Samantha James Read Online Free Page A

cry.
    Behind her someone gently coughed. Abby jerked around in time to see Lucas step into the parlor.
    It was a moment before she was able to speak. “Is Dr. Foley gone?” She’d seen his buggy drive up just after Lucas led her inside.
    Lucas pulled off his hat and nodded. “He asked me to pass on his respects, Miss Abby.” His voice sounded as rusty as hers.
    Abby looked away, unable to bear the anguish in his eyes. The burning threat of tears made her chest ache.
    She raised trembling hands to her face. “Lucas,” she said on a half-sob. “Oh, Lucas, what am I going to do? I promised Pa I’d find Dillon and warn him Stringer Sam was after him. But how?” she cried hopelessly. “I don’t know where that—that damned outlaw’s hideout is! No one does—not now!”
    Lucas was at her side in two steps. “Don’t take on so, Miss Abby.” He patted her shoulder awkwardly. “I know it sounds crazy, but maybe we can find Dillon and warn him after all.”
    She looked up with a gasp, convinced he was only trying to soothe her and make her feel better. But his grizzled expression was deadly serious.
    “What do you mean?” Her breathing grew jerky. “Lucas, tell me!”
    He half-turned and beckoned to someone in the hall just outside the door. Abby watched as a sandy-haired young man stepped into the parlor, clutching his hat between both hands. It was Grady, the man Lucas had sent into town after Doc Foley.
    He tipped his head toward her. “I’m real sorry about your pa, miss.”
    She murmured her thanks.
    Lucas nodded. “Grady, tell Miss Abby what you told me.”
    The young man shifted his booted feet. “Well,” he began. “The doc wasn’t in his office when I got to town. I went over to the Silver Spur to wait ’till the doc got back. It wasn’t long before this guy comes down the stairs.”
    Excitement began to mount in his voice; Abby listened intently.
    “Things got real quiet all of a sudden. You can tell just by lookin’ that this guy’s mean as a rattle-snake. All dressed in black, he was, with a pair of Colts strapped to his legs. And his eyes … I swear he’s got the strangest eyes a body ever saw—kinda silvery, like a looking glass that’ll slice right through a man.”
    Abby’s brows rose slightly. “Who is he, Grady?”
    “Seems his name is Kane—that’s all he goes by—Kane. Roger Simms was sitting next to me and he told me town gossip has it that Kane rode with Stringer Sam’s gang a few years back.”
    Abby’s jaw clamped shut. “If he’s an outlaw and everyone knows it, why isn’t he in jail?”
    Grady exchanged glances with Lucas. It was Lucas who quietly offered, “Abby, a man values his life above all else. I hate to say it, but after what happened to Andy Horner and Nate Gilmore last night, Stringer Sam and every one of his gang could probably walk straight through town and not a single man would raise a hand against him.”
    “‘Lest he was a fool,” Grady chimed in with a faint smile.
    It was a smile that was extremely short-lived. One scathing glance from Abby banished the inclination, while inside she seethed. Was this why Stringer Sam had never been caught? Were people so afraid of him that they would turn a blind eye to his treachery rather than see him put behind bars once and for all?
    Fear was a powerful weapon indeed. It was an acknowledgment Abby made bitterly.
    “Maybe this man Kane was part of it, too—maybe he helped Stringer Sam kill his man Roy and the two deputies.” She glanced at the two men for their reaction.
    To her surprise, Grady appeared uncomfortable. He shifted his feet, his gaze trained on the rug between his feet. “Begging your pardon, ma’am,” he muttered, stumbling slightly. “But it seems a—a lady can vouch for the fact she was with Kane most of the night. And someone told Roger he’s looking for work.”
    Abby’s eyes had gone wide. A lady. She was under no illusions as to the type of “lady” he meant. Grady’s