His Brother's Wife (26 page)

Rafe lost count of how
many of his cows Ben had. Colt and Holden were still counting,
looking at each animal they passed, their heads shaking as they
spotted another Samuels brand.

Ben's foreman finally saw
them and shouted something to a man near the fence before turning
and heading straight for them. When he reached their side, Rafe
recognized him as one of the men from the creek.

The man pushed up the
front of his hat, looked at the three of them with a raised
eyebrow. "What can I do for you gentlemen?"

Holden didn't waste time
getting to the point. "Came to talk to Ben about why he damned up
the creek and why he's taking the Samuels herd."

The foreman barked out an
arrogant laugh and nodded toward the house with the tilt of his
head. "Best take those sort of accusations up with the boss
man."

"I plan on it." Holden
flicked his horses reins and started for Ben's sprawling two-story
house. Rafe and Colt followed, both men keeping their eye on the
foreman.

Ben's place was almost as
impressive as the Avery ranch. It was pretty evenly matched in
acreage but it lacked the charm the Avery's place did. Rafe figured
it was due to the fact the Avery clan was close-knit. A family that
could trace their lineage back generations and that fact alone made
the place more friendly-like. The same couldn't be said for Ben's
spread. As big as it was, it seemed—industrial, to Rafe. As if the
only reason it was here was to make money.

It made sense he felt that
way, he supposed. Ben was a drifter who hit it big when he found a
gold nugget big enough to choke his horse. He made fast money,
invested it in a cattle ranch, and had been getting richer by the
day.

His quick success was one
of the reason's the man thought he could do what he pleased. Money
had that effect on some people.

By the time they made it
to the house, Ben was already there, waiting for them on the porch
with a smug look on his face. His arms were crossed over his chest,
three of his hired hands standing slightly off to one
side.

He acknowledged them with
a nod of his head. "Well, what do I owe the pleasure?" he said,
eyeing all three of them before locking eyes with Rafe. He grinned
and Rafe knew he was remembering the scene from the creek the week
before.

"Ben," Holden said,
nodding back in way of greeting. "Seems the creek was dammed up.
You know anything about that?"

Ben's eyes widened as if
shocked by the knowledge but Rafe could tell by the glint in his
eye he wasn't surprised. "I've not had any trouble with the water.
Where abouts was it dammed up?"

Holden turned his head to
look at the three men flanking Ben before saying, "Where it forks
off to my place."

"Well, that's mighty
peculiar," Ben said. He looked to his men. "You boys know anything
about that?"

No one did, of course, and
the conversation was about as fruitful as Rafe thought it would
be.

It wasn't a secret Ben
wanted what the Avery's had. He wanted to be known as the largest,
richest rancher in all of Montana. At the moment, the Avery's held
that title and Rafe was sure it galled Ben to know it.

Blocking off the water
source to the Avery ranch could have devastating results. The water
was the life-force of any spread. Without it, the animals and crops
would suffer. Ben damming the creek up gave Rafe a small clue as to
why Ben was after his place so badly. If he had control of his
ranch, he'd be free to do as he pleased with the water supply and
taking his herd was just one small step in gaining his
place.

The conversation grew
heated, threats made on both sides, and Rafe was deep in thought
when he heard his name mentioned. He snapped out of his musing and
focused back on the conversation.

"Those cows wandered on to
my place," Ben was saying. "Not my fault they can't keep their
fences up."

Holden's horse danced
under him, his agitation probably felt by the animal. "The fencing
looked fine to me on the way over. Well, except for a small section
that looked cut." He glanced to Colt, then Rafe, before looking
back at Ben. "We'll be taking another look at your herd, Ben, and
if I see a Samuel's brand on any of them, we'll be sure to guide
them back across the pasture where they belong."

Ben's face turned red, his
nostrils flaring as his fingers curled into his hands to make
fists. "Now you wait just a minute there, Holden. You can't come
over here and start taking my property. Your brother might be the
local lawman around here but I'll have you arrested if you try to
take even one of those cows off my land."

"Then I suggest you have
one of your men ride to town and fetch Morgan for you. If we see a
Samuels brand, we're taking them."

Holden turned as if to
ride away and Colt and Rafe followed, but they all three stopped
when Ben shouted, "The whole Samuels place is mine." The three of
them rounded to face Ben again.

Rafe leaned forward in his
saddle, crossing his hands on the pommel. "And just how do you
figure that?"

Ben raised his chin, a
smug look crossing his face. "Harland signed it over to me on his
deathbed. Only reason I ain't took it from you is because I'm not
so cruel as to throw you and your brother out with no place to
go."

Rafe's blood raced through
his veins at the thought. "My pa would have never given you that
land, Ben. I have his will and no where does it say he left control
to you."

Ben stuttered, his eyes
bulging. "You calling me a liar, boy?"

Boy? Rafe scoffed at the
moniker. He was no more a boy than Ben was. "I reckon I am." He
straightened his spine and looked Ben in the eye. "The land belongs
to us, Ben, and hell will freeze over before I let you take it. As
for the cattle, I'll be taking every one I see that belongs to me
and if I see one of your men on my property, I'll shoot him off his
horse."

Ben jumped to the ground,
raised his arm and started shouting, his finger pointed in Rafe's
direction. "That land is mine, Rafe. Your pa and I signed a
gentleman's agreement when you didn't come back and I can prove he
did. Your pa was worried about Jesse. It's why he did what he did.
He wanted to make sure the kid was taken care of and he knew I
could handle your herd better than a mere boy could."

Rafe's head started
pounding as Ben's yelling grew. He'd heard this story time and
again, the same tired excuse's spouted in varying degrees of
hostility but the word, "proof," caused Rafe to jerk his head up.
He stared at Ben and narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean you have
proof?"

Ben stuttered again, his
eyes widening again before stood to his full height.
"What?"

"You said you could prove
he did. Let's see your proof."

"Well," Ben said, "Your pa
gave me his word."

Colt leaned forward in his
saddle. "A verbal agreement won't hold up in court, Ben, and you
know it."

Ben looked to each of
them, his mouth opening like a fish out of water. "I got proof," he
said. He swallowed, his throat moving with the action. "The
agreement was written and signed by us both."

Rafe's stomach flipped
over itself. He stared at Ben, his whole world tilting on its axis.
"You've never said a thing about having written proof."

Ben seemed to grow three
inches then, his spine lengthening as he stood even taller. A smug
sneer curved his lips as he met his gaze. "Of course I haven't said
anything. You think I want to take a chance someone would come
looking for it and try to take the property for themselves? I'm not
so careless as to leave something so valuable just lying around and
then go spoutin' off my mouth about it."

He turned and walked back
to the porch, jumping onto it and turning back to face them. "I can
take your property anytime I wish, Rafe. I'm just waiting for the
right moment to do so." He grinned and cocked his head to one side.
"You think that pretty little lady you got living with you will
fancy me when she finds out I'm the richest man in all of
Montana?"

Rafe knew Ben was trying
to goad him into a fight the moment he brought up Grace's name and
it took everything in him not to take the bait. He bit his tongue
and listened to Ben make plans for himself and Grace and clenched
the saddle horn so tight he was surprised the thing didn't break
off in his hand.

Colt shook his head and
turned, gaining Holden's attention and motioned for Rafe to follow.
The Avery men started back toward the pasture but Rafe couldn't
make himself do the same. He waited for Ben to stop talking then he
sat there, staring at the man until Ben looked restless, his weight
shifting from one foot to the next. When Ben narrowed his eyes and
yelled, "what?," Rafe smiled. "I catch you so much as looking in
Grace's direction, Ben, Morgan will be hauling your worthless hide
to the undertaker in Missoula."

Ben's face reddened again.
"You threatening me?"

Rafe pulled on the horses
reins, turning the animal back toward the pasture. "No," he said.
"I'm making you a promise." He spurred the horse into a gallop and
met up with Holden and Colt. They were already rounding up his
cattle, herding them toward the back of the pasture. Rafe's blood
was pounding past his ears and he half expected to feel a bullet in
his back at any moment.

Ben let them be for
whatever reason and the Avery men helped get his cattle back on
Samuels land. They'd missed some, as the herd still wasn't as large
as it should have been, but he figured having most of them was
better than none.

Colt led them through the
downed fence and waited until the herd was through before he nodded
in Holden's direction and turned, setting off in a fast pace. Rafe
watched him leave before turning a curious look toward
Holden.

His one-time friend smiled
and nodded toward the herd. "Colt's gone to get a few of our ranch
hands. They'll come ride the fence line and shore up anything they
see." He removed his hat, ran a hand through his hair and put the
worn leather back on his head. "If you want, we can take the herd
back to Avery land for you. You'll have a hard time keeping an eye
on them alone when the snows come."

Rafe didn't disagree. He'd
already been thinking of it. Even with the smaller herd he would
have had a hard time tending them. With nearly all the herd back,
it would be damn near impossible, especially with Jesse heading
back to school. But asking Holden to do anything for him galled him
to no end.

"She was worried about
you."

Holden's quiet statement
caused Rafe's heart to skip a beat. He could tell by the look on
the man's face he was talking about Maggie. He watched Holden stare
off into the distance as if seeing imagines of the past.

"She fretted for weeks
after you'd left. Worried something would happen to you and she'd
be the blame." Holden turned his head to look at him. "She never
meant to hurt you, Rafe. She cared about you."

"But she loved you," Rafe
said, the knowledge still burning like acid in his
lungs.

Holden didn't reply. There
wasn't a need to. Maggie had loved Holden, not him, and it still
hurt. In some small degree, ten years later, it still
hurt.

They didn't speak again
until Colt and his ranch hands returned. They spent the rest of the
evening running the fence line, repairing the breaches they found
and then herded the cattle to Avery land even though it killed him
to do so. Regardless of his personal feelings where Holden was
concerned, his old friend was right. He couldn't tend the herd
alone.

The moon was high above
the mountain by the time Rafe made it back home. The house was
quiet, everyone already in bed, and as much as he'd liked to have
seen Grace, to talk to her, he needed time to think.

Ben's claim to have proof
his father had given him rights to the land still weighed on his
mind and if the man were telling the truth, their future may be
bleak. They'd be homeless if Ben has his way and there wasn't
enough money to start over. He could find work if it came down to
it. If nothing else, he could swallow his pride and bunk with the
Avery ranch hands, but that left Grace in the position of finding a
husband who could support her. A man that wasn't him.

The idea soured in his
stomach. He closed his bedroom door, stared at nothing and wondered
if telling her to just leave, to find someone else to marry, wasn't
the best option. His gut twisted at the mere thought.

He sighed, thumped his
head back against the door and asked himself again what to do with
her. An answer alluded him. When it came to Grace, it always
did.

Chapter
Twenty-Four