“Wake up, Mike. Raeden’s not back. We need to go check the store.” He jumped out of bed, they dressed in a hurry, saddled horses and rode as fast as the darkness would allow. The lights shining from the windows at the store brought instant relief until they found the door wide open and the mess inside. Diane darted through the store calling for Raeden, returned to see Mike, his face scored with panic, holding the shreds of her dress. She grasped a lantern. They both hurried outside and found signs of two horses and a struggle. Diane snatched a rifle and charged to her horse, swung into the saddle and the horse moved out before her feet reached the stirrups. She yelled back to Mike. “I’m going for Chad; we can all go out and search.” She barreled the short distance to the jailhouse and noticed a rider in the distance. It’s Cash. Speeding past the marshal’s office, she continued through town waving the rifle over her head, calling out Cash’s name.
