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him. It was a humiliation that she’d mistaken him for a homeless, vagabond sort and given him bread too, but her kindness stuck with him. There had been more times than he could count that he’d gone hungry in his life.
    He set the crock and left it on the back door step. There. His obligation was over and done with. He’d never told his brother, Giddy, where the food had come from. Giddy didn’t care about things like that.
    But Junior’s stomach had been twisted up in a terrible knot ever since. All because of his nerves. He was afraid Giddy was going to ask him to do something against Miss Iris. His brother was a mean one. Too much like Pa could get, when he was crossed.
    Yep, it was a dilemma. Junior blew out a troubled sigh as he watched the sheriff from a distance. The blasted lawman stopped in the middle of the side street to exchange words with one of those bothersome volunteer deputies. The whole town was swarming with ‘em.
    The sheriff’s words bugged him. That hoity-toity Aumaleigh McPhee had said in that superior voice of hers,
that glint in your eye tells me you have a good idea who it is.
    I’m pleading the fifth,
the sheriff had answered. Junior’s heart skipped a beat. Was it possible? Did Milo Gray know what he and Giddy had done?
    To make matters worse, now there were three of them. Another deputy had ridden up with a serious look and a gun on his hip.
    Junior’s bad feeling turned worse. He crept out, staying in the shadows against the building. What were the lawmen talking about? What if they were really after him and Giddy?
    “Young man?” An uppity, genteel lady’s voice called out to him.
    Blast it!
Hatred burned fire-hot, but he managed to face her with a pleasant smile. “Good morning, Ma’am.”
    “Good morning. You know my nieces, don’t you?” Aumaleigh McPhee might be acting friendly, but two bits said she was really looking down her nose at him. She set a big bakery box on the floor of her buggy. “Are you coming to the wedding today? I’m sure they would love to see you at the reception too.”
    “I was considering going.” It wasn’t the truth, but a good lie was a useful thing. He and Giddy had planned on replenishing their liquor supply, along with taking a few comforts from that stately Montgomery family home on the nice side of town. “Guess I’ll see you there.”
    “The girls will be glad.”
    Looking at her phony smile nearly made him blow up right there. How dare she look at him like that, like she was the nicest lady in the world when she’d done what she’d done to his pa. She’d inherited the land, lock, stock and barrel, when a piece of it had been promised to Pa.
    And that would have made a chunk of the Rocking M Ranch his and Giddy’s. It was their inheritance, which was the same as their property. Think how hard Pa had worked for that old bat, Maureen, wearing his fingers to the bone while she lied and cheated him, keeping all that money to herself? And most of it was Aumaleigh’s.
    For now.
    “Have a good day, Ma’am.” Those words nearly killed him. He fisted his hands, staring at the tear in his boot. His sock poked through. It was getting worse.
    “Say, you’re walking without your crutch.” Aumaleigh had turned back to him, studying him from the height of her buggy seat. “Good for you. It must be wonderful to be on the mend. Do you know Oscar? He’s been in the same situation you are.”
    “I’ve seen him around,” Junior frowned. Oscar had been the reason he’d feigned having a lame leg, getting the idea after seeing how Rose had taken sympathy on the man. Although it had been a mistake. He’d been wrong in thinking that gaining sympathy would be the way to get in good with the McPhees.
    It never got him any closer to their money, and now he was torn. Torn up inside because of Iris.
    “Oh, hi there, Wade.” Aumaleigh called out to the deputy.
    Junior bowed his head. The lawman offered a friendly hello as he rode by. And