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His friend smiled slyly. “Ah, you do not wish to speak of the senora?”
“No. I want you to tell me of the troubles that befall the ranch. I thought I made it clear that if you needed me you should send word to the Triple K, and Noah or Joshua would find me.”
Miguel eased into a sitting position, his dark brown eyes somber. “I have only been abed these two weeks. I told the Senora to send word to your brothers, but it seems she decided to find you instead. And as you are here, she succeeded.”
At Elijah’s scowl, Miguel grinned briefly and continued, “The troubles that visit this ranch are because of the Senora. She is a beautiful woman. Rumor in town is that she is very wealthy, more so than the Moutons.”
Elijah sighed. “I met Jericho Sullivan outside.”
“That one is a snake, patron. He covets the Senora. The west is a hard place for a woman alone, and he means to have her at any cost.”
“What happened, Miguel?” Elijah asked quietly. “Thomas’s death, your injury, was it deliberate?”
Miguel sat up fully against the headboard, and Elijah waited for him to gather his thoughts.
“At first I did not think it was. It had been done so smoothly. Even now I am not sure. We were herding four thousand heads of cattle to Abilene. I and over twenty of our men were on the trail. We heard several shots across the canyon, but could not see anyone. The herd started to stampede, and it was chaotic. After a long battle against the tide, two of our men lay dead and I was injured. It then struck me that Thomas had died in a similar fashion. Stampede. I know they occur often, but I do not trust such closeness to coincidence.”
“Did you try to launch an investigation?”
Miguel’s rough chuckle was not one of amusement. “Jericho owns the town. His cousin is the town’s mayor. There is no proof that he orchestrated anything. But he is the one that hounds Senora the most.”
Elijah stilled, shutting down the hot surge of fury that rose in him at the thought of her being hounded. “Others hound her?”
“Si, the Senora is a very beautiful woman. Many a man travels here, and offers her marriage. She has refused all.”
Elijah chose to ignore the tingle of relief pulsing through him. Hell. He should not be happy she showed favor to no other man. “She is not partial to anyone? She needs to find a husband.”
He ignored the knowing look Miguel gave him.
“She has ridden out on the range a few times with Buck Morgan, and even dined at that fancy restaurant in town. I saw him trying to kiss her once. And he has proposed several times, but she refused.”
Elijah did not think he masked his reaction fast enough, if Miguel’s mocking smile was anything to go by.
“Did not like that one, did you?”
Elijah restrained the urge to plant a fist in his friend’s smug face. He ruthlessly prevented himself from reacting. “I do not care who she lies with,” he said calmly.
Miguel grinned and looked down pointedly on the hands Elijah had curved in a death grip on the arm of the chair. “Now I did not say she lay with him. I said he kissed her. Chaste kisses too.”
Elijah’s lips twitched as he forced himself to relax and released them. “Tell me all that you know of Jericho, Miguel.”
Miguel went silent staring at the ceiling. “That hombre’s poison. He is the most dangerous man this side of Mississippi, and they say he has ridden the outlaw trail.”
That surprised Elijah. “Jericho?”
“That is what the rumors say. Now he is a respectable business man. He is a part of everything. Mining, railroads, lumber, and ranching. He is powerful in these parts. The Senora will have a rough time convincing him she is not interested.”
Elijah nodded. “He had men with him today. There was a sandy haired boy, twenty at most.”
“El es un matador. A stone-cold killer that one, Clay Walker. He is already reputed to have over a dozen kills under his belt. He is not from these parts. No one is sure where he came from, but the rumor is that he rode with Jessup’s himself.”
Elijah nodded; Jessup was a notorious outlaw who robbed banks and trains, killing any and every one that bore witness. “And Bartley?” Elijah had not liked how he wetted his lips when he looked at Sheridan.
“He’s a dead shot with a gun of any kind and he is also a back-shooter...what is important to him is that he gets his man.”
Elijah surged to his feet and walked over to the wide paned glass windows that encased almost half of Miguel’s room. The drapes were drawn and he overlooked the range. “Sheridan tells me the ranch is worked by less than thirty hands?”
“Si, many have left to work with other outfits, uncomfortable to work under a woman, especially one that Sullivan has made it known he wants vulnerable.”
