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eyes sympathetic. “Do you think you have any broken bones?”
    Bert looked at him, still suspicious, but said, “I think I can get up.”
    Cody offered him an arm. Bert got to his feet slowly,wincing. He continued to study Cody, but he nodded in thanks as he said, “I’m all right.”
    “Still, you might want to sit for a spell,” Cody suggested.
    “The library,” Alex suggested, leading them toward the comfortable overstuffed sofa in her father’s—no, her —library.
    She got Bert settled, then backed straight into Beulah, who had come in like a whirlwind, followed closely by Jewell and Tess, and Brendan Vincent.
    “Oh, Bert, look at you!” Beulah said, taking his hand, along with a seat next to him.
    “I’ll get him a whiskey,” Jewell decided.
    “Maybe tea would be better,” Tess suggested.
    “Maybe we should put the whiskey in a cup of tea,” Jewell countered.
    “I’m sure that will be fine,” Beulah said.
    Jewell and Tess turned to leave the room, but not before sighing softly and looking with rapt eyes at Cody Fox. Alex looked at Bert, rolled her eyes and winked, then grew sober again. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
    “Fine, just embarrassed that I couldn’t protect my own household,” Bert said. He looked past her to stare at Cody and Brendan. “How the hell did you get that man and his human refuse out of town?” he asked.
    “Just threatened him the way he threatens everyone else. Milo wasn’t about to lose his own life, and he knew I would take it,” Cody said, then cleared his throat. “Brendan and I are looking for accommodations, if they’re available?”
    “I just got back to town this afternoon, so to tell you the truth, I don’t know,” Alex said, and looked at Beulah, still at Bert’s side. “Do we have any vacancies?”
    Beulah let out a very unladylike snort, staring at her as if she had gone daft. “Do we have any vacancies? Child—we have nothing but vacancies. No one is coming out this way to stay anymore. No bankers, no railroad men. No new whores desperate to try out the place.”
    Alex smoothed her hand down her skirt. “Well then, gentlemen, you’re certainly welcome to stay.”
    “It will be right nice to have you here,” Beulah added with considerably more enthusiasm. “Breakfast is from seven to eight, and supper is served precisely at seven. If you’re here, you eat. If you’re not here, we assume you’ve made other arrangements. I’ll just see to your rooms. If you’ll excuse me?” She rose and started for the door, then suddenly stopped, a look of horror on her face.
    “Levy!” she said. “Oh, dear, where is Levy? I haven’t seen him since all this began.”
    Alex closed her eyes and groaned, hating herself. She’d forgotten the stable hand, as well.
    “I’ll check the basement,” Bert said, rising carefully.
    “I’ll run upstairs,” Beulah said.
    “I’ll take the stable,” Alex said.
    As soon as Beulah and Bert were out of the room, Cody Fox caught Alex’s arm. Like Milo, he had a grip of steel, though he wasn’t using it to hurt her. Still, she stared at him in indignation at being stopped so summarily.
    “We’re missing a member of the household. Please let go of me so I can go look for him.”
    “What does he look like? We can help,” he told her.
    “He’s our stable hand, medium height, curly brown hair, thin face, dark brown eyes,” Alex said, pulling her arm free.
    “I’ll head out to the street, see if the outlaws shot anyone we haven’t discovered yet,” Brendan Vincent said.
    “I’ll go out back to the stable with you,” Cody said. “I think they’re all long gone, but just in case…”
    Alex ignored him and raced down the hall to the back door. The town had stables and a livery, but they had their own small stable out back, along with a smokehouse.
    As she burst outside, the laying chickens began to squawk.
    “Levy!” she cried, sprinting past the flustered birds.
    Cody Fox ran by her toward