Riding down the road, Austin smiled to himself as people waved in greeting. The whole town knew who he was, or at least who he wanted them to think he was, and they all loved him. He had created the best fake persona possible, and he was extremely proud of it. All those people who always said that he would never amount to anything could eat their words. The downside of running a secret criminal empire was that he couldn’t exactly brag about it.
None of his family was alive anymore anyway. His parents died a long time ago, and Austin made sure that Jasper could never insult him again. The ranch was supposed to be Austin’s. He was the oldest, after all. It was so humiliating to find out that his own father didn’t trust him enough to run the place, and then Jasper started acting all superior. The bastard got what he deserved, and so did the Cassidy Ranch.
Austin hadn’t gone back to Silver City since the day he and his men killed Jasper, Eleanor, and their children, and he had no plans of even going back. He had left that life behind and started a new one where he got all the respect and admiration he deserved. It still bothered him, though. All of it could have been avoided if his family had simply trusted and loved him, but they didn’t. Sure, he enjoyed drinking and gambling, but he was young and had no reason not to.
Shaking his head, Austin pushed the memories aside. He didn’t gamble anymore and only drank a little. He could have made a success of the Cassidy Ranch. He could have made it bigger and better than it ever was, but that was all in the past now. It was a long-lost dream that would neverbe real. Instead, he was living a great life with all the riches he could ever want. He would admit that he still longed for Eleanor, though. He had only tasted her that once, and no other woman, no matter how young or beautiful, could ever compare to her.
That train of thought brought him back to Angela and his current predicament. She wanted children, but he didn’t. “What shall I do?” he asked himself, wondering if having an heir might not be such a bad idea.
Chapter 13
Dakota’s heart was racing as they made their way out of Stanley. The confrontation with Liam was stuck in her head, and the picture of his lifeless body, stained with blood, was engraved in her mind. He had gotten exactly what he deserved, but seeing somebody killed right in front of her eyes was still a lot to take in. She didn’t feel bad about it, but at the same time, it still caused her to feel uneasy.
They didn’t slow down as they raced down the main road. Nobody had seen them, but the shot would have been heard, and surely somebody would have come to check and see what was happening. She wasn’t sure whether shots being fired so late at night were a common occurrence in Stanley, and she also wasn’t sure whether the sheriff and his men would come after them.
Blade was pushing Africa to go fast, though, so she did the same, urging Riot to keep up with them. An hour or more must have passed before Blade eventually slowed down a little.
“We should get off the main road,” he stated. “I doubt that they’ll come after us. Usually, sheriffs only chase outlaws to the border of the town, and we’ve long since passed that.” Blade reached up and adjusted his wide-brim hat as he rode. “I don’t want to stop, though. We should keep going just in case.”
Dakota nodded, still feeling uneasy. “I wouldn’t be able to sleep now anyway.”
“You okay?” Blade asked, slowing down a little more so that he could look at her.
“Yeah.”
Blade frowned, raising a brow. “You would tell me if you weren’t, right?”
“Of course,” Dakota replied. “I tell you everything.”
“True,” Blade agreed with a chuckle as he started to veer off the road.
It was so dark, and Dakota was a little scared since she honestly couldn’t see much. Riding on the road was all right. The path had been laid out, but steering Riot into the wilderness when she could barely see a couple of feet in front of her gave Dakota something else to worry about. At least it took her mind off Liam, so in a way, it was a good thing.
Blade led the way, and Dakota followed him. For some reason, he didn’t seem to mind traversing the rocky, overgrown ground.
“We’ll go slow,” Blade said, as if he could read her mind. “We don’t want Africa or Riot to get hurt.”
“Can you even see where you’re going?”
Blade laughed and glanced over his shoulder. “A little, but that’s enough. At this pace, we’ll see a cliff before we fall off it.”
Dakota shook her head but joined in his laughter. Blade didn’t seem worried or scared, and his mood rubbed off on her a little. They didn’t speak much but continued making their way through the unknown terrain. After hours of trotting, Blade finally brought Africa to a stop.
Letting go of his reins, Blade stretched his arms above his head. “I think I need to close my eyes for a little while.”
“Honestly, if you didn’t stop, I would have asked you to,” Dakota stated as she slid off Riot. “I’m exhausted.”
“And hungry,” Blade added.
“You want to make a fire?”
Blade shook his head. “No, let’s just eat some dried meat and get some sleep. I want to continue on our way at dawn.”
“Works for me,” Dakota agreed with a shrug.
They weren’t in a forest, but there were a lot of trees in the surrounding area, so Dakota led Riot to the closest one and tied him up. There was some long grass for him to chew on, and she would make a point of finding a nice pasture where he and Africa could graze the next day.
To her relief, Blade tied Africa up as well and then removed his bedroll. Dakota did the same, making sure to grab her flash and their dried meat as well. They laid their bedrolls out next to the horses and then sat down. Dakota used the tree as a backrest, allowing her body to relax a little. She held the brown paper parcel containing the meat out to Blade.
