Read Brothers in Blood for Free Online

her. I liked Leif, and it was a damn shame he was killed, but, to me, Sarge is a real man. What else happened?”
    â€œNot much. I saw the land north of the Grand Canyon and I don’t want it.”
    â€œWhat was that about?”
    â€œThey were holding a man for ransom up in Utah. We rounded up some more killers on the way up there and back.”
    â€œIt was damn cold, too,” Jesus added.
    â€œI guess I missed a real run?”
    Jesus wearily shook his head. “It is a tough country.”
    JD started to laugh. “Boy, four babies in the family. Man, we are going to be a tribe soon.”
    â€œWe are now,” Chet said. His hostess asked him to dance, so he took her hand and they danced away.
    â€œWhat’s he laughing about?” she asked.
    â€œOh, my wife, my sister, my sister-in-law, and my niece are all with child.”
    â€œThat is a lot. It will be your first, right?”
    â€œYes, but my wife has never carried one full-term before. So far, though, things are going well.”
    â€œOh, I bet she bites her nails. I was like that and I tried so hard. The biggest disappointment in my life was that I never gave my husband a child. I will light a candle for your wife.”
    â€œThanks. Did I tell you that you could dance with anyone?”
    â€œI am jealous of your wife. She has a great dancer and a serious hombre in you. I thought when you took this bunch on that you would lose. They underestimated the cowboy who rode in here.” She gave a throaty laugh.
    â€œA cavalier will find you, Antoinette, and he will have a prize.”
    â€œThat would be nice. Be careful, hombre. Those bastards are real poor losers.”
    â€œWhen Jesus and I went back to the hotel last night, I think they sent some hired killers after us.”
    She shook her head in an upset way. “When will you go home?”
    â€œTomorrow, after I cash the note they gave me for JD’s horses they sold. There’s a stage to Mesilla around midday.”
    She frowned. “Be careful. If I could see your wife I’d tell her how lucky she is to have you.”
    â€œI think she knows that. We appreciate each other.”
    â€œLet’s eat. We are celebrating that young man’s release.” She clapped her hands over her head and whirled around. “Time for food, everyone.”
    JD sat with her at the head of the table as her guest. He laughed and teased her, acting like he used to. Chet felt better about the thin, quiet, young man they’d freed earlier. Maybe he’d make it out of the shell Kay put him in. There was a lot more to it than that—maybe he’d never know it all. But they were taking him home. And, to Chet, he appeared normal again.
    Later, he thanked Antoinette for such a good time. A young man drove them back to the hotel in her buggy.
    â€œShe was a fun lady,” JD said. “Most of those Mexican men are a foot shorter than she is. I think that’s why she likes you so much.”
    They were laughing and in high spirits when they met the sleepy-eyed Cole upstairs.
    â€œYou boys go to another party?” he asked.
    â€œYes, and we had fun, too,” Jesus said.
    â€œNo trouble?”
    â€œNo. But Mrs. Carmichael is concerned they may want revenge.”
    â€œDoes she know anything for sure?”
    Chet shook his head. “But she damn sure knows these people we’ve dealt with.”
    â€œYou got a gun for JD?” Cole asked.
    â€œHe’ll have one in the morning. I plan to buy him a new one. We’ll catch the stage at one o’clock tomorrow.”
    â€œWhew. I’m sure ready to go home.”
    â€œSo are all of us.” Chet included himself as well. He simply dreaded the trip back and the days of weary travel ahead.
    By nine o’clock in the morning, they stood in the county courthouse lobby. The clerk accepted the note and went to get the cash. An air of tension filled the near empty building