Free Stronger Than the Rest by Shirleen Davies Page B

Jericho,” Drew answered for her. “Guess he’s anxious to put me through some more torture.” He tried for a light tone, but failed.
    “Does it hurt much?”
    Drew could hear the concern in Tess’s voice.
    “No, not really. In fact, I’d welcome pain, the more the better. Anything to tell me my legs are starting to react somehow. But it will happen.” He looked at Tess. “If I have any say in it at all, I will walk again, Tess.”
     
     
    ******
     
    It had been a quiet day. There was nothing to indicate that the menace that had plagued the Bierdan ranch the last couple of weeks was still lying in wait. The men circled the buildings each morning, then rode out in groups of two to four to check cattle and fences. Two men were posted each night as guards. There had been no sign of further danger.
    Eloise lowered herself into a chair in the kitchen. Some nights Jeff Burnham would join her to discuss ranch business, but tonight she was alone. She liked the solitude. It gave her a chance to think about her options, about her past.
    She laid her head back against the slatted wooden kitchen chair and closed her eyes. It had only been a few years, but Eloise was determined to never go back to the life in the East. The life Gordon Bierdan had rescued her from.
    She’d grown up in a home for children, with little education and fewer prospects, but she’d come to the attention of a wealthy woman who’d volunteered at the home. When she was sixteen, the woman had offered her a position in her home, cleaning and working with the children when the governess was not around. Eloise had jumped on the opportunity, and it had been everything and more. They’d let her sit in with the children’s tutor. She learned to dance, and was even allowed to take piano lessons—a thought that would have shocked many in Boston. As long as she was loyal and did her work, the family was willing to help her with what they could.
    Gordon had swept into her life five years later. He’d been a guest in her employer’s home. She’d been around him little during his brief stay, but when the time came for him to leave, he’d asked the family for her hand. It had been unexpected, but she’d said yes. It was hard to leave the family but an easy decision to leave Boston.
    The trip west had been an education, as had being Gordon’s wife. She was twenty years younger than her husband. At times he treated her more as a daughter than a wife, but he was always kind, generous, and made her feel cherished. She’d had no idea of the vengeful parts of him. Not until it was too late.
    Eloise was pulled from her memories by a loud crash in the front of the house, followed by a couple of smaller ones. She sprang from her chair and raced toward the sound of the noise. Glass was everywhere. A broken picture frame lay on the floor. She flew to the entry and grabbed her shotgun before shoving the door open. No one. She moved further onto the front porch, by the steps. She could just make out a rider heading away towards the east.
    Shouts erupted from the bunkhouse and several men ran towards the house, pistols drawn. Jeff was the first to arrive, a rifle in his hand.
    “Are you all right, Mrs. Bierdan? Did you see anything?” Jeff asked as he came to a stop beside her.
    “Yes, I’m fine. I didn’t see anyone specifically, just a man riding away toward the east.”
    “Clint, Jay, Stan, mount up. See if you can catch up with him,” Jeff ordered.
    “Yes, sir,” the men responded. Clint took an extra moment to glance at Mrs. Bierdan, hesitated a moment, then joined the other two.
    Jeff turned to the two who’d been posted as guards. “What the hell happened?”
    “I didn’t see anything, Boss. I was making a turn around the barn when I heard the crash,” one of the men responded.
    Jeff glared at the second man. “And you?”
    He was young, maybe sixteen. His fear that he’d failed was transmitted to Jeff by his wide eyes and shaking hands. “Sorry,