that described the discovery. Prospectors have been chasing that old legend and poking holes in the Guadalupe Mountains for half a century now."
"Apparently Shotgun found it."
"Shotgun Reese?"
"You know him?"
"I know of him. I know that he threw in with another bunch of pups after the Sunshine Gang broke up. He made quite a name for himself, participated in some sensational robberies. Wells Fargo wanted him bad. After a while, though, he disappeared from sight."
"That's probably because he didn't need to steal anymore since he'd found the gold mine."
"Of course he did." Logan's voice dripped sarcasm.
"He sent Suzanne some gold nuggets from the mine. She kept them in a little wooden box." She hesitated a moment before adding, "My mistake was showing them to Will. That and the map."
"The map to the gold mine," Logan deduced.
"Yes."
"And the mine is somewhere in Black Shadow Canyon."
"Yes."
"And Will has gone to find it." Logan dragged his hand along his jaw. "What a damned fool harebrained idea."
"He's fourteen," she said with a shrug. "Fourteen-year-old boys are full of harebrained ideas." As are sixty-eight-year-old men.
"He's gonna get himself killed!"
"No, he won't." She folded her arms and shot a fierce look his way. "Because you're going to save him, right? You're Lucky Logan Grey, the luckiest man in Texas."
"Lord help us all," Logan muttered. He picked up the photograph of Will and studied it for a long minute.
Caroline held her breath.
Finally, thankfully, the anger drained from his expression, though frustration and concern filled his tone when he sighed, then said, "Yes, Caroline, I'll save him, but luck won't have anything to do with it."
Caroline saw the truth of his words glowing in his eyes as he met her gaze and said, "This is all about what is right. It is about what a man is supposed to do, what fathers do for their sons."
He excused himself after that to seek out his friends and ask their help in developing a rescue plan. Caroline sat in Willow Hill's drawing room fearing that she'd made a huge mistake.
Logan had proved he wasn't the dirty dog she had believed him to be. He was a man of integrity. A man of purpose. And he acted as if he cared for Will already. As if he felt a real fatherly bond.
That wasn't what she'd expected from the man she'd believed had loved her, then left her and never looked back. From everything she'd read about Logan Grey before coming to Fort Worth and based on her experience today at the bank and what she'd learned from Wilhemina Peters, she'd expected Logan to have a sense of responsibility toward Will that required he save the boy from the perils of Black Shadow Canyon. She never anticipated that he'd actually want to be Will's father.
As the repercussions of this revelation filtered through her mind, she murmured, "Lord help us all."
"For the love of all that's holy, this is something I never thought I'd see." Cade Hollister turned to Holt Driscoll and said, "That's three. Three! He turned down a freebie with Ella, an invitation from the librarian and he ignored a blatant proposition from twins. Identical, redheaded, brown-eyed, big-bosomed, saloon-girl twins!"
"The twins I don't understand," Holt observed. "However, Ella never makes him pay and the librarian is married. Lucky never plays with married women."
Cade pursed his lips, smothering a smile. "Except for the once—his own missus."
Logan made a vulgar gesture with his hand and his two friends laughed.
The three men sat at a table in their favorite Fort Worth saloon, the End of the Line, rehashing the events of the evening. Actually, Cade and Holt were the ones doing the rehashing. Logan was too busy brooding.
He was a father. He had a son.
A son who'd grown up without a father.
"I swore I'd never do that," he muttered, staring at the foam atop his beer. He didn't want the beer. Didn't want to be here at the End of the Line. He wanted to be asleep in bed with this entire evening being
"Apparently Shotgun found it."
"Shotgun Reese?"
"You know him?"
"I know of him. I know that he threw in with another bunch of pups after the Sunshine Gang broke up. He made quite a name for himself, participated in some sensational robberies. Wells Fargo wanted him bad. After a while, though, he disappeared from sight."
"That's probably because he didn't need to steal anymore since he'd found the gold mine."
"Of course he did." Logan's voice dripped sarcasm.
"He sent Suzanne some gold nuggets from the mine. She kept them in a little wooden box." She hesitated a moment before adding, "My mistake was showing them to Will. That and the map."
"The map to the gold mine," Logan deduced.
"Yes."
"And the mine is somewhere in Black Shadow Canyon."
"Yes."
"And Will has gone to find it." Logan dragged his hand along his jaw. "What a damned fool harebrained idea."
"He's fourteen," she said with a shrug. "Fourteen-year-old boys are full of harebrained ideas." As are sixty-eight-year-old men.
"He's gonna get himself killed!"
"No, he won't." She folded her arms and shot a fierce look his way. "Because you're going to save him, right? You're Lucky Logan Grey, the luckiest man in Texas."
"Lord help us all," Logan muttered. He picked up the photograph of Will and studied it for a long minute.
Caroline held her breath.
Finally, thankfully, the anger drained from his expression, though frustration and concern filled his tone when he sighed, then said, "Yes, Caroline, I'll save him, but luck won't have anything to do with it."
Caroline saw the truth of his words glowing in his eyes as he met her gaze and said, "This is all about what is right. It is about what a man is supposed to do, what fathers do for their sons."
He excused himself after that to seek out his friends and ask their help in developing a rescue plan. Caroline sat in Willow Hill's drawing room fearing that she'd made a huge mistake.
Logan had proved he wasn't the dirty dog she had believed him to be. He was a man of integrity. A man of purpose. And he acted as if he cared for Will already. As if he felt a real fatherly bond.
That wasn't what she'd expected from the man she'd believed had loved her, then left her and never looked back. From everything she'd read about Logan Grey before coming to Fort Worth and based on her experience today at the bank and what she'd learned from Wilhemina Peters, she'd expected Logan to have a sense of responsibility toward Will that required he save the boy from the perils of Black Shadow Canyon. She never anticipated that he'd actually want to be Will's father.
As the repercussions of this revelation filtered through her mind, she murmured, "Lord help us all."
"For the love of all that's holy, this is something I never thought I'd see." Cade Hollister turned to Holt Driscoll and said, "That's three. Three! He turned down a freebie with Ella, an invitation from the librarian and he ignored a blatant proposition from twins. Identical, redheaded, brown-eyed, big-bosomed, saloon-girl twins!"
"The twins I don't understand," Holt observed. "However, Ella never makes him pay and the librarian is married. Lucky never plays with married women."
Cade pursed his lips, smothering a smile. "Except for the once—his own missus."
Logan made a vulgar gesture with his hand and his two friends laughed.
The three men sat at a table in their favorite Fort Worth saloon, the End of the Line, rehashing the events of the evening. Actually, Cade and Holt were the ones doing the rehashing. Logan was too busy brooding.
He was a father. He had a son.
A son who'd grown up without a father.
"I swore I'd never do that," he muttered, staring at the foam atop his beer. He didn't want the beer. Didn't want to be here at the End of the Line. He wanted to be asleep in bed with this entire evening being
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