Free Randall Pride by Judy Christenberry

She’d thanked him in front of the family last night, but he’d read the frustration in her eyes when he’d ducked the earlier attempts to get him alone.
    Hell, he didn’t want to be thanked. He was angry that they’d stopped him. He’d wanted to wipe off the man’s face, to destroy him. She was his cousin. That was good enough reason for his reaction. His other cousins had offered to take up where he’d left off.
    That’s all it was. Defending his cousin.
    Which left him an enormous difficulty. Now Elizabeth wasn’t engaged. Wasn’t about to be married, kept safe from his inappropriate feelings.
    Damn, damn, damn. He was so glad to be back home. He didn’t want to leave again. He wasn’t ready to set up his own place. He wanted a little more time with his family. If he stayed, he’d have to keep his hands off Elizabeth. Could he do it?
    He didn’t know the answer to that question. He only knew he had to face her tonight.
    When he entered the kitchen, the ladies were putting dinner on the table, its sides filling up with hungry Randalls. He looked for Elizabeth, only because he intended to avoid her, of course.
    “Where’s Elizabeth?” he demanded sharply. “Is she all right?”
    His father grinned. “I guess so. She and Caroline went into town.”
    “What for?”
    Everyone stared at him. Then Rich said, “What do you usually go into town for on a Saturday night, Toby? You haven’t been gone so long that you’ve forgotten Saturday nights in Rawhide?”
    Toby was stunned. She was practically raped yesterday, and she was heading into the meat market in Rawhide, where cowboys looked for ladies to share their evening with? Some of them with visions of dawn with the woman on the pillow next to them that they’d cut out of the herd.
    Was she out of her mind?
    “And you let her go?” Toby demanded of Chad.
    “She’s with your sister,” Chad pointed out.
    “You think Caroline is going to protect her?” Toby demanded, and his mother and father protested.
    Toby turned around and headed to the back door, grabbing his hat off the rack.
    “Where you going?” Russ demanded.
    Toby turned around, ready to fire back his intention, that of protecting Elizabeth. With the stares, he decided to add Caroline’s name. Then he decided not to be quite so specific. “I think I’ll go into town this evening.”
    “But you said—” Russ began.
    “I changed my mind,” he snapped.
    “Hang on, I’ll go with you,” Russ said and stood.
    That suited Toby. He didn’t want to be quite so obvious. “You, too, Rich?”
    “Nope. I’ve already got plans with my lady. We’re going to the movies.”
    “Fair enough. Sorry about dinner, Red,” Toby added as he waved goodbye. He and Russ hurried out the door.
    “Interesting,” Jake muttered.
    “Very,” Chad agreed.
     
    “I ’M SO GLAD you called me,” Abby said after sitting down at the table the two cousins had commandeered.
    “I’m glad you could come,” Elizabeth assured her.
    “Me, too,” Caroline added. “Catch me up with what’s going on in your life.”
    They chatted a couple of minutes before the first cowboy stopped by the table. “Evenin’, ladies.”
    “Hi, Larry,” Caroline said. “Nice to see you.”
    “Aw, as pretty as you are, Caroline, you know I’m glad to see you. Your cousin done got herself engaged, and Abby won’t have anything to do with me. So how about a dance?”
    Caroline grinned. “I’ll dance with you, but Elizabeth isn’t engaged anymore, and Abby can be sweet-talked, just like the rest of us.”
    “I’ll keep that in mind,” the cowboy said, staring at the other two.
    As they walked away toward the small dance floor, two more cowboys appeared. In no time, all three ladies were on the dance floor, doing the two-step.
     
    I N THE DARKNESS of the cab of Toby’s truck, Russ broke the silence. “You worried about Elizabeth?”
    “Hell yes, I’m worried about Elizabeth. These cowboys can be pretty