Free Carol Finch by Lady Renegade

she?” Glenn inquired.
    “Tied to a post beside the sheep pen in the barn.”
    “Tied to a post?” Glenn howled in outrage.
    “She’s a prisoner, not a princess,” Gideon reminded him caustically. “I’m not going to book her a room at the hotel in the Osage Capitol at Pawhuska for safekeeping.”
    Flashing Gideon a disapproving glance, Glenn hastened from the room.
    Galen smiled wryly. “We both seem to be upsetting the family today.”
    Gideon plunked down in the chair next to the bed. “I’m cranky from lack of sleep. I’ve been tracking fugitives for five weeks. You’re irritable because you’ve been shot, sedated and restrained. We’re destined to upset a few people along the way… Now tell me about the horse theft.”
    Galen yawned broadly then shrugged his good shoulder. “Not much to tell. I heard the broodmares and Appaloosa stud stamping around and banging against the corral railing. They were nickering uneasily so I went to investigate and called to Glenn on my way out the door.”
    “What time was this?”
    “Before eleven. I was late in returning from police headquarters in Pawhuska. I’d had to investigate a domestic quarrel between John Running Bear and his wife, Leta.”
    Gideon nodded. “Those two were going at each other while I was an officer with the Osage Police. As I recall, Leta constantly accused John of cheating on her.”
    Galen nodded. “Not much has changed. They still go on the warpath and take after one another. Their neighbors heard them raising a ruckus from a quarter of a mile down the road.”
    “So you came home late,” Gideon prompted to get his brother back on track.
    Galen blinked owlishly then shook his dark head to clear his thoughts. “Sarah fixed me something to eat. Glenn had already gone upstairs to his room. When I heard the horses nickering, I hurried outside. Like I said, I called to Glenn and grabbed my pistol on the way out the door. I figured a panther or bear was lurking around, disturbing the horses.
    “The light was behind me so I couldn’t see much more than two silhouettes on horseback, trying to open the corral gate. The men had on hats and kerchiefs to conceal their faces. I shouted at them and fired a warning shot as Glenn barreled out the front door. One of the men shot me in the arm.”
    He glanced down at the stained bandage then scowled. “Glenn was determined to chase the bastards, but I refused to let him, for fear he’d wind up shot, too. Or worse. Besides, someone has to be here to do the chores while I’m patrolling my district of the reservation. I don’t want Sarah doing any heavy lifting. She works hard enough around here.”
    Gideon smiled faintly. “You won’t let Sarah overdo it, even when she insists on pitching in to help any way shecan. She’s a good woman, Galen. Still don’t know what the hell she sees in you.”
    Galen flashed a lopsided grin. “I have a lot of hidden charm.”
    “ Well hidden,” Gideon teased. “It’s escaped my notice for years.”
    Galen’s smiled faded. “So tell me the whole story about Lorelei Russell.”
    “I don’t know the whole story. A messenger arrived in camp before I went looking for Pecos Clem Murphy. The foreman at Burgess Stage Station and Ranch had been shot by a jealous woman who might be headed our direction. The widow who owns the place witnessed the incident then put up a reward for the capture of the woman who killed her foreman and left her understaffed.”
    Galen frowned drowsily. “What does Lori have to say in her own defense?”
    “She claims the foreman was her friend. He supposedly proposed and she turned him down. According to her, a shot rang out from the underbrush and her would-be husband collapsed.”
    “So she ran for her life,” Galen mumbled. “Is that it?”
    Gideon shifted restlessly, knowing he’d been too wary of Lori to ask for details. He didn’t want to hear more of her lies and he was afraid he’d be swayed because of his personal