Riding West by Emma Wildes Page B

he‘d bring her into town.
    Which is exactly what had happened. A few minutes ago they‘d ridden up and gone inside to see the judge. John had a glimpse of a small boy, who had been loitering by the courthouse steps, running off toward the saloon where Colter and his men had been drinking most of the afternoon.
    Not a good sign.
    Intent on the façade of the building, he almost didn‘t realize a woman walked by until he caught the movement out of the corner of his eye. He glanced up and straightened immediately, politely touching the brim of his hat, his expression neutral. “Good afternoon, ma‘am.”
    “Good afternoon, Mr. Evans.” She smiled faintly, holding an infant in her arms, two small children crowding her skirts. Dressed in a blue gown, Mrs. Reed looked young and pretty, with her dark hair neatly in a bun and her eyes showing a hint of curiosity over his vigilant post outside the dressmaker‘s shop.
    He glanced at the wide blue eyes of the baby she held for a long moment, and then back at the doorway of the saloon. Very quietly, he said, “You might want to take the children inside and off the street.”
    Maybe it was the tone of his voice, but the young woman complied at once, hustling the children through a nearby doorway.
    Sure enough, a few minutes later, six men came out of the Lucky Lady.
    Fuck .
    The stickiest part of this was to make sure Celia stayed safe. That was why John had insisted they all come to town today. He‘d heard rumors Colter had made a few drunken public comments to the effect that if he‘d known all he had to do was tie Celia Evans up and ride off with her, he‘d have made his move a long time ago.
    John just had a bad feeling in his gut. The rancher was a ruthless bastard. He knew it, and most of the area knew it. He‘d completely approved of Celia‘s lack of enthusiasm for his attempted courtship. Unfortunately, Rance Colter was also used to getting his own way, especially in this section of Colorado.
    As he watched the tall, lanky form of his adversary walk purposefully down the street, John loosened his gun a little in the holster at his hip. That son of a bitch was going for six-to-one odds. Well, he was in for an unpleasant little surprise because the Evans boys were in town to even things up a little.
    Jared made his move exactly on time. “Hey, Colter,” he shouted, tipping back his hat a little.
    The slow way he strolled out into the dusty street in front of them didn‘t look threatening, but the way he held his body spoke volumes. Jared might be the youngest of the three of them, but he was by far the wildest. On cue, John walked out from the opposite direction to stand by his brother between the group and the courthouse.
    He said pleasantly, “Good afternoon, Rance. By the way, just so you know, Josh is behind you all, watching your backs, so to speak.”
    All six men had come to a halt at their sudden appearance, and John saw several of them glance back to make sure what he‘d just said was perfectly true. Josh stood a ways back in the middle of the street and it was easy enough to see he was armed and didn‘t look all that friendly.
    “Hello, Evans,” Colter said coolly, but his face suddenly looked a little flushed. He was older, in his mid-thirties, with handsome, almost sharp, features and eyes so dark they looked black. He dressed with dandified care, and today he‘d played it up more than usual. His frock coat, brightly embroidered vest and trousers were well-cut and expensive, and a gold watch chain glittered beneath his coat. Even his hat looked new, and his boots were polished to a high sheen.
    He looked like a man planning to get married.
    Hell .
    Without taking his gaze from the group, John said conversationally to his younger brother, “Our friend Rance here sure is dressed up. I‘m wondering now if Parker is unexpectedly having trouble getting the judge to cooperate. I‘m also wondering if that same judge is expecting our well-dressed friend