“Well, faith is believing without seeing, right? Worrying is believing in trouble that might never show up.”
“I guess you’re right. But you know who’s down there in the Thicket.”
He nodded.
She said his name anyway. “Teal.”
“We’ll be careful.”
“He killed my family, Will. I can’t stand the thought of losing you, too.”
“Well, don’t think about it, then. The Thicket’s a big place, Maggie. We’ll keep an ear out. Besides, I know some folks down there from when I used to visit my uncle. They’ll tell me if Teal’s around.”
“What about alligators?”
“What about them?” Will laughed. “I’m hunting cattle, not taking a swim.”
“Still, don’t you go getting eaten.”
“I think a gator would prefer to gobble you up, Mrs. Bentley. Chomp, chomp, chomp.”
He leaned close and nipped at her ear.
She giggled, covered instantly in goosebumps. “It appears I have married an insatiable man.”
“You’re right. Where you’re concerned, I am insatiable.”
“Good,” she said, pulling his head toward her ear again. “Now, take my mind off these worries.”
CHAPTER 24
The following afternoon, Sully Weatherspoon was just returning from a ride around the plantation when he saw a black carriage pull up to the estate.
The driver, a stocky thumb of a man, emerged first, his face discolored with faded bruises.
Sheffield, Sully thought, the sight of the man rekindling his rage concerning Will Bentley.
He’d been certain that Gibbs could have handled the job, but that obviously had not been the case. Apparently, Will Bentley had gotten even tougher during the war.
Unconsciously, Sully lifted a hand to his face and ran a fingertip over the crooked contours of his once straight nose.
Well, he wouldn’t make the same mistake again. The next time he sent someone after Will Bentley, he’d send enough men to finish the job.
The white-haired Isaac Pew stepped down from his carriage and climbed the steps toward the front door, leaving the horse and carriage to Sheffield.
Likewise, Sully swung down from his black stallion and called over one of the young black boys loitering outside the stables.
“Take good care of this horse, boy, or you’ll wish you were never born.”
“Yessir,” the frightened boy said, taking the reins.
Sully strode toward the house, not wanting to miss whatever Pew had to say, though he thought he knew exactly why the bitter old man was visiting.
Sully had heard rumors about Rickert hunting for Will Bentley the day before. He couldn’t get many details, but he’d heard that Will had faced down Rickert, Pete Smith, and Chad Butler.
That was surprising, since Butler seemed to back down to no man.
There was undoubtedly more to the story.
