were whiter than the wagon’s canvas cover when he stepped up between them. Fran relaxed infinitesimally as she registered his presence.
“This the Underhill you been worrying about?”
She nodded, mouth pinched tight. “In the middle, on the black horse. I don’t know the other men.”
The horse was a beautiful animal. Well cared-for, with good lines. Obviously expensive. Fran had said this Underhill had money, and riding that animal, it was obvious.
The men around him…not so much. They had the look of cowpokes, unless a body looked closer. Their clothes were in good condition, not worn like the other cowboys he’d been riding with these last few days. Their saddles were tooled and fancy.
They looked like hired guns.
And that he didn’t like at all. If the man’s purpose was legitimate, why all the firepower? The last thing Edgar wanted to do was put his brothers, or Fran and Emma, in harm’s way.
Matty was out in front of the wagon and spoke over his shoulder. “Saw something shiny reflecting from the man on the big bay. Might be a lawman.”
He almost didn’t hear Fran’s soft gasp as Seb said, “Pretty sure the one on the gray dappled is the same man we saw back at Tuck’s Station, too.”
Edgar let his palm rest on Fran’s lower back. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Or Emma.”
She whispered something under her breath, but he couldn’t make out the words as the riders reined in with a rush of hoofbeats and creaking leather. Had she been praying?
Underhill reined in and smiled a cruel smile.
14
Fran couldn’t help shivering as Mr. Underhill’s cold glare flicked over her and rested on Emma.
“You’ve brought me on a merry chase, girls.”
The man on a huge brown horse slid down. Matty had been right. There was a silver star-shaped badge on his chest. “These them, Mr. Underhill?”
“Yes. That is Fran and Emma Morris.”
“What’s your business with my wife?” Edgar asked. Steady at her side, a mountain of a man she could count on.
If only she didn’t know that Mr. Underhill would do anything in his considerable power to have what he wanted.
Underhill’s eyes flashed briefly in surprise. Maybe he hadn’t expected her to have married a cowboy.
“These ladies have traveled far from their home in Memphis. I’ve come to take them back.”
