Chapter Thirty-Three
As there was no one around for miles, Cody didn’t feel the least bit bad about cursing with every step Sprinter took.
The bridge that crossed the dried creek bed that marked the boundary between public grazing and private land on the outside of town had been washed away some weeks earlier, apparently.
There had been nary a board or nail left in place when he came upon it.
The creek, while dried up, had eaten away at the bank, making it too wide to jump, and he didn’t dare to try it on a horse he didn’t know.
This had meant a detour that took him far out of the way, circling nearly the whole of Gunnison.
He’d have to approach the ranch from the other side, crossing old Carter’s property.
I just hope the old cuss doesn’t think I’m a robber and pull a gun on me, Cody thought grimly.
The trail was overgrown, Carter having sold off all his cattle long ago.
Cody wasn’t sure how he made his living, but it wasn’t through livestock.
The trees and scrub hedged the trail in so tightly that Cody was forced to climb down out of the saddle and lead his horse until they reached more open land again.
Evening slipped away to night, and Cody grew more and more frustrated with his lack of progress. He was hours late now, and he had no way to communicate with Amelia. He could only hope that she was safely snugged up at home, Helen for company.
He pushed his way forward past a prickly bush of some sort, then froze. Voices, low and indistinct, floated toward him. He glanced around, trying to find a place to get off the trail—he didn’t want to be spotted, especially if it were Dean lurking about.
“Tarnation,” he swore lightly when he realized there was no good way to get off the trail. Nothing for it, he thought grimly. He shoved his way through the brambles, the branches and thorns catching at his shirt. The horse followed him reluctantly, balking at a particularly dense section of brush.
He tied the horse to a low-hanging branch, hoping that she was concealed enough.
He shifted this way and that as quietly as he could, craning his neck in hopes of seeing who it was coming down the trail.
Logically, he knew that he had no reason to be so cautious—there was nothing to indicate that it was Dean or anyone else of nefarious purpose.
Even so, he’d learned from years of being out on the trail and working with cattle to trust his instincts. He reached down and put his hand on the gun at his hip as the voices came closer.
“D’you see any more?” a gravelly voice asked.
“No,” came the answer. “We should’ve brought a lantern.”
Cody blinked. That voice was all too familiar. He stood and pushed his way forward in the brush back onto the trail.
“Amelia?” he asked.
The pair of horses snorted and tossed their heads in surprise at seeing him. Amelia, her face mostly hidden by shadows, stared at Cody. “Cody?” she breathed. Her normally steady voice was rough and strained. “What are you doing out here?”
“What am I—what are you doing out here?” he asked, coming to the side of her horse.
Without warning, she was sliding from the horse’s back and right into his arms. He grunted and stepped backward in surprise, the pair of them nearly unbalanced.
He was unprepared for the sudden gesture, and even less prepared when he realized that Amelia’s shoulders were shaking with nearly silent sobs.
“Oh, Cody,” she whispered. “It’s—it’s too awful!”
“What’s happened?” he asked, a cold prickle running up his spine like the edge of a knife.
Amelia didn’t answer; she only clung to him harder.
It was the other rider who answered. When he spoke, Cody recognized him. “Some would-be bandit’s come and took your boy. Your missus and I were tracking him.”
“Logan?” Cody said. “He’s got Logan?”
He could feel Amelia nodding, her whole body quivering. Dread settled into Cody’s stomach like a lead weight. He was hot and cold all at once, fear and anger battling for control.
“Boy left us a trail,” Carter continued. “Little soldiers scattered around. Cleverer than he looks.”
“I’m so sorry,” Amelia said finally, pulling back to look at Cody. “This is all my fault—this never would’ve happened if I—” Her words were choked off, and she bit her lip, trying hard to keep from completely collapsing again. She wrapped her arms around herself, looking alone and isolated.
Cody reached out to her and took her hand, squeezing her fingers tight.
“Carrying on isn’t gonna help your boy,” Carter said gruffly. “I’m too old to track all night up the ridge. You going to keep caterwauling, or are you going to go and get your boy back?” he demanded, staring at Amelia.
Her body, wracked by sobs, immediately stilled. She looked up at Carter, who was glaring down at her with an expression that Cody could only describe as challenging, bordering on downright hostile. Amelia’s face shifted, becoming harder. She nodded once at Carter, who returned the gesture.
“I’m going to look after the other children,” Carter said. He wheeled his horse around, but paused before riding off. “There’s more of you than there is of him. You’re the hunters now.” Without further explanation, he turned and rode off back in the direction they’d come from.
Amelia turned to Cody, her face still stony.
“I’m going up the ridge after Logan,” she said softly but with great resolve.
“I’m going to sort this out. No one else is going to pay for my foolishness.
The kindest thing for everyone you could do is to just let me go.
” Her fingers slipped from his grip as she began to pull away.
“Kindest?” Cody demanded. “Woman, we’ve had this fight twice now, and you’ve lost it twice.
What do you think the word ‘kind’ means?
” Abruptly, he reached out and snatched her arm, unapologetically pulling her closer.
He could feel her surprise in the way that her spine stiffened, but she placed her hands on his shoulders softly.
“We’re a pair now,” he said, saying the words as they came to him.
“You think you have to run and solve everything yourself, and I love you for that, but you don’t.
There are two of us—better together. You heard Carter. ”
Amelia stared at him, her eyes still shining with tears in the dark. “You love me?” she asked.
Cody stared back at her. “I—well, so what if I do?” he said, a challenge in his voice.
Her fingers curled into the top of his vest, grasping him tightly. “Well, if you must know, I suppose it’s only right that I love you back,” she said, lifting her chin.
“Well—well, good then,” Cody said, completely at a loss for anything else to say. Internally, he felt like a stampede had been set loose inside him. The abduction of Logan, the unexpected declaration by himself and Amelia, it was all too much. His teeth itched.
“What now?” Amelia asked.
“I’m not losing anyone else,” Cody said with finality. “I refuse to. Carter might be as sour as they come, but he’s right: We’re better together.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning I won’t hear any more talk of anyone running off on their own,” Cody said, giving her a significant look. “Let’s go get our boy back… together.”