Dorothy Garlock (48 page)

“They'll have to go with me. I can't leave them here by themselves.”

“A series of shots might cover the span of a month or two. Can you keep them with you for that long? ”

“Oh, Lord. I hadn't thought of that or how I'll ever pay the doctor.”

“Main thing is to get you treatment. Then worry about that. I'll turn my horse into your pasture, bury the skunk, and take you to the doctor. If you have to go to the city, I'll come back here before dark and bunk down in the garage until we see which way the wind blows.”

Andy looked at the man standing over him for a long time.

“Mister, I don't even know your name.”

“Yates.”

“Name's Andy Connors. I'm obliged for your help. Hell, if you hadn't killed it, it might have got to Leona or the girls.” Andy followed Yates out of the garage.

“I don't know much about rabies, but to be on the safe side, we should get you to the doctor as soon as possible.” Yates pulled the spade out of the ground, probed the ashes where he had burned the skunk, then dug a hole and buried them. He came back, handed the spade to Andy, and untied his horse.

“I still don't know why you're doing this, Yates.”

“It's payback time, Andy.”

Ignoring the woman and the children on the porch, Yates unsaddled his horse, turned it into the side pasture, and carried his saddle to the barn.

“Andy, invite the …man in for breakfast, ”Leona called from the porch.

“We're going to town for a while.”

“Can't you eat first? ”

“No. I'll leave the key to the gas pump on the hook by the door. You know where I keep the sack of change. I'll be back as soon as I can. Behave while I'm gone, girls.”

“We will, Daddy.”

“Do you want your crutches? ”Leona asked.

“No. I don't think so.” Without another word Andy, feeling his world collapsing around him, went back into the garage and stood with clenched fists.

When the stranger came around the end of the porch, a single close-up look told Leona two things: She had never seen a more unapproachable man, and she had never seen one who oozed more confidence. If his size weren't enough to distinguish him, certainly the raven black hair showing beneath the dusty Stetson and the steely gray eyes would have been. His face was still, absolutely expressionless, although his eyes, when they met hers, seemed to sink right into her.

“Ma'am.” He put his fingers to his hat brim and continued on toward the garage without breaking his long-legged stride.

Leona's instincts whispered that something serious had happened to Andy that he didn't want to talk about.
Oh, my God, don't let it be that the skunk bit him!

With a feeling of fear and dread, she watched the tall stranger go through the small door in the back of the garage and close it behind him. Minutes later, Andy's car backed out of the garage and turned onto the highway toward town.

The stranger was at the wheel.