Page 71 of A Secret Heart
Isaac nodded, mouth grim.
Ed urged Lightning forward. He couldn’t think about the ranchers who had been beaten. What if they couldn’t reach her in time?
He leaned low over the horse’s neck and asked for more speed.
Please God, keep her safe.
At the fork in the road, another rider approached from behind in a cloud of dust. Ed’s pulse ratcheted up a notch. He fingered the butt of the rifle, ready to pull it from the scabbard, when the horse slowed.
Isaac reined in and pointed to tracks leading off the road as Nick thundered past, heading toward town. Hopefully to get the marshal and bring help.
A nicker sounded from nearby. Isaac slowed his horse, shoulders going tense. A dark-brown horse was half hidden behind a stand of trees in a field a hundred yards ahead. Riderless.
Isaac scanned the surrounding field, then kept moving, Ed trailing as his brother swiveled back and forth in the saddle, on the lookout for any motion. When they neared a wooded area, Isaac held a finger to his lips.
Ed dismounted when Isaac did. Both took their rifles with them and drew nearer to the edge of what appeared to be a steep drop-off. Voices echoed from below. With his hand, Isaac motioned for Ed to drop low.
The undergrowth tickled his face. Isaac halted in front of him. Ed moved in beside him, slow and easy, to peer over the rise. A rough sort of clearing came into view.
Rebekah was slumped on a wide tree stump, her hands tied in front of her. She was alive!
Ed’s breathingwent shallow as a man—the bandit?—stood over her menacingly. The man faced away from Ed, and he couldn’t make out his features, but a bandanna was hanging down around his neck.
It had to be the bandit.
Ed’s breath caught in his chest as he took a longer look at Rebekah and saw the red mark on her cheek.
He couldn’t let anything happen to her. Not his Rebekah. For whether she wanted him or not, that’s what she’d always be. And nothing in life would ever be the same if she were taken from him.
“Tell me where he is.”
“I don’t know.” Rebekah’s voice was stubborn and angry.
“You know. You just won’t tell me.” The man let go of her and straightened to his full height.
“He must mean Sullivan,” Isaac said.
Ed hadn’t paid much attention to the exchange. All he cared about was rescuing Rebekah.
The outlaw drew his gun.
Isaac was ready. He had his rifle aimed into the gully.
Ed laid his on the ground, right at hand.
“My boss wants to see him.” The bandit aimed his gun at her. “Where is he?”
Ed’s heart threatened to explode.
“Take the shot,” Ed urged.
But Isaac was frozen beside him.
“Isaac,” Ed pushed.
Isaac’s fingers remained clasped around the rifle’s stock. His eyes darted wildly, as if he couldn’t find his focus.
And then Isaac relaxed his grip, breathing hard as if he’d been running at full speed. “I can’t.”
