He paused. "You thirsty, boy?"

Neill nodded.

"Speak up," Blade barked.

"Yes," Neill said, his voice shaky.

"I'll untie you, and you can get your sister a drink. I don't fetch and carry for anybody."

Melody was out of ideas. Blade approached and had started to lean toward Neill when a commotion broke out somewhere below. From the volume of noise it sounded like a dozen men and horses were at the bottom of the trail. She didn't know how Speers had managed to make such a racket, but she was grateful when Blade leapt to his feet with a curse and ran toward the far side of the ledge.

"Go!" Chet hissed as he jumped to his feet and sprinted to where Sydney lay.

On her feet before Blade had run six strides, Melody jerked Neill up and sent him racing down the trail to the valley below. Hardly had she done this when Chet reached her side carrying Sydney.

"Follow closely, but keep looking over your shoulder," he said as he hurried down the path Neill had already taken.

A bullet whizzed past. Melody turned to see Blade aiming his gun at her and shouting at his men to get on their feet. Then she realized he wasn't aiming at her. He was aiming at Chet, who hadn't reached the protection of the boulders along the trail. Blade was going to shoot him in the back. Rage swept through Melody from head to foot. All the arrogance of Blade and his father, their brutality toward anyone who stood in the way of what they wanted, their complete indifference to how they affected the lives of othersevery bit of that was distilled in Blade's stance as he aimed at Chet.

Melody aimed her gun at Blade and pulled the trigger.

The shot startled Blade so much, he missed his target. Melody fired again. And again. The fourth shot grazed Blade's arm. When he dropped his gun, Melody turned and fled down the trail after Chet.

It didn't take Melody long to learn why Speers had been so slow in responding to Chet's call, or why they made it all the way down the trail without being pursued. The crew had talked Dan Walters into following Chet's trail. They'd caught up with Speers while Chet was making the final preparations for their escape. They hadn't been in their positions on the cliffs that surrounded the ledge when Chet signaled the first time. When Speers finally responded to Chet's signal, the crew swarmed over the ledge and captured Blade's men. The crew were taking them into town to the sheriff.

Unfortunately, Blade escaped.

"He's going to be fine," the doctor told Belle when he came out of Sydney's room. "He's got some broken ribs that'll give him a good deal of pain for the next several days, but he's young and healthy. They'll mend quickly."

"But his face," Belle protested.

"He'll look like he's been kicked by a mule for a while yet. I expect it'll look a lot worse before it gets betterthe bruises will turn green, yellow, and blackbut there's nothing wrong with him that won't heal."

"Thank you for coming, Doctor. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go to him."

The doctor cleared his throat noisily. "Mrs. Jordan, it might be a good idea if you let some of the men take care of him. No need wearing yourself out trying to please a restless young man."

Belle's look of incomprehension indicated that she had no idea what the doctor was talking about. "I'm his mother. No one will take care of my babies but me."

"That's the problem," the doctor said. "He's a young man. After what's happened to him, he's never going to be your baby again. If you really want him to get well as quickly as possible, I suggest you let this strapping young fella do most of the work for you." He indicated Chet. "From the way Sydney talked, he thinks the world of him. He's more likely to behave for him than for any woman."

"Nonsense. Sydney will do anything in the world for me. He"

"He asked me to speak to you," the doctor admitted finally. "He said you'd smother him."

Melody thought Belle looked more upset than when they'd brought Sydney back, battered and bruised from Blade's fists. She felt truly sorry for her stepmother. Having her son turn into a man and hold her at arm's length must be terribly painful. It would take her a while to adjust to the new relationship. Melody put her arm around Belle's shoulder.

"All men are ungrateful for the sacrifices we make for them," she said to her stepmother. "You've told me that yourself many times."

"But I never expected it of Sydney."

"He's not a boy any longer," Chet said. "He's a man. I'm afraid he's saddled with all the faults the rest of us have."

"It's going to happen to Neill, too, isn't it?" Belle asked.

"I'm afraid so."

"Then I suppose I'd better mother him all I can before some bully beats him up and he turns into a man right before my eyes. You men are the strangest creatures. Who else would put up with such an initiation process?"

Dan stepped up beside Belle, slipped his arms around her waist, and gave her a slight squeeze. "We do manage to get a few things right." "Looks like you're going to have to keep a close eye on your friend," Melody said to Chet.

"Better yet, I think I'll haul him off to town with me."

The look in Chet's eye turned her insides cold. With all the commotion of capturing Blade's gang and worrying about Sydney, they hadn't had time to talk about themselves. But she had taken it for granted that he had come back to stay. It was inconceivable that there could be any other reason for his return.

"Well, I have to be going," the doctor said. "Keep him in bed and make sure the bandages around his chest are tight. He won't like it, but it'll help those ribs heal quicker."

But as they gathered on the front porch to see him off, a rider came up, galloping hard from the direction of Lantz's ranch.

"It's your brother," Melody said turning to Chet. "What's he doing here?"

It didn't take long to find out.

"Lantz and his father had an argument," Luke said as soon as he dismounted. "I'd quit, so I'd already left the ranch, but one of the men came after me."

"What were they arguing about?" Melody asked.

"You," Luke said, banishing any hope Melody had that she wouldn't have been at the center of this argument.

"What happened?" Belle asked.

"Blade shot his father."

"I'd better get over there," the doctor said.

"No need," Luke said. "Lantz is dead."

They looked at each other, shock on all their faces. "He shot his own father?" Belle exclaimed. "Why?"

"He's not right in his head," Luke said. "And now he's got a bullet in him that must be giving him excruciating pain."

Conscience stricken, Melody grabbed hold of Chet.

"Not your graze," he told her. "One of the boys got a rifle bullet into him before he disappeared into that cave," Chet said.

Melody experienced a tremendous feeling of relief. She had been prepared to shoulder the responsibility of having shot Blade, but she was thankful to be spared.

"Why did you come to tell us?" she asked. She'd noticed that Luke kept glancing at Chet. She had a terrible feeling those glances weren't accidental.

"Apparently the last thing he said was that he intended to kill Chet. I came to warn you."

Luke's face showed no expression, but he was a lot like his brother. Melody could tell there was more. "What else?" she asked.

"The sheriff has decided to get a posse together to find him. He wants us both to go with him."

"Why?" Melody was sure she knew.

"Blade was born here. He knows this country better than anybody else. The sheriff thinks we won't find him if he decides to hide."

"He wants to use Chet as bait," Melody finished for him.

"Yes," Luke said.

"I won't let him go."

"I don't see how you can expect him to do any more," Belle said, visibly as indignant as Melody felt. "He rescued Melody and the boys all by himself." "I couldn't have done it without Speers and Dan and the others."

"Of course you could," Melody said. "You had everything arranged."

"Don't argue with her," Dan said. "She's going to make you a hero whether you like it or not."

"You're a hero, too," Belle said, looking up at him with adoring eyes. "Just not as big a hero as Chet."

"I have to go with the sheriff," Chet told Melody when everyone had stopped laughing. "If he's right, Blade could stay hidden for days, even weeks, if he wanted. n.o.body here will be safe while he's at large. He's got reason to hate us all."

"But it's you he hates most of all," Melody said. "He won't care about anybody else."

"All the more reason to go with the sheriff. I don't believe in waiting for trouble to come to me."

Melody realized she wasn't going to change Chet's mind. The very qualities of courage and responsibility that had caused him to come to her rescue time and time again demanded that he not stop until the job was finished. If she wanted to marry him and be happy as his wife, she was going to have to understand that. Fighting him would only put a strain on their relationship. If she wanted their marriage to work, she had to understand that Chet would never back away from anything he felt to be his responsibility. That was why he'd followed Luke.

"You've got to watch out for him," she said to Luke. "He's been looking out for you for seven years."

"Melody, you can't" Chet began.

"Chet says you're faster than he is," Melody said to Luke. "If anything happens to him, I'll hold you responsible."

"I promise to bring him back in no worse shape than he is now."

Melody didn't know Luke, but she felt he meant what he said.

"I'll have to go to the bunkhouse for some more ammunition," Chet said. "If my babysitter can wait a few minutes, I'll be right back."

Melody reached out and gripped him by the forearm. "Chet"

He looked down into her eyes and placed his hand over hers. "I promise I'll be careful," he said. "I've been trying to put up my guns ever since I got here. The end is in sight. I don't mean to fail now."

That wasn't what she'd wanted from him. She wanted to be held, to be kissed, to be a.s.sured that nothing would happen to him, but she should have known not to expect that in front of so many people. Chet was a very private man. Showing his love for heror just about any other deep emotionbefore such a gathering would be impossible for him.

"How long will you be gone?"

"It's impossible to tell," Chet said, "but I promise to send word to you every day."

She wasn't as stoic as he was. She couldn't just step back and let him go. She reached up, pulled him down, and kissed him hard. His hesitation was only momentary. He enfolded her in his embrace. Their kiss was short, but Melody didn't feel slighted. Even a few seconds in Chet's embrace could drain her of her strength.

Chet hurried toward the bunkhouse without a backward look. Belle broke the awkward silence. "I'm still in shock," she said. "I always knew Blade had a temper, but to kill his father . . . well, I just can't believe it."

"Do you need anybody else to go with you?" Dan asked Luke. "I can bring several of the boys as soon as they get back from town."

"No. I'd feel better if the rest of you stayed here. Until we get some idea of where Blade is, I don't think it's a good idea for any of the family to go far from the house without somebody with them. I don't know what Blade may do nextthere's no way to tell what a mind as mixed-up as his will think ofbut I'm sure Melody and her family are in more danger than anybody else."

"I won't let them out of my sight," Dan said. He looked at Belle. "I've got an investment in this family. I'm going to"

A shot shattered the morning, stopping Dan in mid-sentence. Melody, Belle, and the doctor stood riveted to the spot.

In the same instant Luke was running toward the bunkhouse with the speed of a startled antelope.

Chet told himself he had been a fool to enter the bunkhouse without even thinking Blade Royal could be hiding there. The men hadn't come back from taking his gang to the sheriff. There was n.o.body else at the ranch but Dan, and he was up at the house with Belle. This was the most logical place for Blade to hide.

He looked down at the front of his shirt. There was a dark stain over his left pocket. It was growing wider. He didn't know if he'd received a mortal wound, but he considered it a bad sign that he felt no pain. He'd been wounded several times. He couldn't remember a single one of them that didn't hurt like the devil.

"Everything was all right until you and your brother came," Blade screamed at him. "You ruined everything! I'm going to kill you. Then I'm going to kill him."

Chet looked up. Blade stood less than ten feet away, a gun in his hand. He didn't look like himself. He'd lost his hat, he'd smeared blood from the wound in his leg all over his clothes, and his irises were tiny spots of color on a field of white.

He looked truly insane.

Chet knew Blade would kill him if he didn't move quickly. He tried to will his legs to carry him back through the door, behind the potbellied stove, even behind the table, but he just stood there, barely able to stay on his feet. He would die, but at least Luke was safe. The shot had warned him. He had protected his brother just as he meant to do when he followed him seven years ago.

"You shot me," Blade said. "You shouldn't have done that."

Chet hated to leave Melody. He'd never expected to find a woman who'd see him for what he was and love him anyway. He'd told himself he would never have a family, that that kind of happiness would never be his. But he'd begun to hope, to imagine, to dream. It was so close. It was cruel of fate to take it away.

A shot rang out in the close confines of the bunkhouse. No, two shots. Why didn't he feel any pain? Why was he still on his feet?

Why was Blade sinking to the floor?

Chet felt arms around him. He looked up to see Luke and Melody, the two faces he loved most in the world. He tried to speak. He had so much he wanted to say, but the words wouldn't come out. He felt himself being lifted and carried. Melody's face hovered close. Something wet hit his face. She wiped it away, but more drops fell.

He was dying. That had to be it. The end he had feared for so long had finally caught up with him. He didn't want to die. Everything he wanted was so close. He fought to hold on, but the image he loved so dearly faded, leaving him in blackness.

Chapter Twenty-Two.