Chapter Eleven

Brody laughed at Justin as he limped his way up the porch steps. Justin glared at him. If Brody wasn't such a big and dangerous man he would give him a piece of his mind. Instead he swallowed his retort and finished limping into the house.

"Who was that?" Ty asked from where he was leaned against the porch banister.

Elizabeth smiled, "That was Justin Vicks."

"My brother's competition?" Ty asked as he watched the four kids running around the yard with the ranch hounds. There were several men working with horses over at the corral but the man he was looking for, Thomas Cooper, was busy out in the fields with his wife and wouldn't be back until suppertime.

"Yep," Brody's brother Jacob replied as he rocked in the swing with his wife Ellie and son Eli.

"You do know that your sister won't stand a chance if Ryder really sets his sights on her don't you?" Ty asked.

Brody's jaw tightened but Elizabeth smiled, "That's what we're hoping. Susie is a sweet girl and she deserves a man who will love her and make her happy."

Ty glanced away quickly but not quickly enough for Brody to miss the look of uneasiness on his face, "What?" Brody demanded, "Do you know something we don't? Is your brother going to hurt her?"

Ty shrugged as he stuck his hands deep in his pockets. He didn't want to betray his brother but at the same time he didn't want to lie to these people who seemed to truly care about the girl, Susie, "He seems to care about her," he said, hoping this would satisfy them. No such luck.

"But?" Brody asked.

Ty sighed, "Ryder's a good man and he doesn't hurt people on purpose... He just doesn't always think things through."

"Brody ,leave the man alone!" a feminine voice scolded from just inside the door, "I for one am glad that Ryder's back. Though I've never met the man, I know how much Susie seems to like him. This is great for her!" Ty looked up to see a woman step out of the house. She had dark blond hair, pale skin and wide brown eyes. Her nose was tiny and upturned and she had full heart shaped pink lips. She was petite and slender and appeared fragile and breakable in her blue gingham dress with a tight long sleeved bodice and full skirt.

"Hello, ma'am," Ty said as he pulled off his worn, rough leather glove and held his hand out.

Liza's eyes widened as she looked up at the broad shouldered stranger. He wore a well fitting pair of black trousers, a white button down shirt and brown vest. His clothes were all dusty from being on the trail but the Texas Ranger badge on his chest shone, even in the shade. Liza had always been a sucker for a lawman. This lawman's face was all hard, chiseled lines. His hair was hidden by his hat but judging by the mustache and goatee on his face she guessed that it would be nearly black as well. He had dark brown eyes, that were full of interest as he gazed at her from beneath thick lashes.

Liza smiled and placed her hand in his. Both felt the heat from the contact and both simply stared at each other for several long moments until Ellie cleared her throat, "She's single, Ty. No beau or anything."

Liza's eyes widened with embarrassment and she blushed as she shot her sister a look that could kill, "Nice to know that, ma'am," Ty replied with sincerity.

Liza realized that his voice was deep but soothing... It washed over her like the sun after a rainy day. Or maybe that was just the desperate romantic in her, "My name is Liza." she said, surprised by how soft and shy her voice sounded. Since when was she shy?

"Ty Hampton, ma'am," Ty replied and then he cleared his throat to try to get rid of the gruffness in his voice that the sight of her had caused. She pulled her hand away and busied herself smoothing out her skirts.

"You can call her by her first name," Jacob assured him. "We don't fool with all of that proper mister and misses nonsense around here very often. I hope that's alright with you."

"That'll work," Ty replied, his eyes still locked on Liza. Try as he might, he couldn't look away from the graceful lines of her throat and neck or her chocolate brown eyes. He had planned on giving Thomas Cooper his paper from the Governor and then leaving out in the morning to go back to Tortulla. Now he was thinking that staying in Bakerstown for a few days might be a good idea.

"Here comes Ryder and Susie. I thought for a minute I'd have to make good on my promise to kill him," Brody stated.

Ty tore his eyes away from Liza in order to look at the woman who had so thoroughly stolen his brothers....attention. Ty refused to acknowledge that it could be love. He still wasn't sold on the fact that his hyperactive brother, with the attention span of a gnat, who had a different woman every hour, was actually truly in love.

When Ty's eyes fell on Susie, he knew he'd have to eat his words. His brother must really be in love. It wasn't that Susie was ugly. No, she had an angelic innocence to her face that was quite attractive but she was so much different from any woman his brother had been interested in before.

She wasn't short and petite. She was quite tall and, though his mama had raised him good enough that he'd never speak the words out loud, she was quite plump. Susie had an average face, nothing strikingly gorgeous, and she had dark freckles across her cheeks. Ryder had always preferred women with clear complexions. Nothing about Susie was what Ryder had always wanted before.

But it was the sight of Ryder standing next to her that truly told Ty he'd been wrong. Ryder had always been different. Idiocy hadn't run in their family but Ryder was the closest thing to it. He had an impulse to touch and pick at things. He could never hold still. He jumped and climbed and most times acted like a child. Ryder had begun drinking at a young age because he said it helped calm down the chaos in his brain. It oftentimes worsened his hyperactivity but the family hadn't stopped him. Anything to give him, and them, some form of peace.

Right now however, Ryder was holding tight to Susie's hand as they approached the family and the only thought Ty could think of to explain the effect she seemed to have on Ryder was he was a boat that had suddenly found its anchor. Ryder was still bouncing around just a little and he had a goofy grin on his face but Ty couldn't see that chaotic look in his eyes or the tense set in his shoulders. Others might not notice the slight changes but Ty knew Ryder better than anyone else and he definitely noticed them. Ryder had finally found someone who helped soothe him and Ty could tell by the way his little brother looked at her that he was head over heels in love.

Ty was surprised that Ryder was holding Susie's hand so soon in front of her family and he could tell that Susie was surprised as well as she kept looking back and forth between their hands and Brody, who's jaw was tight. Ryder however seemed oblivious to anyone's discomfort and even went so far as to rub his thumb gently over Susie's knuckles. Brody stood up and walked off the porch, "How about we go round up Thomas and Sally and we can have an early supper and fire tonight?" he asked, looking at both Ty and Ryder.

Ty nodded and stepped off the porch himself. He cast another glance up at Liza and saw that she had been staring at him when she blushed and quickly looked away.

Ryder frowned and was about to refuse but Brody grabbed him by the back of his vest and tugged him, "Come on, loverboy." he growled.

Ryder grinned and nodded, "See ya later, Susie." he said giving her hand one last squeeze.

Ryder caught up with Ty who was already headed to where his horse was hitched at the barn and Brody turned back to look at Jacob still sitting on the porch, "You staying here with the womenfolk or ya coming with us?" he demanded.

"It's not just womenfolk here. Justin's locked up in his room," Liza reminded him.

Brody raised a brow, "Like I said, are ya staying here with the womenfolk, Jacob, or are ya coming?"

Jacob handed Eli to Ellie and stood up while everyone laughed, "I'm coming. I'd hate to be grouped in the same category as that thing in the guest room."

"You should really be more nice," Susie scolded her family though she was barely keeping a straight face herself.

Ryder saw that when she was fighting back her laughter she had a single dimple in her right cheek. That woman was an angel. His angel. No doubt about it. The four men mounted horses and rode off across the hills.

Brody and Jacob led the way and Ryder and Ty rode a ways behind them, "That was Susie, huh?" Ty asked cautiously.

Ryder grinned as he watched a group of birds fly above their heads, "Yeah. She's great isn't she?"

"Yeah... She's uh.. Different."

Ryder looked over at him but then he was again distracted as a fly began buzzing around his head, "What do you mean?" he asked as he swatted at the fly.

"She has freckles," Ty replied, deciding to start somewhere safe and see how Ryder reacted.

The fly flew away and Ryder turned his attention back to his brother, "Aren't they something?" he asked with a smile.

Ty frowned, "I thought you hated freckles."

Ryder shrugged, "Not her freckles," he said simply, "She's perfect."

"Come off it, Ryder. Either you really are in love or you're being awful mean to that poor girl. Since I've known you all your life and I know you wouldn't ever do something that mean, you must be in love for real."

"I told you I was!" Ryder exclaimed with exasperation as the fly came back and he resumed his swatting. "You're the one who chose to think I was lying."

"Yeah, but that's because I didn't really think you meant it." Ty muttered.

Ryder let out a triumphant laugh as he finally managed to swat the fly and send it on a crash course into the ground, "Well ,I did," Ryder said as he stood in the stirrups.

Ty simply nodded. He believed him. Ryder might be immature, wild, impulsive and crazy but he didn't go out of his way to hurt people. He might lie to whores when he'd had too much to drink but most men did. That didn't make it right but it also didn't change the fact that it was the truth. However despite Ryder's faults, deep down he was a good man. He was loyal to a fault and brutally honest when sober.

God help Susie Atkinson because it sure looked like she was going to be stuck with his brother. Ty couldn't help but smile

***

"No offense to you, of course, but I believe all this paper is good for is something to wipe my ass on," Thomas spat as he read over the paper Ty had handed him.

"Let me see," Sally said, walking over to him.

Thomas handed the paper to her and she scanned it quickly. She frowned up at him, "You should be proud of this! I'll frame it and hang it up."

Thomas pulled the paper away from her and shook his head, "No you won't," he countered. He looked at Brody and Brody nodded and pulled out a pack of matches. Brody struck one of the matches across his cheek and handed it to Thomas, who held it to the corner of the paper until a bright orange flame flared and quickly began to engulf his letter of thanks from the Governor.

"What are you doing?!" Sally demanded, "You gave a lot of years to this state and they were thanking you!"

Thomas shook his head, "The Texas Rangers and the Governor of this fair state can kiss my ass. No little piece of paper with a fancy signature and state seal is going to change my mind about that," Thomas looked over at Ty, "No offense to you."

"None taken,/" Ty assured him, "I heard what Captain Wynter did. I would probably feel the same way you do."

"Thomas, we're going to talk about this later," Sally warned as she wiped her arm across her sweat covered forehead. Thomas nodded and blew out a long breath as the paper burned to the end and he dropped it down and stomped out the last of the ashes.

"Let's get back to the ranch. The other women are making us a big dinner," Brody said.

"We had more fence line to cover today," Sally argued.

Brody shrugged, "The boss says it's okay."

"Yep. Elizabeth wanted y'all to come back too," Ryder agreed, tearing his attention away from the hornets nest about fifty feet away that he had been throwing rocks at.

Thomas chuckled, "I guess he'll work out, huh Brody? I mean he already knows who the boss is around here."

Ryder grinned proudly when Brody chuckled, "Let's go," Brody said as he started back toward the ranch and everyone followed.

He looked over at Ty, "You leaving town or are you gonna stick around a while?"

"I haven't decided yet," Ty replied as an image of Liza's blushing face came to his mind, "Would I be welcome to hang around for a while, sheriff?"

Brody chuckled quietly as he lit a cigarette, "Can't very well tell ya no. If I'm letting a man like your brother stay around town I can't very well turn you away."

Ty looked over at Ryder who had pulled his gun and was trying to aim at the fly buzzing around his head, "Ryder, put the gun away and leave the fly alone," Ty scolded.

Ryder grinned sheepishly and holstered his gun, "It's not like he could have hit the damn thing anyway. Nobody can shoot a fly." Thomas snorted. Brody, Jacob and Sally nodded in agreement.

Ty shook his head, "Don't encourage him...." he said with a groan, but it was too late. Ryder was getting ready to show off his talents and nothing Ty could have said would stop him.

"I can't hit a fly huh?" Ryder asked and everyone other than Ty shook their heads.

"Not in the air. No one can," Jacob said with certainty.

Ryder pulled one of his short barreled .38 revolvers and pointed at the fly that was currently buzzing around Ty's head, "See that fly?"

"You'll blow your brother's head off," Thomas argued.

Brody noticed Ty's lack of fear and found himself becoming intridgued, "I see the fly," he said.

"Don't blink," Ryder warned, "You'll miss it if you do."

"I'm watching," Brody assured him. His eyes were locked on the fly as it flew in lazy circles around Ty's head.

"You better not kill me, Ryder. I'll never speak to you again if you do." Ty muttered with boredom.

Brody, Jacob, Thomas and Sally all focused on the fly. The blast of the gunshot caused Sally and Jacob to blink but Thomas and Brody both stared on in shock as the fly disappeared. Though the impact itself had been too fast for the eye to see, neither had any doubts that Ryder had just shot the fly right out of the air.

"Well I'll be a suck egg mule," Thomas muttered as he pulled off his hat and scratched his blond hair. Ryder was smiling proudly and giving them an 'I told you so' look as he holstered his gun.

"I had my doubts about you being able to protect my sister, Ryder." Brody said with pride and surprise in his voice as he urged his horse forward. He glanced over his shoulder at Ryder and flashed a rare smile, "Least now I know she's safe from flies."