Wyatt’s hand went to his pistol at his belt as he strode over to the rack on the wall where he kept his rifle. What did Brawley want? It couldn’t be good. It never was.

“Get on,” Judd said to Astrid as he deposited her into the barn doorway. The girl was concentrating on holding the wiggling pup and didn’t seem to notice the seriousness of the situation.

Greta’s face, on the other hand, had lost its color. She wasted no time in crossing to Astrid and drawing the girl farther into the barn.

Wyatt peered out, taking in three riders approaching the cabin, then he glanced over his shoulder to where Greta huddled with Astrid. “Stay in and don’t come out for any reason, ya hear?”

She nodded, her eyes wide.

With Brawley and his men bearing down, he took an extra few seconds to swing the barn doors closed behind him and whisper a prayer that God would keep Greta and Astrid safe.

Chapter 19

Greta pressed a finger to her lips, warning Astrid to be silent. But her sister was too busy playing with Chase in a pile of hay. The pup was trying to get away, clearly not ready to put an end to his training lesson.

“McQuaid!” Brawley’s voice carried over the pounding of horses drawing near.

“What do you want?” Wyatt shouted.

The stamping plod of the hooves tapered to silence and was followed by a whinny and a snort of protest.

Astrid lost hold of Chase, and the pup bolted across the barn and managed to squeeze through a crack in the door. She jumped up and raced after the dog. “Naughty puppy!”

“Astrid, no!” Greta lurched after her sister, but Astrid was already opening the door and darting through. With her heart pounding, Greta followed her sister outside. Astrid reached Chase quickly, scooped him up, and scolded him again.

Greta rushed toward the two, but Astrid was waving a greeting at the newcomers. “Hi there, Mister.”

Brawley had reined in a dozen paces from Wyatt, who clutched the handle of his revolver but hadn’t drawn it. Yet. Judd leaned casually against the corral post, but his hands rested on his revolvers too.

Wyatt didn’t take his sights off Brawley but gestured toward her and Greta. “Doggone it. Both of you get back in the blamed barn.”

Before Greta could reach the child, Astrid bounded closer to Brawley. “Mister, look, I got a puppy. Do you like him? Isn’t he a sweet little thing?”

Brawley dropped his gaze. “Sure, kid. Real sweet.”

Greta crept up behind her sister, wishing she could thrash the little girl.

Astrid tilted her head and stared hard at Brawley. “I figured it out finally. You sure sound a lot like—”

Greta cupped a hand over Astrid’s mouth and began to drag her backward toward the barn. Thankfully, Astrid was growing too tired and weak to fight.