Page 97 of Conveniently Wed
“Or Underhill and his men have got them.”
Edgar went to his horse, grabbed his rifle. “You thinking the stampede was meant to be a diversion?”
“Could be.” Matty shoved back his hat.
Ricky had been quiet and serious since they’d gotten back to the wagon.
The morning sun was bright and warm on his shoulders. Edgar’s mind spun, trying to determine the best course of action.
He was a planner, someone who looked at every angle before he acted.
But if Underhill had the girls, he didn’t have time to plan. If the man had caused the stampede to delay Edgar from following him, he could already have a lead on them.
And where was Seb?
Where were the horses? If they tracked down the horses, would they find the girls?
In the midst of his mental scrambling, a shrill whistle brought his head up.
There was Seb, leading one of the draft horses by its reins. Riding double with another hand.
Except as they got closer, he saw that the second person had long dark hair cascading down her back and was clinging to his brother, obviously not comfortable on the horse.
His heart began to race and he found himself running toward his brother.
Only to be disappointed.
Seb’s passenger was Emma.
Then he saw the dark stain on the side of Seb’s face and jaw, running down onto the shoulder of his shirt. Blood.
Edgar’s heart pounded. Seb had been hurt.
“They’ve got her!” Emma cried out before Seb had brought the horse completely alongside the three men.
“Who’s got her?” he asked, knowing before she even said what he knew was coming.
“Underhill’s men. They came in the night?—”
“What happened?” he asked his brother, helping Emma off the horse.
“They got the jump on me. That marshal hit me over the head,” Seb said. The boy-man was obviously upset, jaw tight with emotion. “I’m sorry.”
Edgar squeezed his brother’s knee briefly. “I’m due my share of blame. I fell asleep. We’ve all been exhausted from pushing these cattle. We’ve been on edge the last two nights. It’s not your fault.”
Seb shook his head, jaw still tight.
“Are you all right?” Edgar asked. He held Seb’s eyes until his brother nodded tightly.
Edgar knew his brother would get over it eventually—especially when they got Fran back.
“Start at the beginning,” Edgar said to Emma. “What happened last night?”
The girl was shaking. He took her hands and had her sit down on the grass before she fell down.
He squeezed her hands gently. “Can you tell me? We need to know what we’re riding into.”
“Fran and I were scared in the wagon. We…we couldn’t tell if any of you cowboys were close-by…”
