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I wasn’t destitute when I arrived. I had money and two horses, but I was robbed and dragged behind a horse until I lost consciousness. When I came to, my horses, saddles, guns, and my money were gone.”
    Jonah didn’t seem to believe Reed or to disbelieve him. When he opened his mouth to say something, the thundering sound of approaching horses caused everyone to turn and look up the street. The mounts of half a dozen hands from the Double T Ranch were kicking up a cloud of fine, powdery dust that settled on everyone.
    Susannah coughed a few times to clear the dust from her throat, then busied herself with brushing off her skirts. When she finished, she saw that Reed Garrett was watching the ranch hands with an angry look and clenched fists.
    “That’s one of my horses and that’s my saddle,” he said, and nodded at a large red roan.
    “Curly,” the sheriff called out to the man on the roan. “Where’d you get that horse you’re riding?”
    “From the remuda at the Double T.”
    “And the saddle?” the sheriff asked.
    “Belongs to the Double T.”
    “Well, where in tarnation did the Double T get them?”
    Curly was flummoxed. He took off his hat and rubbed his bandanna over his bald spot. “I don’t rightly know,” he said. “Just found the horse in the remuda this morning when I went out to catch myself a mount, and the saddle was in the tack house.”
    “I’m going to have to ask you boys to come over here,” Jonah said. “We’ve got a little problem that needs clearing up.”
    “Old man Trahern ain’t gonna like this,” Curly said, and guided the roan through the parted crowd to where the sheriff stood.
    “Old man Trahern doesn’t run things in Bluebonnet.” Jonah turned toward Reed. “Is this one of the men who took your belongings?”
    Reed shook his head. “No, he wasn’t with them.”
    “Are you certain?”
    “Yes.”
    “And yet you say this is your horse and saddle?”
    “That’s right.”
    “Do you see any of the men who robbed you in this group?” Jonah waved his hand in the direction of the hands from the Double T.
    “No. None of these men robbed me.”
    “Of course, you can prove this horse is yours,” Jonah said. “Do you have a bill of sale?”
    “I did, but it was taken with my money and other belongings.”
    “So you have nothing to prove the horse is yours.”
    “Nothing except my word.”
    Some people in the crowd began expressing doubts, but Susannah saw a glimmer of admiration in the sheriff’s eyes. What did Jonah Carter see that she and the others didn’t?
    She noticed that as the stranger spoke, he looked about, his features twisted in obvious frustration. He glanced around at the people who had gathered to watch. His hard gaze swept the crowd until it came to rest on her.
    She shifted her position on the hard wagon seat. She could not help feeling a bit fidgety beneath his scrutiny, and she wondered if he remembered her. She needn’t have wondered. Before she knew what he was about, Reed nodded toward Susannah accusingly. “Ask that woman over there. She can verify what I say.”
    “Me?” Susannah asked.
    The sheriff nodded and folded his arms across his vast middle, which served as an indication that he would wait all day if necessary.
    Susannah considered Reed warily. He might wear his clothes elegantly and have impeccable manners. He might speak eloquently and with the airs of a person of a wealthy class; but his face, hard and tanned as if carved from stone, was closed and remote. Beneath the dark brows, gray eyes stared at her and Susannah shivered.
    When Susannah didn’t say anything, Sheriff Carter asked, “Is that right, Miss Susannah? Do you know what he’s talking about?”
    Before she could answer, Reed said, “She saw me on that horse. She was working in the cornfield when I rode by. I stopped and asked her for directions.”
    Susannah blinked, but didn’t open her mouth. She couldn’t. The words were frozen in her throat, not