Chapter Fourteen
When they arrived at the camp, they found Luke playing cards by himself. The area was a mess, all his items thrown about in such a chaotic way that Gray didn’t know how Luke could possibly know where things were. His clothing lay in piles, scattered everywhere. The griddle that should be in the fire pit was discarded on the ground, far away from the fire. His valise was situated in the middle of the camp, clothing spilling out of it. It looked like Luke had been there for weeks, rather than days.
Gray shook his head as they rode up. It was going to take at least an hour to pack up. The camp looked like it had been raided, but it was just how Luke was. Gray wasn’t sure if he was irritated with his brother, or if he was irritated because of his conversation with Jessie. He had offered something big to help save her, but she had quickly rejected it. And him.
“Do you even know where your gun belt is?” Gray chided as he dismounted. He tried to keep the disapproving tone out of his voice, but he was unable to keep the scowl off his face. He’d long given up on trying to fix Luke of his habit of making a mess wherever he went, but sometimes his annoyance came out anyway.
Luke grinned, unfazed by his brother’s tone. “Of course.” He patted his hip to show the Colt .45 that sat in his holster. He stood up and wiped the dirt from his hands on his faded blue shirt, leaving a streak of dirt on it.
At least he always kept his gun close by, even if the rest of his things were hopelessly lost.
“It’s an organized chaos,” Luke said, pointing toward the mess. “I know where everything important is.” He winked at Jessie, turning on the charm that usually worked on everyone who crossed paths with him. When his eyes met hers, he hesitated, probably noting the bruised eye she carried. He raised a brow and looked at Gray in question, but said nothing.
“Right,” she said as she dismounted from her horse.
Gray caught a hint of sarcasm in her voice, which brought a small measure of joy to him. He pressed his lips together to cover up the smile that had started to form. At least she wasn’t fooled by Luke’s charm like others often were. Luke used it to manipulate people, and it worked; they didn’t know him like Gray did.
“About damn time y’all got here!” Luke drawled. “I’m guessing you didn’t have any luck though, if you’re back without Casey.” Luke crossed his arms and waited for them to respond.
Gray could see his brother’s eyes were full of hope and apprehension. This was the most hope Gray had seen on Luke’s face in a while, and he sighed, knowing he was going to have to disappoint his brother.
“Some luck. We ran into some trouble though.” Gray didn’t expand. He wasn’t sure how Luke would take the news that Jessie was the reason he hadn’t captured Casey. Luke had already given him hell, accusing Gray of liking her. He didn’t want to give his brother any more ammunition. Better to just not mention it at all.
Jessie’s eyes met with Gray’s for a second before she looked away, studying the ground with intense concentration, avoiding eye contact with Luke. She fidgeted with the hem of her vest, like she was trying to comfort herself.
“Well, don’t keep me waiting,” Luke said. “Tell me what happened.”
He shuffled from foot to foot, waiting for Gray to talk.
“We found Casey,” Gray said. “He is alive, and he’s definitely the one who has been asking the bounty hunters to come after us.”
“That bastard,” Luke spat. Fury flashed across his face, a hint of the darkness that Gray knew lay underneath the surface.
Jessie recoiled slightly. Gray put his hand on her arm to calm her, and her eyes met his before returning to Luke. She didn’t withdraw from the touch, accepting his comfort. He knew that Luke would never hurt a woman, but she didn’t know that.
Luke shook with rage, unable or unwilling to keep his composure at the news.
“He’s going to wish he was dead because I’m going to kill him.” His nostrils flared as he pointed at Gray, as if Gray was the one who’d helped Casey fake his death. Any other person would be afraid of Luke right now, but Gray knew that he wasn’t in danger.
They had suspected that it was Casey from the start, but confirming it was a different thing. Gray had been shocked when he’d found out, but it was more personal to Luke than it was to Gray. That was why he wanted to help his brother clear his name. Gray could be logical and come up with a plan, whereas Luke reacted before he thought.
“We can’t kill him,” Gray reminded Luke in a calm voice. “We have to bring him in alive, to prove he faked his death.”
Luke glared at Gray as if he had committed a crime. Luke took deep breaths, clenching and unclenching his hands as he stared at the ground. Gray could see the effort he was making to regain control. After a moment he gritted out, “What else happened?”
When Gray was certain that Luke was ready, he continued, “Jessie was right. Casey was talking to Butch this morning in a restaurant, asking him to find you. We got held up, and by the time we returned, Casey had left town. I think we are only a few hours behind him. If we leave now, we might be able to catch him.”
“What are we waiting for then?” Luke began to pack up his gear. “Let’s go.”
“Wait.” Gray held his hands out to stop Luke from picking anything else up, and Luke gave him a bewildered look. “I think it’s better you don’t come with us. You need to go into hiding.”
“No,” Luke said, and continued stuffing pants and a shirt into his saddlebag. The clothing didn’t fit because he was cramming it in without folding it, and Luke got more and more frustrated. He tried to cram it in even harder.
“Listen,” Gray growled. “Now isn’t the time for you to be stubborn. Butch and every bounty hunter west of Miles City are after you. Butch is less than a day’s ride from here, and it won’t take him long to realize where you are.”
“You can’t do it alone,” Luke said. He gathered up the plates and kicked dirt onto the unlit fire.
Gray was impressed how quickly Luke had cleaned up the camp. Must have been all the practice at leaving it a mess. Maybe it really was organized chaos to him.
Jessie cleared her throat, and they both turned to look at her, having forgotten she was there.
“I’m going to help find Casey,” she said to Luke.
Luke stopped packing and narrowed his eyes, contemplating her words. “Why would you do that? There’s nothing in it for you. Gray agreed to let you go already, so why would you help?” The suspicion in his voice made Gray stiffen. He didn’t need Luke reading into things. He needed Luke to go into hiding.
“She can keep the reward for Casey when we catch him,” Gray cut in. “It’s a good amount of money, and we don’t need it. I’d rather have your name cleared.”
Luke tilted his head and his eyes darted between Gray and Jessie. Gray held his breath, as if it might stop his brother from figuring out the real motive behind her help. Gray had no doubts Luke knew they were hiding something.
He could tell Luke was just trying to decide if he was going to say whatever he suspected.
Gray glared at him, a silent communication to tell him to drop it, which caused Luke to tense, his eyes moving between the two of them in suspicion.
It wasn’t his place to tell Luke about Jessie’s problem, or the deal they had reached. If she chose to tell him, that was up to her. He shifted from foot to foot, suddenly uncomfortable with the thought of hiding something from his brother. He’d never done that before, but he didn’t want to tell him about Jessie’s past.
Luke’s eyes narrowed, and the silence between the three of them lingered.
“You don’t think I can do it,” Luke said after a few beats. His voice was filled with a mixture of anger and disbelief. “You can’t tell me what to do. We aren’t kids anymore, Gray. I’m capable of handling it. Myself.”
Gray met his accusing eyes without flinching. Jessie grimaced and looked away from the pair.
“I didn’t say that—you are capable of doing it. But we need to be smart about this,” Gray said.
Luke nodded toward Jessie with a jerk of his head. “Like her? Ever since she’s been here, you would rather take her help over mine. You don’t trust me.”
Gray’s heart felt heavy. It was partially true, yet it was also wrong. He believed Luke was able, but he did think Jessie would be able to help them more. His desire to keep Luke safe was what drove this decision, but he knew if he admitted that to Luke, his brother would run off after Casey and get himself killed or arrested.
“I trust you more than anyone,” Gray growled. “And this has nothing to do with her. She’s agreed to help, and yes, she’s smart. She can help us fix this. We have to do something different.”
Jessie stepped forward, putting herself between the two of them. “I want to help,” she chimed in, trying to ease the tension. “I’d basically receive a whole bounty for doing only half the work.”
She was a pretty good liar, because that was true. If the two of them went after Casey instead of her going alone, it would be a lot less dangerous for her. It was better and safer to have a partner. That was one of the reasons why he and Luke always stuck together.
“We don’t need you,” Gray said to Luke. Being blunt was his best bet in this case. “Jessie has done more in one day than you and I have in months. He’s got to be only a few hours away from us, and the two of us will be faster if we don’t have to worry about you. We can meet up with you when we catch him.”
Luke closed his eyes and tilted his head to the sky, as if asking for an answer.
Gray hoped that Luke would see reason. Without Luke’s impulsive nature, and with Jessie’s intelligence, maybe they could capture Casey. If Luke would just learn to listen and trust him, Gray could solve this problem and they could live life in peace.
“Think about it,” Gray pushed. “If we wouldn’t have had to come back to camp to get you this time, we’d already be after Casey. But we did have to come back, so you didn’t wonder what happened to us.”
He saw Luke’s face falter a bit and then Luke threw his hands in the air, finally giving in.
“Fine!” he said. “You’re right. If Jessie helps you, then there is a chance we can get this finished. I’ll go into hiding. Now go get Casey. You’ve spent enough time here talking to me.”
Gray nodded at Luke, hopeful that his brother would do what he said. “Be careful.” He gave one last warning to his brother.
Be careful.
Something Luke never was.
He just hoped he could get them out of this mess before Luke got himself into more trouble.