Page 12 of In Honor’s Defense

“He doesn’t seem to think so.”

“Yeah, well, boys his age are stupid.” Luke dropped his hand from her shoulder and cocked a grin when she glanced his way. “I should know. I used to be one.” He turned and let out a shrill whistle. The quiet thud of hoofbeats followed.

Miss Baxter’s eyes widened as she beheld Titan trotting toward him like a giant, faithful hound. Luke hid a smile as he slid his rifle into the saddle boot. “I’ll have Nate back to you by supper,” he promised as he mounted and took up the reins.

Miss Baxter shaded her eyes with a hand to her brow as she peered up at him. “How? He’s gone.”

Luke tipped his hat. “I’m a Horseman, ma’am. Hunting down outlaws and bandits is what I do.”

“Yes, well, my nephew’s not an outlaw. He’s a fourteen-year-old boy. Be sure you remember that.”

Luke tugged on the brim of his hat. “Yes, ma’am.”

Although Nate’s age had little bearing on his outlaw status.

The boy was knee-deep in trouble of some sort. Of that, Luke had no doubt. The question was what kind of mud he was slogging around in. The kind that would only muck up his shoes and leave a few stains on his trousers? Or a bottomless bog that would swallow him whole if he stepped wrong?

And how did Oliver Grimes fit into all this? Did he really have something to do with Douglas Baxter’s death? Hard to believe when Luke knew Wilson Grimes, Oliver’s brother, to be an honorable man, a man of courage and duty. But then, men sharing blood ties didn’t necessarily share ties of morality or integrity. And thank God for that, or Luke would have ended up an abusive drunkard like his old man—one who’d rather rail at the world for dealing him a raw hand than actually do anything to make it better.

Shaking off the bad memories, Luke nudged Titan into a slow canter and set off in the direction he’d last seen Nate. He slowed as he crested the hill, but it didn’t take long to spot his quarry. The boy made no effort to hide. He just ran. As if exertion and escape could manufacture the freedom he sought. Luke understood the compulsion. There was a reason he’d become one of the most accomplished swordsmen in his unit. Years of stockpiled resentment, rage, and hurt didn’t expunge itself. Luke had found an outlet first with his fists, then later with a cavalry saber. The mental concentration required to wield the weapon against a capable opponent quieted the demons, while the physical effort dulled the rage.

After Luke became a proficient swordsman, Matt was the only officer willing to spar with him. The only one willing to take the punishment Luke dealt when the rage simmered too close to the surface. Matt had had his own demons to battle, and while he couldn’t match Luke’s brawn, his grasp of strategy kept the contest even. And somewhere amid all the sweat and exhaustion, a bond formed between the combatants. A bond that did more to subdue the demons than the sparring ever had. A bond that ultimately led Luke to the One with the ability to subdue the demons permanently. They still raised their nasty heads on occasion, too much a part of him to be fully eradicated until the perfection of heaven arrived, but they’d been chained and stripped of their power.

And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet. One of the many verses he’d memorized over the years ran through Luke’s head as he caught up to Nate. God’s peace was what the kid needed. But if Nate was anything like Luke had been at that age, getting him to let go of his anger and bitterness would not be easy. It had taken the horrors of war, the bonds of friendship, and a decade’s worth of maturing to teach Luke the value of peace. He prayed Nate would catch on quicker than he had.

Luke reined Titan across Nate’s path, forcing the boy to halt his flight. Nate scowled, dodged around Titan’s head, and tried to take off again, but Luke grabbed him by the back of his shirt and lifted his feet off the ground.

“Let me go!” Nate kicked and squirmed, but Titan was too well-trained to let the flailing limbs rattle him, and Luke was too strong to lose his grip.

“I’ll let you go as soon as you start actin’ like a man instead of a spoiled child.”

Nate stilled, then craned his neck to glare at Luke. “I ain’t no child.”

Luke raised a brow. “Coulda fooled me. Trappin’ your aunt in the root cellar. Lashing out when she tries to help you. Runnin’ away instead of facing your problems. Sounds pretty childish to me. You think your daddy would be proud of such antics? That the kind of man he taught you to be?”

The belligerence fell off Nate’s face in a slow slide, starting with a softening around the eyes and working downward until even his chin lost its stubborn tilt.

“Didn’t think so.” Luke leaned sideways and set the boy on the ground. Then he dismounted, tapped Titan’s haunches to let him know he was free to search out some grass, and came around to stand in front of Nate. “Losin’ family’s hard. You got a right to be angry. Even scared. But you don’t got the right to get so absorbed in your pain that you hurt the people around you.”

“Yeah, well, you ain’t got the right to preach at me.”

Luke hid a grin, thinking of the nickname he carried among the Horsemen. “Maybe not, but I know what it’s like to get handed a raw deal in life. I wasted a lot of years being driven by anger and resentment. Trust me, it’s no way to live. You think the anger makes you strong. But that’s a lie. The longer the anger lives in you, the more it erodes your soul and destroys your relationships. If you’re not careful, one day it’ll hollow you out and leave you with nothing. I’d hate to see that happen to you.”

“Why? You don’t know me. You think I’m a rustler.” Nate crossed his arms over his chest, daring Luke to deny it.

Luke didn’t blink. “Are you?”

Nate flicked his head to toss the hair out of his eyes. “I’ve never laid a finger on a stinkin’ Triple G cow.”

Which didn’t exactly answer the question. He could still be involved indirectly. Helping the rustlers somehow as a way to retaliate against Grimes.

“All right. What about a vandal? You been causin’ mischief at the Grimes spread after dark?” Luke watched for a reaction. “Grimes told me his garden was hacked up. Food stores destroyed. Horses spooked and run out of the corral. Skunks in the bunkhouse. Manure splattered on the front porch. Know anything about those misfortunes?”

Nate looked like he was fighting to hold back a smirk. “Sounds like the critters got a mind of their own over there.”

Uh-huh. The kid was definitely involved with the vandalism.

Luke raised a brow. “So those little nighttime excursions your aunt mentioned you taking . . . they don’t have anything to do with the trouble at the Triple G?”