The Fire in Ember - DiAnn Mills [117]
The marshal weaved and fell from his horse onto the mud splattered ground.
The men pulled their horses to a halt and dismounted. Parker got to Bob first. “My chest,” Bob whispered. “Been hurting me for a while.”
His heart. John remembered those times he’d seen Bob clutch his chest. “Can we get him on his horse and to shelter? The High Plains Ranch is the closest. Sparky and his wife will lend a hand.”
“I’ll hurry to town and get Doc Slader.” Evan swung around his horse.
Parker peered up at Evan. “Be careful in this storm.”
Evan didn’t take the time to respond, but dug his heels into his horse’s side and raced toward Rocky Falls in the blinding rain.
John helped Parker and Wirt hoist Bob onto his saddle. He glanced toward the mountains where stone canyons stood guard over a strip of land that stretched for hundreds of acres. That stretch belonged to the Wide O, right where those cattle thieves had driven his herd.
“Why don’t you ride on to the High Plains? I’ll be right behind you.”
“Where are you headed?” Parker said.
John pointed to a ridge. “I want to see if I can spot anything from there.”
“I’m not taking you back thrown over your saddle.” Wirt had been quiet up to this point. “And I’m not allowing you to ride into a snake pit. You can’t bring in cattle thieves and murderers singlehandedly.”
“Right,” John said, irritated that Wirt and Uncle Parker still viewed him as a kid instead of a grown man. “All I’m doing is taking a look. With these binoculars, I can see into some of the canyons.
“Not in this rain,” Wirt continued.
“Take care of Bob. I’ll be there in a while.” John spurred his horse on toward the ridge and calculated how much time he had before the storm’s fury was unleashed on all of them.
With the devil riding on his heels, John lost no time in climbing to a higher elevation where he could catch a glimpse of the terrain. Oberlander’s hired guns wouldn’t think twice about opening fire on him, but he’d risk it. Odd how losing everything had aroused fury and vengeance he didn’t know he had. The storm above him moved closer. Perhaps he was a fool.
Raising his binoculars to his eyes, he frowned. Wirt had been right. His visibility in the rain was poor. From what he could see there wasn’t a soul in sight. No men riding over the terrain or a large herd of cattle waiting out a storm. Holding his breath, he studied an area to the west that led to canyons large enough to hold his cattle and more. John hadn’t explored those rocks in years, but what he remembered was plenty of hideaways with only one way in. Wide O land.
John’s suspicions about Oberlander deepened. The owner of the Wide O was far too shrewd to allow his ranch hands to operate a cattle rustling outfit right under his nose.
The foolishness of venturing on by himself picked at John, but an invisible force urged him to continue. Anger, bitterness, and a desire for revenge had taken over. He should rein in those feelings that characterized him as a possible killer. He seemed blinded, yet he couldn’t stop himself. If he found where the thieves were holed up, they wouldn’t be going anywhere for a while. And was Ember riding with them, or was she a captive?
The sky, a deep navy blue, grew more menacing. A jagged sword of lightning flashed, followed by a thunderous roar that spooked his horse. John swung his attention back to where the others had ridden in the direction of the High Plains Ranch with Bob. God, what next? Was Bob strong enough to survive a heart attack? Evan had disappeared in his flight to Rocky Falls to fetch Doc Slader. John hoped and prayed Bob would recover. The man definitely needed shelter from the impending storm.
The wind whipped around him, as though daring him to see what lay on the other side of the strip of Wide O land. His mind drifted back to the canyons he’d explored as a boy. With a deep breath, he dug his heels into his horse and raced toward the foothills of the canyons