Free The Loner by Geralyn Dawson

Logan explained.
    That observation sobered the three men and focused the conversation on the future rather than the past. "So what are you thinking, Lucky?" Cade asked. "Are we waiting for the westbound train on Friday morning or are we taking the noon train south tomorrow?"
    Logan hesitated. "We?"
    "You don't think we're letting you do this on your own, do you?" Holt said.
    "I can't ask y'all—"
    "Shut up, Grey." Cade flipped a poker chip like a coin. "You're not asking. We're telling you we're going."
    Logan could not deny that the weight on his shoulders eased a bit at that. He could use their help. Holt's status as a Texas Ranger might come in handy, and Cade, a former Pinkerton man now working for himself, specialized in locating lost children. While a runaway wasn't exactly lost and they knew where the boy was headed, Logan figured Cade's skills could be of great assistance when they started tracking Will through the canyon.
    And yet, he recognized that accepting their help created a bit of a problem. "I'll be glad to have y'all watching my back, but getting you two into the canyon might be sticky. You are both too well-known."
    "And you're not?" Holt snorted a laugh. "Hell, Lucky, it'll probably be easier for us than for you. You made fools of 'em last time. They're gonna be gunning for you now."
    "Then I can't let 'em see me coming."
    "And how do you figure to do that?"
    Logan swiped at the condensation on his beer mug with his thumb. "I don't exactly know, but I have five days to figure it out and, thankfully, you two to help me do it. I think it's best to wait for Friday's train—it's a more direct route and it'll get us there almost as fast as if we left a day earlier and went through San Antoine. We can use tomorrow to buy supplies and check with our contacts to see what news has come out of there in the last week or so."
    "The Rangers should have declared war on that bunch and gone in and cleaned the place out years ago," Holt grumbled. "It goes against my grain to leave killers and thieves alone to do their dirty work just because they've holed up the middle of nowhere."
    Cade tipped his chair up on its two hind legs. "I've missed seeing that part of the world. So, it's a four-day trip to Black Shadow Canyon?"
    "About that. We take the train west, then go on horseback north to the Guadalupe Mountains."
    "When did she say the boy left?"
    "He took the train out of Artesia last Sunday. We'll be over a week behind him, but since he won't know where he's going, I'm hoping we'll make up time on him on the trail."
    "He's grown up in town. Did she say if he's a good horseman? A good tracker?"
    "We didn't talk about that. I know I should have asked a million questions, but I just... I needed time to digest the whole thing."
    Cade and Holt nodded their understanding, then in an obvious effort to lighten the mood, Holt propped his boots on the empty chair at their table and said, "I've been wondering.. .what does this do to your reputation of being the luckiest man in Texas? I can't wait to see what Wilhemina Peters does with the news. Hell, she'll come out of retirement."
    "Lord help Fort Worth if that's the case," Cade observed.
    Holt grinned, then continued, "The way I see it, some folks might think your state of luckiness just took a hard hit. After all, out of the blue, you find yourself saddled with a wife and kid. How can that possibly be considered lucky?"
    Cade flipped a poker chip into the air again and snorted. "Hell, all anyone has to do is get a gander at Mrs. Grey and they'll figure it out. Don't take this wrong, Lucky, but your lady is a looker."
    "I won't argue that."
    "And if the boy is all she told you he is, then you are doing all right there, too."
    "No thanks to me," Logan grumbled, his mood remaining bleak. "She said he's bright. I hope to God she's right about that, and I hope it's more than book smart. He'll need quick wits and keen intelligence to survive in the hellhole of Black Shadow Canyon