Page 33 of Heart of Stone

“Hmph.” Stone glared at Luke, but then he nodded reluctantly. “Maybe you’re right,” he conceded. “Besides, I’d probably just as soon shoot him as talk to him, and we need him to tell us if he’s doin’ this all on his own and why.”

“My gut says he’s takin’ orders.” Luke unknotted his kerchief so he could wipe soot off his sweaty face. “If not, then he’s got more hatred for Indians than anyone I’ve ever seen, but if that’s his problem, I’d think he’d just go ahead and shoot you instead of doin’ all this.”

“Yeah.” Stone ran a hand through his hair, but before he could say anything more, they were interrupted by Short, who can running up, red-faced and breathless.

“We accounted for all the horses and the hands,” he said, wheezing a little. “Sorry about the stable, boss. There wasn’t enough water to stop it, but we didn’t let it spread.” He looked at Stone with concern. “You okay, Mr. Harrison? Looks like you took a beatin’.”

“I’m fine. I had a little trouble in the stables, but Luke got me out. You all did a great job, Shorty. I owe every hand here for what they’ve done, and you can believe I’m goin’ to show my appreciation. Otherwise we might’ve lost everything.”

“We need to get the horses settled, and then someone’s got to go to town and buy some supplies.” Luke pushed his hat back on his head. “We’ve got to replace the feed and the hay, and we’ve got to start rebuildin’ the stables as soon as possible. We might need to hire some more men, if anyone in town’s lookin’ for work. Otherwise, we’re goin’ to be spread pretty thin until the tank and the stables are rebuilt.”

As much as he hated to admit it, Luke was starting to feel overwhelmed, but he would be damned if he let whoever was behind all this win. It would take a lot of work and manpower, but they’d get the rebuilding done, and then maybe life would start getting back to normal.

“Shorty, you’ve got a good head on you,” Stone said. “I’d like you to take Little Sam, Brent, and Dave and go into town with the buckboard. Tell Mr. Stephens what happened and get all the hay and feed he’s got to spare. Then go by the mill and tell Mr. Williams thanks for the rush on the wood for the tank, but we’re goin’ need the timber for a new stable instead, so we’ll need more for the tank. Last, please stop by the post office and put up a sign sayin’ we’re hirin’. Can I trust you to manage all that? Me and Luke have a lot to do here, so I really need your help.”

Shorty drew himself up to his full six and half feet. “Yeah, boss, I can do it.” He ran off, obviously pleased to be given the responsibility.

Stone looked at Luke. “I hope you don’t mind me steppin’ on your toes like that, but I do need you here. We need to round up Hendry before he can do any more damage.”

“It ain’t unheard of for bosses to tell their hands what to do,” Luke said dryly.

“True, but normally you’d be the only one I’d trust with all that. Right now, though, I don’t trust much of anyone besides you, the men who’ve been here for years, and the men I know well. We can’t take much more of this, and we’re goin’ to stop it, one way or another.”

“I ain’t in a trustin’ frame of mind myself,” Luke agreed, glancing around at the hands. He knew it was unlikely that most of them were in league with Hendry, but it was impossible to know whom he could trust beyond the hands who had worked at Copper Lake for longer than a couple of years. The newer ones were all on his suspect list until he had proof that they didn’t deserve to be. “Let’s go inside and rest a minute, and then we’ll talk to Hendry and get some answers.”

“Right.” Stone started back toward the house, wincing as he stepped on a rock with his bare foot. “I’ll want my boots too. And not just so I can use them to kick his ass up between his ears.”

“You need more’n your boots,” Luke muttered, glancing sidelong at Stone, who was half-naked and covered in sweat and soot.

Stone nodded, looking a little sheepish. “I ran when I heard you ringin’. I didn’t stop to worry about much else.” He looked down at himself. “I suppose I don’t look too intimidatin’ like this.”

“That ain’t the word that comes to mind.” Luke kept his eyes fixed straight ahead as they headed toward the house, but he could feel Stone’s gaze on him.

“I’ll go wash in the lake later,” Stone said. “I guess for now, we’ll have to make do with what we can get out of the pump. I’m just glad Dandy Jim decided that a lack of plumbin’ offends his sensibilities and took himself off to the hotel in town.”

“That’s the only good thing to come out of this whole mess.” Luke grimaced, wishing there was a way to keep James in town permanently.

“I suppose we should get done before he decides to stop by for a visit.” Stone mounted the steps and entered the kitchen, heading to the sink to prime the pump. “Let’s talk to a couple of other hands before going after Hendry, just so he doesn’t suspect we’re comin’ after him in particular.”

“Good idea.” Luke nodded, standing out of the way while Stone cleaned up and turning his attention elsewhere. The last thing he needed right now was to watch rivulets of water streaming along Stone’s bronzed skin.

Fortunately, Stone didn’t dawdle. He cleaned up quickly and dried off. “I’ll go change clothes while you wash. Then I’ll start coffee, and we can figure out who to go after first. That work for you?”

“Yes, sir, it does,” Luke replied, keeping his eyes averted as he moved toward the sink. It was bad enough when Stone was sooty; it would be worse now that he was clean.

Stone moved away from the sink, but then he stopped. “Luke,” he said softly, and Luke heard him sigh. “Ah, never mind. I’ll be back shortly.” With that, he heard Stone leave the kitchen and the creak of the stairs as he went to his room.

As soon as he was alone, Luke released a long, slow breath and leaned heavily against the sink for a moment, feeling as if the weight of the world was resting on his shoulders. The ranch was falling apart, they had a traitor in their midst, and he was forced to keep his distance from the one person he wanted to be closest to. Life needed to get a lot better soon, or else he was going to have to consider some serious changes, because he couldn’t keep on like this.

Mustering his strength and resolve, he pushed himself upright and primed the pump so he could get cleaned up. They had a traitor to find, and he hoped stopping Hendry and whoever was working with him would mean the end of this string of disasters once and for all.

CHAPTER21

“No, sir, I didn’t see nothin’. I was in the middle of puttin’ on my boots, and I come runnin’ out with everyone else.”

Stone looked at the grizzled hand sitting across from him at the table and nodded. Deke Jones was an old-timer who’d apparently been on the ranch since before Priss had inherited it from her pa, and neither Stone nor Luke suspected him of any connection to Hendry at all. But that, he hoped, would make Hendry and whoever he might be working with relax and keep them off their guard.

“We didn’t figure you did.” Stone gave the older man a tired smile. “We ain’t lookin’ to blame no one. I just want to make sure that whatever happened don’t never happen again.”

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