CHAPTER 23
Brother’s Keeper
Trouble With Dime Novels
Don’t Shoot
Mistaken Identity
Gandy’s Answer
HOW long could a gent sit? Gideon was due to reach his limit right about. . . now. He sprung up from the bench and headed for nowhere in particular, so long as it was somewhere other than the blasted clinic. Being cooped up so much made him feel like time was suspended, one singularly dull minute held in permanent perpetuality.
Lee tagged doggedly along. “What are you doing?”
“Walkin’.”
“Why?”
“Ya know where my horse is, speak up.”
Gideon needed to clear his mind, settle his blood. A ride was the perfect means, only that required a horse and he already knew Henry wasn’t at the livery. Perhaps he had been put up over at that Eddie woman’s place.
Something there was in the way Lee didn’t answer that tugged at Gideon’s attention. He wasn’t going to like this. He stopped dead and slowly turned around.
“I ain’t gonna like this am I?”
Lee shook his head sympathetically. “Aspen sent your roan back to the ranch.”
That tore it, it really did! Was nothing sacred? A man’s horse? Come on, his horse?! It was one thing when all heck had been scattered from perdition to breakfast by the posse, and Gideon had said some choice words then too, but this?
A fellow didn’t have to do much cogitating to see why Aspen had done it. Gideon had no supplies, no weapons, no cash and now no horse. He could fetch Henry, except he would have to be a darned fool because every last dadburned Rivers would sure enough be waiting. Aspen might not have a clue about real life and hard choices, but he sure was a top hand at making life hard for others.
Gideon let out an explosive breath and a florid oath. He spun around, the heel of his boot punching the boardwalk as he set off again.
“What’re you doin’?” he snapped at Lee.
“Following,” Lee answered placidly.
“What for?”
“If you’d rather Luke did it, speak up.”
“I’d laver be left ‘lone.”
“And Aspen would rather you were not.”
Gideon halted abruptly.
“D’ya see ‘im nowhere? Do ya?” he demanded, pointedly looking around at a street utterly bereft of Aspen Rivers.
“You need looking after,” Lee asserted.
“I need bein’ left ‘lone.”
Lee knew about temperamental people, compliments of his twin. Deliberately, he did not react. It was a tried and true method, since it gave the other person nothing to push against. Sure enough, Gideon set off again and Lee stepped in behind like a second shadow.
“Look—” Gideon began sharply because, if this was not being a prisoner, then he was a one-eyed spotted toad.
“No. You look,” Lee said, with the confidence of one who knows they are in the right and the other person is on a very slippery slope indeed. “Aspen’s riding you and that suits; you’re the one who stirred him up. And, believe it or not, you’re lucky because he was more worried than riled. Now he made it plain I’m to stick to you no matter what and I am going to do exactly that, because I know my brother, and I’m a whole lot happier with him worrying over you than being angry with me. Where you go, I go. You get my meaning or do I need to try smoke signals?”
Gideon clenched his teeth against a surge of frustration, pride and badly bruised ego. They were all better aimed at Rydel, or himself, than at Lee. And Gideon could see his point, he really could. Lee was just a kid doing what he was told because he had grown up too sheltered not to.
That ain’t no reason to go an’ jump his case.
“C’mon,” Gideon sighed, “only don’t be no nuisance.”
He may have wanted a solitary ride, but he would have to settle for taking Aspen’s little brother for a walk.