Free Grace be a Lady (Love & War in Johnson County Book 1) by Heather Blanton Page B

at odds.”
    Thad
tightened his jaw, waited out his irritation before he spoke. “I love Raney,
but I stand with my pa. Now, we’re gonna get these cattle across the creek, then
you go on back to the Diamond R. I’ve got to go into town.”
    “The
woman who was lynched. Was it really a lynching?”
    For
some reason, Greg was intent on going down bad roads. Thad reined his horse to
a stop, followed by Greg. “Yes.”
    Ella
was a fine, likable woman with a big heart. Thad had never really been able to
swallow the story of her being a rustler or a whore. Then the way witnesses
died or went missing before the trial had left an acid taste in his mouth. And
the rancher who had sparred repeatedly with Ella had wound up with all of her
holdings.
    No
arrests, no trial . . . admittedly, no justice.
    But
that was down in Natrona County. Thad couldn’t do anything about injustices
down there. Johnson County and the Lazy H were enough to worry about, and, Lord
willing, there would always be justice in this county. “Ella was an independent,
and they give us big outfits a hard time, with their rustling and fences, but
she didn’t deserve that. Bothwell and the others, they think they got away with
it, but hell is a real place, and I won’t shed a tear when they depart for it.”
    “Then
is it possible Maggie was murdered?”
    Thad
worked his jaw back and forth, tamping down his irritation with these
questions. “Why are you so curious about all this?”
    Greg
bit his bottom lip and shrugged. “Just wondering what would motivate a man to
kill a woman, I guess. Cows seem a pitiful excuse.”
    “Murder
has been happening ever since Cain and Abel. Some men will do it at the drop of
a hat. Cows are just that—an excuse. It’s really about power. Anything to get it.
Anything to keep it.”
    Tired
of this subject, Thad cut his horse off to the right and forced the herd to
stretch out. The creek came into view and he breathed a sigh of relief. High,
but not dangerous. Not over the tops of Greg’s stirrups in the worst spot.
    He
watched for a moment as the cows meandered into the water, then trotted back
over to Greg. “Get ’em through this, and then all we have to do is settle them
in those hills over there.”
    Greg’s
face had drained of any color and he nodded like his head was tied on too
tight.
    “You
all right?”
    Again,
the jerky nod.
    Thad
drummed his fingers on his saddle horn. He needed Greg to cross alone and
steer the herd, so he could stay on this side of the river and bring up the rear.
    Apparently,
he was crossing twice.
    “Nothin’
to be nervous about. I’ll cross with ya. Then go race ahead of the herd and
turn ’em. You good with that?” Once more, only a nod. Thad tamped down a sigh.
“All right.”
    They
entered the water together, cows to one side, water and cottonwoods on the
other. Greg swallowed. “It’s not very deep?”
    Thad
almost chuckled at the hope in the boy’s voice. “Nah. Maybe up to Dandy’s
belly. The current is pretty strong, though. If your horse stumbles, you’re
liable to go for a quick swim, which’ll make for a long ride home.”
    “Got
it.” Greg urged his horse on and leaned forward in the saddle, eying the water
suspiciously, a death-grip on the reins. He acted like a man convinced of
imminent disaster.
    “Relax.
This’ll be an easy crossing.”
    The
words were barely out of Thad’s mouth when Dandy stepped on a rock that shifted
beneath his hoof. The horse struggled for his footing, floundering and
splashing as more river rocks rolled away. Suddenly, the horse sank a good foot
deeper as he slid into a hole, bringing water all the way to the stirrups. The
unexpected jerk and cold water threw Greg off balance. As Dandy attempted to
leap from the creek, the boy flipped off the back and went under with a
decidedly high-pitched holler.
    Thad
flinched and whistled with no sympathy. That water was cold enough to cause a
heart attack. He shivered at the thought and