Texas Tough (The Tylers of Texas 2)

CHAPTER 8

Sky and Marie took a few minutes to scout the area around the camp. They found no sign that any strangers had been there.

Sky made a last scan of the horizon. “Could Coy have taken his motorcycle somewhere? I don’t see it.”

“That Harley’s mine. It’s parked behind the Blue Coyote,” Marie said. “I drove Coy into town for a burger and some snacks yesterday and dropped him off back here when he was done.”

“So that was you I heard driving up. I thought you’d be working at that hour.”

“My shift doesn’t start till four-thirty on weekdays. Coy gets antsy out here alone, but it makes more sense for me to keep the bike in town. I’d just as soon not have him roaming around, getting into trouble.” Marie lifted her hat and raked a hand through her sweaty hair. “I heard somebody riding off on a horse as we pulled in. I was wondering if it might be you.”

Sky reached into the tent and lifted out a moth-eaten, red wool blanket. The butts of a half-dozen marijuana joints dropped to the ground as he shook it. There was nothing underneath but a couple of well-thumbed girlie magazines.

Sky tossed the blanket aside. “I don’t see any guns. Where would Coy have kept them?”

“Right here in the tent. All he had was a little lever-action rifle and the shotgun we took off the old man.”

“Could he have taken the guns and gone hunting? There are plenty of rabbits and birds out here.”

“Maybe. Coy likes to kill things. But he’s so lazy, he’d have to be starving to skin and cook anything he shot. Besides, we agreed that a campfire might attract attention.”

“In this drought, it could start a range fire, too.” Sky holstered his pistol and glanced back toward the spring. “How about helping me dismantle this hose setup and throwing it all in the truck? Maybe by the time we’re finished, he’ll show up.”

He seized one of the black hoses and yanked it free of the bent wire stakes that anchored it to the ground. It came up easily. Walking forward he coiled the length between his hands. After watching him a moment, Marie pulled up a second hose and began looping it over her arm. Sky studied her for some sign of anger or regret—after all, she’d likely helped Coy buy the pump and hoses and set up the watering system. But her sharp Comanche features might as well have been chiseled in stone.

It didn’t take long to coil the hoses, pull the pipe out of the spring, and disconnect everything from the pump. By the time Sky backed the truck up to the site and tossed everything into the bed, the small cannabis plants were already wilting in the heat—and there was still no sign of Coy.

Marie gave Sky a questioning glance, as if to say, What about him?

Sky thought of the work waiting back at the ranch. After opening the cab, he gave several loud blasts on the horn. “I can’t wait here much longer, and I can’t leave you without a ride. I’ll give him ten minutes. If he’s not back by then, we’re leaving. Coy can figure things out for himself.”

“I can come back and check on him later,” Marie said. “But he’ll need shelter. Can we leave the tent?”

“For now.” Sky slid his wallet out of his Wranglers and counted out four twenty-dollar

bills. “If Coy needs food or a place to sleep, this’ll help. But anything that’s still here by tomorrow night is getting torn down and hauled away. Understand?”

Marie gave him a sullen look. “You’ve gotten mean in your old age, Sky.”

He thought of Lute. “Life does that to you. Something tells me you’ve figured that out by now.”

She sat on the lowered tailgate, her thin, muscular arms hugging her knees. “D’you plan to tell anybody about this?”

The drone of insects filled the silence as Sky pondered his answer. Maybe he could forgive the marijuana on his property. But he owed Jasper the chance to face the man who’d nearly killed him. The trouble was, with warrants hanging over him in Oklahoma, Coy would run from any involvement with the law. Maybe he already had.

“I told you, the shooting was an accident,” Marie said.

“If that’s true, maybe we can clear it up without calling in the sheriff. Coy could go to the Tylers, explain what happened. It’s worth a shot.”

“Sure it is.” Marie’s voice twanged with sarcasm.

“If you’ve got any better ideas, I’m all ears. But know that if Coy runs, the offer’s off the table. That’s tantamount to an admission of guilt.”

“What about me?” she asked. “If Coy wants to leave, I can’t stop him. But I’m staying in Blanco Springs, and you know the reason why.”

“Get Coy to cooperate—or tell the truth yourself if he runs—and I’ll stand up for you,” Sky said. “If Coy had the gun and shot Jasper by accident, the only thing you’d be guilty of is trespassing.”

“And the weed?” she asked.