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“Think You Can Handle All Three of Us?” the Three Sisters Asked the Cowboy in His Barn — What Happened Before Dawn Changed the Whole County

Chapter 5

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Ethan glanced down at the satchel in Mae’s arms. The leather was scuffed and stained with mud, but the brass lock on the front was heavy and solid.Mae instantly pulled the satchel closer to her body, shaking her head. "Don’t ask.""I wasn’t going to," Ethan said calmly."You were looking.""I have eyes."Before Mae could offer another sharp reply, a horse whinnied in the distance.It didn't come from Ethan’s stalls. It came from the thick brush beyond the eastern fence line.All four of them froze instantly.Through the rain, a harsh, gravelly man's voice called out from the gray morning gloom beyond the yard fence."Cole!"Ethan recognized that voice instantly. Cal Rourke.Rourke was a broad-shouldered, cold-eyed enforcer who worked directly for Silas Harrow. He was a man with a reputation for extreme violence—a gunman who had broken a homesteading farmer's jaw in the middle of town two years ago simply because the man refused to sign over his water rights to Copper Ridge.Ethan turned to the women, his voice dropping to a low, commanding whisper. "Get back inside. Stay behind the oak stalls."Ruth reached out and grabbed Ethan’s canvas sleeve, her eyes wide with sudden panic. "You don't know what they'll do, Cole. They won't just take the bag. They'll kill anyone who gets in their way.""I know Rourke," Ethan said, gently pulling his arm from her grip."That should make you more afraid!" Ruth hissed."It does," Ethan admitted quietly.He turned, adjusted the brim of his hat, and stepped out into the steady rain.Seven mounted riders were lined up outside his yard fence, their silhouettes dark against the misty horizon. At the center of the line sat Cal Rourke, mounted on a large black gelding. He wore a heavy black oilskin coat that glistened with rainwater, and his hands rested casually near the saddle horn, close to the butt of his holstered revolver.Ethan walked slowly across the muddy yard, stopping ten feet from the fence line. He kept his posture relaxed, his hands loose at his sides, though his right coat pocket heavy with the weight of his Colt."Morning, Rourke," Ethan called out over the sound of the rain.Rourke tilted his head, water cascading from the wide brim of his hat. He looked past Ethan, his cold gaze fixed on the open barn doors.
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“Think You Can Handle All Three of Us?” the Three Sisters Asked the Cowboy in His Barn — What Happened Before Dawn Changed the Whole County

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