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desperate for help, but there was something about this stranger that gave her a deep uneasiness. She just didn’t know how to convey that to her family because Josie was right.  Not only did he save Ryker’s life, he agreed to stay on and help.  By rights she should be grateful, but she couldn’t shake that feeling.
     
    Chapter Two
     
    Josie spent the better of the morning in the garden trying to get her ripe vegetables picked.  It always helped her think when she tended to it alone.  Also she liked it.  She worried too much about her family.  She knew Ryker and Hattie did too, but she kept her feelings more to herself.  Normally she’d be doing this in the evening, but with Cogan there doing Ryker’s workload, she had more time. Her thoughts turned to the dark stranger and questions on why he was staying.  He said he was looking for work, but his clothing looked fairly new despite the dust, and the more she thought about it, expensive.   She didn’t think much of it when he showed up because Ryker was hurt and needed help, but now that she had some time to herself, she did.
    Was he a bounty hunter? A good bounty hunter can make himself wealthy quickly. Also, why was he coming to Bakersfield?   These questions started to nag her and she began to worry that she acted rashly in hiring him, but really, she had no choice . Chances are Ryker would have done the same thing, but he probably would have investigated him a little further.
    The sun got hotter throughout the day and finally after several hours , she decided that she needed to take a break. She stood up and wiped her brow while glancing toward the barn.  She could hear the pounding of metal on metal and knew that he was doing as he told Hattie.  Those blacksmith tools hadn’t been used since her grandfather was alive.
    Even though he told her he could smith, it surprised her that a gunman knew how to do it.  It was a lifelong trade. Her father actually dragged the equipment across the country when they settled near Bakersfield.  He sort of knew how to use them and it came in handy when shoeing a horse like now.  Yet, she and Ryker didn’t have a clue.  They never learned how.
    Curious, she started toward the barn when the familiar sound of horse hooves pounding dry ground hit her ears.  She turned toward the horizon and shaded her eyes from the sun.
    She knew the sheriff’s grey horse and that was definitely it coming over the hill with another three riders kicking up dust from the dry road.  Already she knew that this wasn’t a friendly visit from the presence of the extra men. More than likely they were Butch’s men here to turn the tables on her brother to make him out to be the bad guy.
    T he riders came in through the gate to the front yard swirling up yard dust around her skirts where she stood.
    Gus Johnson, the sheriff reined up and tilted his hat. “Good evening Miss Hamilton.”  His greeting was friendly but there was worry etched in his expression.
    Although she knew Gus wasn’t on Butch’s payroll, he never stood up for the townsfolk against him. She’d found that discouraging in a man.  Gus was in his early forties and never married.  He liked her. She knew he did because he’d told her and tried courting her. He must’ve proposed to her once a month since she turned eighteen.  He was a decent man but had no backbone to be a sheriff.  Then there was his age.  Although it wasn’t uncommon for girls around Bakersfield to marry older men, she found it really distasteful.  Maybe she wouldn’t if she was attracted to him, but she wasn’t.
    It was true that most girls her age were married but she didn’t want someone as old as Gus or as spineless. Also, she wanted to be in love with the man she married.  She didn’t believe in a marriage of convenience.  Her parents loved each other deeply and she wanted that. “Out with it Gus.  This isn’t a social visit,” she finally said looking past him to the sneering