Free Caden's Vow by Sarah McCarty

in the well-kept buildings, the tidy outhouses, the
numerous corrals and the condition of his animals. Probably the only thing that
kept him from giving Hell’s Eight a run for its money when it came to stocking
the cavalry was the fact that the Fallen C was smack-dab in the middle of Indian
country. The man didn’t just have to battle wolves and drought. A tribe could
decide anytime that he was trespassing on their land, and with the unrest in the
East over separation, fewer and fewer cavalry were being sent to protect the
West. In the coming years, Culbart would be lucky if he got out of this with his
scalp intact. Of course, that was always supposing Caden left anything for the
Indians to scalp. Caden popped his elbows on the ground and continued his
surveillance. He needed to know the routine to get Maddie out of there.
    It was early morning and the men of the Fallen C were going
about their usual business. Men were going in and out of the bunkhouse, heading
up to the cookhouse for breakfast. For the day and a half that Caden had been
surveying the place, he hadn’t seen any sign of Maddie, but her little horse,
Flower, was in the corral and not looking too happy with that stallion next
door. Caden sighed again. Obviously from the stallion’s behavior, the mare was
coming into heat, which complicated things because another promise Caden had
made Maddie was that Flower would also not have to lay down with any man unless
she wanted to, and from the looks of things, that stallion was about to take
that corral fence down.
    “That’s a mighty big sigh,” Ace said.
    “Looks like we’re going to have a romance to break up,
too.”
    “You see Maddie with one of the cowmen?”
    “Nah. I haven’t seen her yet, though I imagine they’d be
keeping her under lock and key.”
    “Maybe. So what romance are we breaking up?”
    “That stallion and Flower.”
    To his credit, Ace didn’t bat an eyelash. One of the things
that Caden enjoyed about Ace was that the man was unflappable.
    He took the spyglass from Caden and trained it on the
corrals.
    “Nice-looking stud. Might be worth letting it happen.”
    “I promised Maddie her mare would be safe.”
    Ace lowered the glass and raised a brow at him. “You promised a
woman her horse wouldn’t be...deflowered?”
    Caden grabbed the glass. “Maddie’s sensitive on the
subject.”
    “Uh-huh.”
    It was a ludicrous request and he’d been stupid to make the
promise. Knowing it didn’t mean Caden wanted it shoved in his face. “Shut up,
Ace.”
    “Didn’t say a word.”
    “Good.”
    “If you’re planning on ending a romance, though,” Ace drawled,
“then you’d better get over there soon.”
    “Yeah. That’d occurred to me.”
    “Got a plan?”
    “Besides ride in and take her?”
    “How about something better than suicide?”
    “Not yet.” The ranch was well guarded with men who wore their
guns in a way that said they knew how to use them. Short of walking up and
knocking on the door, he couldn’t think of anything.
    “We’ve been here two days,” Ace pointed out. “We haven’t seen a
sign of her.”
    “I know.”
    “You think she’s still here?”
    “I do.”
    “Based on what?”
    Caden put the spyglass in his pocket. “Based on my gut and the
fact that Culbart hasn’t come out of that house for more than two minutes in two
days.”
    “I had that thought myself.”
    Caden nodded and crawled back off the edge. “The only thing
keeping me from charging in is the fact that Culbart doesn’t have the look of a
satisfied man.”
    Ace smiled. “You think he’s finding Maddie’s flights of fancy a
bit draining?”
    Caden stood, brushing off his pants. “For his sake, I sure as
hell hope so.”
    “How are you intending on getting her out of there? Storming
the place isn’t exactly our best bet.”
    “Yeah, I’ve come to that conclusion.”
    Of course, Ace had to pin him down that first day to keep him
from charging in, but now that he was a