Free Ellie's Legacy by Ginger Simpson Page A

Dance? Ellie jumped up.
    Stripping the ribbon from her hair, she shook her long
tresses free and quickly ran a brush through the sleep squiggles, effectively
removing them. In a repeat of her earlier fashion, she re-tied her hair with
same the piece of satin. She glanced down at the sudsy liquid still in her
washbowl, vowing to empty it and refill the pitcher when she returned, but
right now what she needed was a new dress and more bullets.
     

 
 

 
 
    Chapter Seven

 
    Ellie shielded her eyes against the morning sun as she
walked out the kitchen door.
    The compound was in an uproar. Hired hands scrambled from
the bunkhouse to the barn, strapping on their holsters as they ran. Ty and Pa
stood next to the corral. Judging from their faces and Pa’s wild gestures, they
discussed something serious.
    She snuggled down in her jacket to ward off the October
chill and dashed across the yard to where the two men stood. “What happened?”
    “Somebody came on our land during the night and slaughtered
the whole herd of cattle we had grazing on the south range.” Ben’s jaw grew
tense as he spoke.
    Ellie’s mouth gaped. “Slaughtered? How?”
    Ty slowly shook his head. “Shot. Every single one of them. Just senseless
killing.”
    Anger fired along Ellie’s veins. How could such a thing
happen on their ranch? “Who was supposed to be keeping watch, and where was
he?”
    “We’re still trying to figure that out, and believe me, someone is going to answer for this.” Pa kicked a pebble
and sent it flying across the yard.
    “Why would someone do something so cruel? How many did we
lose?”
    “Two dozen, at least. We’ll know
for sure when the men come back from checking the other pastures.” Ty slapped
his thigh. “Damn! We know who did it, but how can we prove it?”
    Losing one cow was sad, but twenty-four? Ellie’s stomach
knotted. She didn’t have to ask who was responsible; she knew. The Bryant’s
were the source of every problem since they came to the area, bullying people
into selling their land, making threats, and generally riding roughshod over
anybody who had the misfortune to cross their path.
    This brutal act was too much of a coincidence right after Pa
turned down their last offer for Fountainhead.
    “Well, we can’t just sit back and let them get away with
it,” she said. “We have to do something.”
    “We are,” Ty assured her. “The men are gathering the rest of
the cattle together in one location. We’ll rotate guard duty and keep two men
with the herd at all times. It was almost time to gather them together anyhow.
It won’t be long before it snows.”
    A gust of wind almost whipped Ellie’s hat off her head and
set her teeth to chattering. She yanked the brim down, turned her back to the
breeze and huddled down in her jacket. “It’s so cold. I think it could start,
now.”
    “I guess it wasn’t too chilly for whoever did this. We made
a mistake in assuming the culprits wouldn’t pull anything this underhanded so
soon after hitting the other neighbors. We were wrong, but it won’t happen
again.” Ty’s lips twitched, his eyes turned steely.
    Ben Fountain removed his stained Stetson and ran a hand
through his silver hair. His brow held deep furrows. “Ty, it probably won’t do
any good, but I want you to ride into Sparta and report this to the Sheriff.”
    “That’s a good idea,” Ty nodded. “It never hurts to let word
get out that we have a pretty good notion who killed the livestock, besides
it’ll give me a good excuse to take the black out on the trail. I think he’s
ready.”
    Ty was going to town? Ellie’s heart raced. If she went in
his company, she’d feel a lot safer. Following her run in with Jeb, and in
light of what had happened last night, she wasn’t eager to press her luck. The
Bryants were getting bolder in their attempts to get Fountainhead.
    “Oh, that reminds me.” She acted like the idea just popped
into her head. “I have to go into