Lady Outlaw by Stacy Henrie Page A

grab one of the guns, someone plowed into him from behind.
    “Go get the cattle,” Smith said from above him.
    Caleb scrambled to get up off the ground, but Smith landed a punch to his lower jaw that knocked him back down. From the corner of his eye, he saw Haws and Gunner scoop up their guns and sprint toward their horses.
    For one awful moment he froze—images from his nightmare flooding his thoughts and making his heart leap in fear. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—use his gun that way again.
    But what about Jennie?
    The possibility of the other two rustlers, who were armed again, reaching her first fueled Caleb’s numb body with new energy. Pretending to be hurt, he waited for Smith to come at him again. When the cowhand approached, Caleb kicked out with his boot, connecting with the man’s leg.
    Smith cursed and stumbled backward, giving Caleb time to come to his feet. He lunged at Smith and planted a hard fist into the cowboy’s belly. Groaning, Smith twisted away, but not before throwing a wild punch that connected with Caleb’s right cheek.
    Ignoring the taste of blood and the momentary ringing in his head, Caleb pounded a blow at the man’s jaw. Smith fell back into the dirt, moaning loudly.
    Caleb grabbed Smith’s gun from where he’d dropped it and ran to Saul. He threw off the horse’s hobble and mounted.
    “Yaw,” he hollered, driving his heels into Saul’s flanks.
    When he rounded the hill, he saw the cattle running hard a quarter of a mile away. He couldn’t spot Jennie, but the other two cowboys were racing to head off the herd.
    Urging Saul faster, Caleb headed for Haws. The sound of pounding hooves matched his heartbeat as he drew closer.
    Where’s Jennie? Concern pulsed through him. Then he spied her to the left of the cattle, doing her best to turn the stampeding group in the direction of the ranch.
    Caleb drew alongside Haws. The gap between them was less than thirty feet when the cowboy suddenly turned and fired his gun. Caleb bent in the saddle to avoid a direct hit from the shot, but a wave of pain and fire still pierced his right ear. He reached up and found to his relief that the bullet had only grazed the skin, tearing off a small piece of flesh.
    He pushed his horse back toward the herd, leaning low in the saddle. It was time to put his gun skills to work. He aimed Smith’s gun at Haws’s hand and pulled the trigger. A second later, the cowboy screamed and dropped his own gun to the ground.
    With two of the three thieves down, Caleb yanked his horse in the direction he’d last seen Gunner. The cows along the left side of the herd charged in closer to the others at his approach.
    A quick glance at the front of the herd told him Jennie was still there, riding unharmed. Over his shoulder, he saw Gunner had given up the fight and was racing back toward the cowhands’ camp. Haws, his injured arm cradled to his chest, rode hard behind him.
    A surge of victory pushed Caleb up in the stirrups with a whoop. “We did it!” he yelled, with all the voice he could muster over the racket of pounding cattle hooves. He removed his hat and waved it in the air, hoping Jennie understood the signal.
    He kept waving until Jennie saw him. Even from far away, he thought he saw a smile on her face as she lifted off her own hat and swung it in the air in answer.
    Sitting once more, Caleb replaced his hat and stuck his newly acquired gun in the slot on his saddle. Now to get these cows off the range.
    He and Jennie drove the cattle through the dimming light. When they reached the other half of the herd, they joined the two groups together and guided them toward the ranch.
    Caleb’s face and ear throbbed and his legs and back felt stiff from being in the saddle so long. He didn’t let the complaints linger, though. He felt too exhilarated at their success. Perhaps cattle ranching wasn’t so boring after all.
    At last he spied the dark outline of the fence in the distance. As they drew closer, Jennie