Free Caine's Reckoning by Sarah McCarty Page A

palpable. Caine nodded, ceding her the small victory. Then he turned back to the gambler. “I’m revoking your guardianship.”
    “You can’t do that.” A portly man who shouldn’t have anything to do with the discussion broke in. Immediately, another man shushed him. Both were better dressed than farmers. All confident. None of them should have cared one way or another what happened to one small woman with no family or influence.
    I’ll die there.
    Desi’s words took on deeper meaning. An ugly suspicion took root as he pulled the puzzle pieces together. Mavis’s unreasonable dislike. The sheriff’s interest. The judge giving her over to the gambler. Father Gerard’s veiled innuendos about circumstances and his request for Caine to watch out for her personally. Son of a bitch. He didn’t like the conclusion he was reaching. He waved the rifle barrel at the fat man. “Who are you?”
    The man paled but didn’t back up, obviously under some illusion that Caine would suffer a pang of conscience at plugging him. “ Bryan Sanders. Representative of Steel, Jones and Steel.”
    “And who are they?” From the cut of the man’s clothes, “they” were well-heeled.
    “A group of gentlemen with financial interests in the region.”
    “Bankers.” Sam spat. Sam liked bankers about as much as he liked gamblers.
    Caine considered himself to be more open-minded, but in this case, he had to agree. He was developing his own dislike for the fat banker. “It must have been real tempting for y’all, having a pretty young woman come through, no family to speak for her, no one to turn to, traumatized by her experiences.”
    The women pushed in from the edge of the crowd. One gasped. Another murmured. The banker drew himself to his full height, his jowls jiggling with his outrage. “I don’t think I like your innuendo.”
    “Hate to break it to you, but your likes and dislikes aren’t high on my consideration list.”
    “What the hell are you getting at, Allen?” James asked, getting to his feet, wiping mud from his pants. “We took her in, saved her from those devils. Gave her a home. Community.”
    Chaser stepped sideways as a horse bumped him.
    “Priorities, Caine.”
    He spared Tracker a glance, who in turn jerked his chin in Desi’s direction. Her face was bleached white as she stood there, dwarfed by his coat and the truth she didn’t want known. Her chin lifted high as her gaze met his, but he got the impression all that was holding her up was that damn pride as the women murmured among themselves, enjoying the scandal he’d begun.
    Caine bit back the rage burning in his gut. Tracker was right. First things first. “We’re taking Desi with us and if anyone has anything to say against it—” he levered a bullet into the chamber, letting the fury roll through him in an open challenge “—step up now so we can get the discussing behind us.”
    To his surprise it was Father Gerard who stepped forward. “I can’t let you do that, Caine.”
    “I don’t rightly see where you can stop me, Padre.” More titters spread through the crowd.
    “I cannot let an unmarried woman go off with three men, lawmen or not.”
    “Whatever we have planned, it’s better than what’s here.”
    The stocky priest shook his nearly bald head. “It can’t be allowed.”
    The longer they stood there, the more dutch courage the men were getting and the more trigger-happy fingers were twitching.
    “If you take her like this, she’ll still be James’s ward, and still his by law.”
    Caine kneed Chaser in a half circle, drawing his revolver. “Any who want to dispute my claim know where to find me.”
    “I’m not going with you.”
    He wasn’t surprised when Desi’s protest was the only one spoken. There were times when a deadly reputation came in right handy.
    “Ten months ago when I saved your life, Caine Allen,” Father Gerard continued in his calm way, “you told me I could ask a favor anytime, and it would be