Page 62 of At Love’s Command

“If you don’t stop, Captain, I’m gonna take you down myself.” Preach planted himself in Matt’s path and glared as if he were the commanding officer.

“Step aside, Corporal.” They needed horses, and he didn’t have the strength to traipse all over San Antonio searching for another livery that might have a night staff. If terrorizing a stable boy was what it took to get him a horse, he’d bellow and threaten until the kid either started bawling or fetched the owner.

Preach, however, disregarded his order. He just stood there, arms folded, legs braced. “This isn’t you, Cap,” he murmured. “It isn’t us.”

Wallace sidled past the two of them and started smoothing things over with the kid with wide eyes and a stubborn chin who barred their entrance to the livery. A kid Matt had dressed down as if he were a disobedient trooper under his command instead of a child probably no older than twelve or thirteen. One under orders by his boss not to bother him at home unless the place was either on fire or set upon by thieves.

Since Matt wasn’t so far gone as to commit actual crimes, that left them at a stalemate, one he’d tried to win through bullying.

Forgive me.

Matt blew out a breath and squinted against the pounding in his head and the agony in his side. He’d thought the pain would improve after Preach’s doctoring, but it hadn’t. The wound throbbed. Constantly. That, combined with his worry for Josie, had worn his patience thin and his temper thinner.

“Burkett won’t be traveling anywhere tonight.” The edge of challenge disappeared from Preach’s voice. “It’s not safe for the horses. He knows that.”

And so do you.

Preach didn’t actually say the words, but Matt heard them anyway. He did know better. He’d let the fear of missing his window with Josie’s father drive common sense and common courtesy straight out of him.

“We’ll grab a few winks,” Preach continued, “get up with the sun, and set out first thing in the morning. Brooks can scout out the livery that opens the earliest, Wallace can ferret out directions to Gringolet Farms, and you can see a doctor for proper treatment.”

The kid perked up at the name of the horse farm. “Yer goin’ to Gringolet?”

Matt turned to the stable boy. “That’s right. You know it?”

The lad still looked wary, but his chin bobbed in a small nod. “My brother got a job there. Said they have the best horseflesh in the West. He gets to bunk with the hands and help the trainers. Mr. Burkett even lets him ride some, since he’s so light. He ain’t much bigger than me even though he’s four years older.”

“We’re friends of Mr. Burkett’s daughter, Josephine.” Matt relaxed his stance and carefully modulated his voice.

The boy’s eyes widened. “The lady doc?”

“Yep. She’s in trouble. That’s why we’re in such a hurry to get to Gringolet Farms. We’ve got to talk to her pa.”

Wallace placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Do you know how to get there?”

“I can do you one better.” The boy stood tall. “I can take you the back way. Shave a good twenty minutes off yer travel time.”

“I’d be in your debt,” Matt said, humbled by the kid’s generosity, especially after the way Matt had snapped at him earlier. “And I owe you an apology. I never should’ve barked at you like I did. I’m sorry.”

The kid nodded. “Thaddeus Burkett is a good man. He gave my brother a job with a man’s salary after my pa passed on. Don’t know how we woulda made it through that first winter without those wages. If Mr. Burkett’s girl needs help, I’m helpin’.” He looked Matt straight in the eyes, as man-to-man as he could manage while standing a foot shorter. “Meet me at sunup at the livery next to the river, just past the footbridge on Houston. James Portman opens the earliest. He’ll get you horses, and I’ll lead you to Gringolet.”

Matt extended his hand to the boy. The kid hesitated, then clasped Matt’s palm with a firm grip.

“What’s your name, son?” Matt asked.

“John Spafford.”

“Matthew Hanger. How’d you like to be an honorary Horseman?”

The boy’s jaw came a tad unhinged for a moment before his arm pumped up and down as he tried to separate Matt’s arm from his shoulder. “Yes, sir!”

Matt grinned. John’s big brother wouldn’t be the only one with bragging rights in the Spafford family after this.

His smile dimmed as they left the livery and his gaze turned to the inky sky above. Josie was out there somewhere with only her worthless brother as protection against a camp full of undisciplined outlaws. Matt’s jaw clenched against the panic rising within him, and with a touch of desperation, he sought the darkened heavens for help. His gaze locked onto the brightest star he could find.

Get her safely through the night, Lord.

For a soldier trained against surrender, he sure was doing it a lot today. Forfeiting control to an almighty God should be easier than giving in to a gang of outlaws, yet he still struggled. He wanted to trust, but he’d lost loved ones before, and the little boy inside the man was terrified that history would repeat itself.