Gabe had sent men to threaten Olivia and also sent them to shoot at him, intending to kill. That wasn’t enough. Now, he set his barn on fire. Not personally since he was a coward, but that didn’t lessen his crime.
How devious Gabe was. Adam had punched him in the morning and by afternoon the banker had sent his henchmen to burn down Stephen’s barn.
Adam paced the room to the ceramic washstand by the wall. He stared at his soot darkened face on the small mirror hanging on a wall.
Still furious with himself, Adam bent to fetch water from the tin pail beside the washstand. He poured the water on his face and scrubbed.
He was still washing his face when he heard a small knock on the door.
“Come in,” he said and turned away to reach for the thin towel hung on one of the pegs on the wall.
Stephen came in. Adam noted that his brother hadn’t bothered to clean his face yet. However, he recognized the fury in the blue depths of his eyes.
“Can I speak with you, Adam?”
Adam nodded. Stephen had every right to be angry. He had lost his barn, his ranch animals, excluding the cattle at the range, and some ranch tools.
“I’ve come to ask you to reconsider your mission for justice.”
Adam blinked, not believing he had heard his brother’s solemn words.
“What did you just say?”
Folding his arms across his chest and giving him a cold stare, Stephen said, “The fire wasn’t an accident.”
Resignedly, Adam answered, “I know.”
“I saw the men riding away after setting the barn on fire. I was coming from the range to check up on Annie. Do you know what they said as they rode away?”
Adam shook his head, but he already guessed their words were filled with threats.
“They told me to tell my brother to stand down and drop his case against Gabe Winters, or worse things will happen to me and my family.”
Adam chose not to say anything. He was sorry for what happened, but threats didn’t move him.
“So, I’m begging you, please drop the case.”
“You know I can’t do that,” Adam said in a voice filled with pain.
Dropping his arms, Stephen snapped, “Stop thinking about yourself for once and start thinking of others.”
Slighted at the remark, Adam retorted, “What kind of a marshal would I be if I were to drop the case simply because of cowardly threats?”
Stephen strode forward. “One that loves his family. One that puts his family first before anything.”
Adam waved his hand and said, “Oh, please don’t say that. If I didn’t care about you or Annie or our foster parents, I wouldn’t be pursuing this case with all my might.”
“Bah. All you care about is yourself and the law. You want to be seen as the best marshal in all of America. You enjoy the praises bestowed on you whenever you solve a case. I noticed how you smirk whenever you and the former sheriff solved a case and the townsfolk applauded you.”
Adam lost all the color on his face. “I can’t believe that after all these years, you don’t understand me.”
Stephen snorted. “I understand you, all right. Now I want you to understand me. Family is very important to me. I will do anything to protect my family, no matter what it costs me. Stop behaving as if you can solve every problem in the world. You’re only human.”
Smarted by his brother’s hurtful words, Adam shook his head. “You fail to realize that this case is beyond me and you. Gabe Winters has been killing and intimidating people over the years. It has got to stop.”
“Not at the detriment of my wife and unborn child!”
“Stop being selfish,” Adam threw at him with savage bite. He pointed out the window. “There are people out there who live in fear because of that odious man.”
