Sweet Texas Revenge

Chapter 9

They've been chasing Roddy Laws for six weeks now and have yet to catch him. They came so close in Sipe Springs a week after the gang reunited at Martha's. Roddy had just robbed a bank and his gang were riding out as the MacDonald's were approaching. A shootout ensued. Sam wounded Roddy but Travis was also shot. The good thing was Roddy did lose two men but he high tailed it out and Sam was in pursuit until a wave of dizziness assaulted her. Sam had to back off and return to the gang. They all headed back to Martha's while Travis recuperated.

Now they were back on the road working on a tip from a drunk in a bar outside of Acala. Roddy Laws was last seen near Pine Springs leaving a doctor's office to work on a gunshot wound to the shoulder. Sam smiled at the news. She was glad to know he was in pain. He needed to suffer at least some of the pain he had caused her.

The gang camped down for the night outside Pine Springs. Jon and Freddie Mac stayed up for the night watch. Mark and Luke were snoring loudly while Sam just looked up at the dark sky. Again Cade drifted into her thoughts. She was wondering what he was doing at this moment. Was he thinking about her? Or was he in a warm, comfortable bed with another woman? Her lips thinned in irritation at that thought. With a punch to her saddlebag, Sam rested her head and forced herself to sleep.

Dawn came too quickly for her. The pink and purple of the sky was breathtaking but Sam wasn't feeling like herself again. As Freddie Mac brought her a cup of coffee and a plate of biscuits, Sam pushed herself up and ran into the bushes. This was becoming a morning ritual with her. Every morning for the past few weeks, she would have to run to the bushes to throw up. On occasion, she would get dizzy and force herself not to lose her seat.

As Sam walked back to the camp, she sat on the hard ground while Luke handed her a canteen of water. Taking slow sips, Sam started to feel better.

"Sam, you need to go back to Proffitt." Freddie Mac's voice was louder than necessary.

She wavered, trying to comprehend what she was hearing. "Go back? Are you insane? We're so close, I can feel it."

Freddie Mac shook his head. "You're in no condition to ride anymore."

"What the hell are you talkin' about?" she exclaimed as she jumped to her feet. Anger made her voice dip back into her drawl.

Freddie Mac grabbed Sam by her upper arm and dragged her farther away from the others. "When was your last monthly?"

Her eyes widened in shock. "That's none of your business. What's gotten into you?"

Freddie Mac gave her a shake. "Tell me."

She stared wordlessly at him. The anger in his face was unmistakable. "I don't remember. It's been awhile."

"Damn it Sam. Has it occurred to you that you're pregnant?"

Her voice rose in surprise. "What?"

"You're pregnant. I was wondering what was wrong with you for a while now. You just not been actin' like yourself and when you started losin' your breakfast, I knew." He released her. "Is McKay the father?" Sam nodded. "He's lucky he was going to marry you. If he weren't dead, I'd kill him."

Sam turned her head. The shock of what was happening started to sink in. She was pregnant and Freddie Mac thought Robert was the father. Oh no, of all the cruel twists of fate. She was carrying Cade's child. Sam wrapped her arms around her middle and sank to the ground.

Freddie Mac kneeled beside her. "Don't worry son. We'll take care of you. We'll go back to Proffitt immediately and then after the baby's born."

She didn't let him finish. "No. I want to hunt down Roddy Laws and kill him. After what he's done to me."

Freddie Mac shook his head. "That bastard has taken so much from you already. If you keep livin' and ridin' the way you have, you might lose the baby. Do you really want him to take that away too?" Sam shook her head. Freddie Mac put his arm around her shoulders and led her back to the others.

He explained how they were going back to Proffitt. Sam promised herself once the baby was born, she'd pick up Roddy's trail and kill him.

***

Cade and Liam had been chasing Roddy Laws also but they were having better luck than the MacDonald's. They had heard about the Laws gang and the MacDonald gang having a shootout outside of Sipe Springs and that was a mystery for him. What had happened that two gangs would turn on each other? Especially a mild mannered man like Freddie MacDonald going after notorious Roddy Laws. It just didn't make sense.

Cade went back into the stream and swam a little longer, trying to get the weeks of dirt off of his body. Another strange occurrence was the MacDonald boy saving him. Sam was his name. The boy who smelled of vanilla. How could that be possible? His mind then thought of Samantha. The way she felt beneath him and how passionately she responded to his touch. He needed to go back to her, to explain why he was such a coward and ran off.

"Hey Cade."

Cade looked towards the shore and saw Liam calling him out. In two quick strokes he was near the shore. Dressing quickly, they rode off towards Acala, Texas where Laws was said to be hiding out while he recuperated from his gunshot wound. He and Liam checked into a hotel then went to the nearest saloon to find out more information.

After a few hands of poker, one of the gunslingers by the name of Doug Hackett mentioned how one of the Laws gang was in there a few days ago boasting how they were headed towards North Texas again looking for Cade.

"Laws heard he's got himself a Texas Ranger sniffin' after him for killin' his brother," explained Hackett. He drank his shot of whiskey in one gulp and continued his talk. "Laws thinks if he kills himself a Ranger, then he'll be feared by everyone. Sounds like he wants to make a name for himself."

Cade glanced over at Liam. Pretending indifference, Cade sat back casually in his chair draping his arm across the back, crossing his ankles. A barmaid came and smiled longingly at Cade while she placed more glasses of whiskey on the table. Cade ignored her and put his full attention to Hackett again.

The man who sat across from Cade, Jake Owens, picked up the story. "I hear a boy shot Laws. A boy from the MacDonald gang."

Cade forced himself not to smile. So the young kid was becoming quite the gunslinger. A shame. Someone so young shouldn't be in a gang. He should be off in school studying to become a doctor or a lawyer. Shaking his head, Cade rose and called it a night.

As he and Liam walked back to their hotel they came up with a plan to bring Laws to them.

The next morning, they put their plan into action.