Cowboy Caveat Read Online Free

walked Ethan to his horse. He was still thunderstruck that
Amy had agreed to a wedding on Sunday, only three days away!
    “ I don’t know how you did
it, Eth, but I am so relieved that Amy gave in!”
    Ethan chuckled. “I spanked your little sis’
good and hard until she agreed, but you know, Ed, I think she
wanted to say yes ages ago. She’s just afraid to love anyone after
what happened to your folks. Amy thinks it’ll happen again and
she’ll lose me, too.”
    Ed frowned. He was not best pleased to hear
that Ethan had spanked his sister. Ed was a non-confrontational man
and he liked a happy, easy-go-lucky atmosphere in his home. He
hadn’t ever spanked his siblings or his boys. He’d only ever
spanked Lucy once and that was because she’d scared him half to
death by staying over at her friend’s in Wichita Falls one night
instead of coming home as she’d told him she would.
    “ Sunday though, Eth? How
are we supposed to get ready by then?” he said, shaking his head.
“You heard Lucy: Amy can wear our mother’s wedding dress and she
said that Millie can have a store-bought dress from Mac’s in town.
Don’t fret, Ed, it’s going to be jus’ fine! Ed....butt out,
okay?”
    “ What d’ mean
‘ butt out’?”
    “ After Amy and I are
hitched, there’ll be fireworks at some point, and I want your word
you’ll let me handle things my way, no interference from you okay?”
Ethan put his hand on his brother-in-law’s shoulder.
    “ Yeah, okay, jus’ as long
as you don’t hurt her none, Eth. She’s been to hell and back and I
won’t stand by and let you hurt her. Got that?”
    “ Christ, Ed, I ain’t gonna
hurt Amy! I love your sister! The worst she’ll suffer from me is a
sore backside and no one ever died from that. I told her my four
rules tonight; they were Pa’s rules and they worked for Lucy and
me, so I guess they’ll do fine for my wife and family.”
    Ethan’s neck flushed pink.
    “ I also told her what she
could expect if she breaks those rules. Amy needs protecting from
herself and I’m jus’ the hombre for the job. Take today: did you
know that she rode old Bellamy in to town with the steers for
loading?”
    Ed looked surprised and shook his head.
    “ Huh?”
    “ Thought not....so do I
have your word then you’ll keep out of it and send her back to me
if’n she comes a runnin’ to you?”
    Ed grinned and nodded. “Sure’nuff,” he
said.
    Ethan gestured out towards the range.
    “ Old man Henderson asked
again about your folks’ spread?”
    The Lazy Z belonged to Ethan’s and Lucy’s
parents, who had died in the freak flood in 1886. Ed’s father owned
a homestead on the land north of the Lazy Z, and north and east of
that, Lawrence Henderson owned the Red River spread.
    Henderson had tried to buy out Daniel
Campbell any number of times and had been turned down flat each
time, but Elizabeth, Ed’s mother, didn’t recover from Amy’s birth
and had died a short while afterwards. Daniel had gone to pieces
and promised Henderson that he would sell his spread to him. When
Elizabeth’s pretty blonde cousin Suzie had turned up for
Elizabeth’s funeral, Daniel had fallen in love again and taken
Suzie as his wife and as a mother for Ed and Amy. Ed had adored his
stepmother and since he had only ever known Suzie as mother, he
thought of her as such. Daniel retracted his offer to sell and
Henderson had been livid.
    Over the following years, there had been a
number of nasty incidents such as steers being butchered and horses
mysteriously dying, which Daniel believed Henderson was behind. Ed
and Ethan also believed Henderson to be responsible for the murders
of Daniel and Suzie Campbell.
    Even though the Sheriff had ridden over with
them to the Red River outfit to confront Henderson the day after
the bodies were recovered, they couldn’t pin anything on the man.
He told them he had visitors staying over at the time of the
murders. When pressed, Henderson wheeled out his