Only 05 - Autumn Lover

, he thought fiercely.
    He waited, breath held, for sounds that would tell him Elyssa was awake and moving around in her room.
    Nothing came to Hunter’s ears but the rhythm of his own heart and the gusting of the cold autumn wind around the eaves.
    Carefully Hunter resumed sneaking down the stairs. Making no noise, he went out the kitchen door and walked quickly across the ground to the barn.
    Though clouds were piled heavily over the mountains, bright moonlight poured over him every step of the way.
    I could read brands at thirty feet by this light .
    Hell .
    Wish that storm would stop grumbling and get on with covering the sky .
    But there was no time to wait for the storm to consume the moonlight. After what Elyssa had said about the man in knee-high moccasins who had appeared at Bill’s ranch today, Hunter had decided to try for a meeting tonight, whether moonlight or storm accompanied him.
    Cautiously, swiftly, Hunter went on foot into thenight. His moccasins made no noise on the earth. He took the first ghost trail he found.
    And as he did, he wondered how many times Elyssa’s soft little feet had trod on the same path. The thought didn’t make him feel more kindly toward Bill Moreland.
    Hunter was still on Ladder S land when a low voice spoke behind him.
    “Hell of a night for a walk.”
    Hunter froze. Then he spun around, smiling.
    “Hello, Case,” Hunter said. “I was beginning to wonder if you got lost.”
    “That will be the day.”
    Hunter smiled, thumped Case on the shoulder, and got thumped in turn. Case didn’t smile in return, but Hunter knew there was no lack of welcome in his younger brother.
    Hunter hadn’t seen Case smile since the war.
    “Follow me,” Case said in a low voice. “You keep running around in the moonlight like some damned fairy and you’ll get yourself killed.”
    With a soft laugh, Hunter followed his brother.
    A few minutes later Hunter and Case were in a shallow, dry watercourse. It was edged by willows and arched over by big cottonwood trees. Moonlight gave way to dense shadows.
    Over the mountains, lightning ripped through the sky. Thunder grumbled raggedly. Wind swirled in the cottonwoods, stripping off frost-killed leaves and whirling them into the night.
    “When did you get here?” Hunter asked in a low voice.
    “Three days ago. Morgan’s message caught me down toward the Spanish Bottoms.”
    “Did you find Culpeppers there?”
    “What’s down there will keep. Ab’s up here.”
    Hunter heard all that Case didn’t say. It was Ab Culpepper who had led the bloody, cruel raid on Hunter’s ranch in Texas.
    It was Ab Culpepper the brothers had sworn would be brought to justice, no matter what.
    “So I saw,” Hunter said. “Twice.”
    “I wondered about that. I’m surprised you didn’t just drop him.”
    There was no question in Case’s voice, but Hunter answered anyhow.
    “The first time I saw him, Elyssa was along. I was getting ready to drop him anyway, but he met up with four other men.”
    Case’s eyebrows rose. “So?”
    “So I didn’t want to put her in danger. The second time was this morning. Ab was standing too close to her. If I missed…” Hunter shrugged.
    “Not much chance that you would miss a man-sized target at that range.”
    “I didn’t want to risk it, no matter how small the chance.”
    Case’s hazel eyes gave Hunter a considering look. Though Case said nothing, he was still surprised that Hunter hadn’t just dropped Ab where he stood.
    There were enough Wanted, Dead or Alive, posters out on Ab to make it perfectly legal. Besides, Ab had earned whatever death came his way, however it came. So had his kin, whether they were cousins, brothers, or half brothers.
    Or, in some cases, two of the three. Pappy Culpepper hadn’t much worried about blood relation when he felt randy.
    “How many men does Ab have?” Hunter asked.
    “About twenty.”
    “How many Culpeppers?”
    “Five, including Ab,” Case said. “He got here just before I did.”
    “I’ve seen Gaylord. Who are the other three?”
    “Erasmus, Horace, and Kester.”
    Hunter ran through his mental list of Culpeppers. Norbert and Orville had been killed by Texans just before the rest of the Culpepper clan ran amok.
    Sedgewick and Tilden had been foolish enough to stick around Texas, raiding banks, mule trains, and settlers until Case and Hunter returned from the war. The two Culpeppers drowned in the Rio Grande trying to escape to Mexico. As the river was