Salvation in the Rancher's Arms. Kelly Boyce

her behalf.

      Kirkpatrick’s pale eyes met his gaze. “Won’t take but a minute.”

      “It can wait,” Caleb repeated, more firmly this time. He would deal with her umbrage later.

      Kirkpatrick fell silent and tension smothered the air in the room. He turned to Mrs. Sutter and smiled. The gesture held no warmth. “Got yourself a new protector, do you now, Rachel? You certainly wasted no time. But, then again, neither did your mama.”

      Her swift intake of breath, as if the words had inflicted a deep wound, were all Caleb needed to end the conversation.

      “You’ll be leaving now.” He walked in front of Mrs. Sutter to get to the door, blocking her from Kirkpatrick with his body. He didn’t know what that reference to her mother had meant, but he wasn’t about to stand around and let the man land another verbal strike. With one swift shove the door flew open. “I’ll see you out.”

      He followed Kirkpatrick, leaning his hip against the porch railing to ensure the man had no intention of lingering. Kirkpatrick untied his horse from the hitching post and swung up into the saddle, settling himself before looking down at Caleb. “You’d best not get yourself involved in this, Beckett.”

      Caleb raised an eyebrow at the threat.

      “I guess I’ll be the judge of what I should and shouldn’t get myself involved in.” Not that he had much of a choice. Like it or not, he was involved.

      He’d grown careless. Ignored his instincts that Mrs. Sutter was a danger he would do better to avoid. But his reaction to her had hit him unaware and now, in the span of a day, he had become entangled in her life.

      Worst of all, he could not become quickly untangled without leaving her and her family at the mercy of this villain.

      And that, he realized, watching Kirkpatrick ride off in the direction of his own land, was something he could not do.

      * * *

      Rachel dropped hard into the chair vacated by Kirkpatrick, her head collapsing into her hands. Part of her hated the way Caleb Beckett had stepped in and taken over. Another part of her was secretly relieved. Shamus’s barb about her mother had turned her tongue to lead. Usually his references to her mother were veiled, subversive, and made when only the two of them could hear, his little way of letting her know he had not forgotten. Today he had brought their secret into the open, with a stranger standing in the room. Humiliation had raced through her veins and stolen her voice.

      “We’re in trouble, Free,” she whispered into the still silence of the room.

      “’Cause of the debt?”

      Rachel pushed herself to her feet and walked to the door, looking through the screen. Mr. Beckett was halfway to the barn with the buggy, but she didn’t expect he’d linger there for long. He still hadn’t told her his intentions and not knowing made a restless nest of eels roil in her belly. She placed a hand against it, hoping they would settle, but it did no good.

      “He owns the land.”

      She heard Freedom approach her. The older woman’s arms wrapped around her protectively. “Kirkpatrick don’t own anything, baby girl. We’ll figure a way out of this. You been tendin’ this land since you was Brody’s age, and ain’t no one goin’ to take that from you.”

      Rachel shook her head, the reality of her situation pounding into her with each heartbeat. “Someone already has. Robert put our land up for collateral in a card game. He lost it to another man.”

      Freedom’s head turned, following Rachel’s gaze toward the barn.

      “Mr. Beckett?”

      Rachel nodded.

      “Oh, baby girl. What we gonna do now?” Freedom’s arms tightened around her, and Rachel was glad for their support.

      “I don’t know, Free. Like you said, we’ll figure out something.” But what that something was, she couldn’t say. She was plum out of ideas. “I guess I best go talk to Mr. Beckett and try to figure this mess out.”

      Rachel extricated herself from Freedom’s motherly embrace to head in the direction of the barn and an uncertain future.