Read Randall Renegade for Free Online

see. That’s why I haven’t returned.”
    “Stupid woman. Follow your own tracks.”
    She wanted to say a lot of things to this jerk, but she restrained herself. She walked as slowly as she could, afraid to get too far away from where she told Jim she’d remain.
    “Move faster,” the man ordered.
    “I can’t. I’m exhausted,” she said, leaning against a tree.
    “Move it, or I’ll shoot you and tell the general you were trying to escape.”
    She pushed away from the tree and kept moving, but not briskly, and she made as much noise as she could hoping Jim would hear.
    Suddenly Jim was there, his rifle trained on the other man. “Get behind me, Patience,” heordered. To Benton he said, “Drop your rifle. I’m taking Patience and her boy home.”
    “You bastard! You were lying all the time!” He raised his rifle and shot, the bullet narrowly missing Jim’s head. At the same time Jim squeezed the trigger and the bullet hit its mark. Benton fell to the ground, clutching his knee and Jim snatched up the man’s rifle. There was no time now to think about the close call. “This way, Patience. Hurry!”
    They reached the horses and he helped her and the boy into the saddle of one horse and mounted the other. “Stay right behind me. Can you manage the boy, or shall I take him?”
    “I’ve got him.”
    Jim nodded and swung his horse around, changing directions, and led the way through the woods.
    They pressed on for almost an hour before he felt sure they had a good lead. He hoped the gunshots had spooked the horses out of their corral and sent them scattering. He reined in his horse and waited for Patience to come up beside him.
    She looked puzzled. “Why aren’t we going down the mountain? I think we were even going up for a while.”

    “We didn’t go down because that’s where they’ll assume we’ve gone. We’re trying to avoid them.”
    “I know that!” she snapped. “I’m not dumb. But I wish you’d shared your plan with me.”
    “I haven’t exactly had time. Even now, we can’t rest for long.”
    “What if they find our tracks?”
    “I expect they will—I don’t imagine we’ve gotten away clean. All we’ve done is buy a little time. The general’s pride has been hurt. He can’t let you and Tommy, especially Tommy, get away.”
    She hesitated. Then all she said was, “Let’s go on.”
    Without another word, he headed off and Patience followed. He’d wanted to assure Patience that he’d get her home safely. But he wasn’t sure. They were still outnumbered and the escape hadn’t gone as planned. He’d had to shoot a man, too. That would only add to Kane’s fury.
    If he could get Patience to the ranch, he could count on his family to provide for her safety. And she’d need the protection. The general wasn’t likely to give up.
    Another hour and the sun crept over the horizon. They had kept a steady, if not fast, pace.He hoped they were putting a lot of distance between them and the general’s men.
    In spite of Patience’s questions, he did have a definite destination in mind: the cabin his family used during the summer as a special trip for the kids. They’d find comfort there and maybe food. And he was very familiar with the trail that led down to the main ranch house.
    But they had a few more hours to go.
    He suddenly realized Patience wasn’t behind him. He swung his horse around and trotted back to her.
    “Why didn’t you call me to stop?” he demanded.
    “I thought I could handle things on my own.” She had dismounted. Tommy was relieving himself not far away. “He had to go.”
    Jim drew a breath. “I understand, but we have to work as a team. Next time let me know, okay? How about you? Do you need to stop?”
    “No.”
    “Come on, Tommy, let’s go,” he called softly. “I want you to ride with me.” The little boy pulled up his pants and looked doubtfully at Jim. Then he looked at his mother. “Do I go with him, Mommy?”
    “No, I