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letting you do that without me.”
    “Offense taken!”
    “Take it however you’d like, but you still aren’t going without me!”
    Brynne tried to step in between them, but neither paid her any attention. Leo simply stepped around her and continued.
    “The reason I’m here is to find my brother and if there is going to be a search for him, I’m going to be part of it.”
    “I need you here to protect my sisters! I am perfectly capable of looking for him without you dogging my steps!”
    “Your capability isn’t the issue.”
    “Then what is? You don’t trust me?”
    Leo pinched his lips together but then stepped closer to Cilla, seemingly unable to keep his mouth shut. “Why in the world should I trust you? The only thing I know about you is that you ride around at night robbing people, you kidnap and force people to do what you want, and you were one of the last people to see my brother alive. So you’ll have to excuse me if I don’t want to leave a search for him up to you. He is my brother and if anyone is going to search for him, it’s damn well going to be me !”
    Cilla’s mouth dropped open. Rage and shock jostled around with each other, leaving her completely speechless. Temporarily.
    “How dare you? You gutless son of a—”
    “That’s enough!” Brynne pushed her way between them. “You,” she said, pointing at Leo, “none of us had anything to do with Jake’s disappearance and if I ever hear anything of the like from you again he won’t be the only one people are searching for. Understood?”
    Leo took several deep breaths, his hands on his hips as he glared at Cilla. But finally he looked back at Brynne and nodded. “My apologies,” he mumbled.
    Cilla’s burst of satisfaction at his upbraiding was short-lived as her sister turned on her.
    “And you.”
    Cilla cringed when Brynne’s gaze fixed on her.
    “Leo will go with you. You can’t do everything on your own and he has every right to go.”
    Cilla opened her mouth to argue, but Brynne didn’t let her get a word in.
    “Lucy and I are perfectly safe here. Frank is out of town and Carmen and Miguel are here if we need help. Even if they weren’t, we are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves. And like it or not, searching will go easier for you with Leo by your side. A lone woman riding about, dressed as you insist on dressing, is going to raise eyebrows. You’ll draw less attention and hopefully get more answers if you are traveling with a man.”
    Cilla crossed her arms and fumed. But she couldn’t argue. Brynne was right. Damn it all.
    The room fell silent. Leo and Brynne looked at Cilla and waited. Finally, she threw up her arms. “Fine,” she said, pinning Leo with one last glare. “He can go.”
    Brynne grabbed Cilla and crushed her in a smothering bear-hug. “Thank you, Cilla.”
    She pulled away. “But if anything happens to any of you while I’m gone, I swear I’ll kill you both!”
    Brynne laughed. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

    The next morning, Cilla rose early and gathered her things. She peeked in at each of her sisters, watching them for a moment as they slept. She grabbed the cross around her neck and offered up a quick prayer to keep them safe. When she looked up, she found Carmen watching her, a faint smile on her lips.
    Cilla felt the heat rush to her cheeks. She’d never been one to pray, even with Carmen hounding her every day to give thanks to her Maker. She shrugged. “Not sure He’ll listen to someone like me, but I figured it couldn’t hurt.”
    Carmen softly laughed. “He knows your heart, mija . You’re a better person than you think.”
    “I’ll just have to take your word for that.” Cilla gave the older woman a hug, grabbed her satchel and bedroll, and headed out to the stable.
    Maynard knickered a soft greeting and Cilla went to her horse, rubbing the white patch between his eyes. He nuzzled her and Cilla laughed and pulled a small apple from her pocket.
    “Here you