The Devil You Know by Jo Goodman Read Free Book Online Page B

tea to ease your pain. You should drink up. Now what about that help? Can you feed yourself?”
    Willa tapped the bowl of her spoon against the table to get the ranch hand’s attention. When he looked over, she gave him an eyeful of reprimand.
    â€œI saw that,” said Israel. “I can stand up for myself.”
    â€œSit up first,” she said. “Then we’ll see about the other.” Mr. McKenna was not amused, she noted, but Cutter chuckled. Willa decided to ignore them both and concentrate onher dinner. They worked it out before she finished sopping up the last of her stew with a warm crust of bread.
    â€œTell Cutter your middle name,” she said, leaning back in her chair.
    â€œCourt,” he said. “Are you testing me?”
    â€œYes.”
    He shrugged, winced, and then massaged his injured shoulder. “I have to stop doing that.”
    â€œFor now.”
    â€œHow long before it’s better?”
    Cutter broke in. “This a first for you?”
    â€œI think so.”
    â€œWouldn’t have thought you could forget something like that.”
    â€œHere we go,” Willa told Cutter. She stopped short of rolling her eyes. Her stomach was full and just now eye rolling seemed like too much effort. “The convenient inconvenient memory.” She turned to her dinner companion and saw he had chosen the white willow tea over the stew. Except for grimacing and the occasional smothered groan, he had been stoic about the pain. But whether it was silence born of experience and expectation or some need to keep it from her, she didn’t know. “Or is inconveniently convenient?” she asked him. “No matter. You’ll be out of the sling in a few days, and you will notice improvement in a couple of weeks, a month at the outside. If you don’t care for it, though, the muscles will tighten and you’ll have problems there for the rest of your life.”
    â€œIt’s true, Roundbottom,” said Cutter.
    Willa tapped the table again, this time with the flat of her hand. “Careful, Cutter. If he listens to me, he won’t always be in a sling, and he might be a credible shot.”
    Israel shook his head. “I’m not.”
    â€œAre you sure?” asked Willa.
    â€œI am. Did you find a gun or a gun belt?”
    â€œNo, but as I told you, we didn’t find any money either.”
    Cutter asked, “Did you have money?”
    â€œI don’t know.”
    Willa closed her eyes briefly and rubbed the lids with a thumb and forefinger. “How did you get to Jupiter?”
    â€œI don’t know.” He put his spoon down and pushed the bowl away. “You’re the one who thinks that’s where I was.”
    â€œYou agreed with me.”
    â€œBecause it seems likely, but I don’t know it for a fact.” He plowed his fingers through his hair again. “How does anyone get to Jupiter?”
    When Willa didn’t answer, Cutter did. “Mostly train these days. There’s a U.P. spur from Denver. You know what the U.P. is, don’t you?”
    â€œThe Union Pacific.”
    â€œThat’s right. Do you think you might have taken the train, Mr. McKenna?”
    â€œIsrael. And I don’t know.” He ignored Willa’s sigh. “Did I hear you say back where you found me that I might have ridden out with some others?”
    Cutter’s eyebrows laddered his forehead as they rose. He looked at Willa.
    â€œI told you,” she said. “He was listening even back then.”
    â€œI’ll be darned.” Cutter massaged the back of his neck. “Yeah, I said it could have been like that. I thought there might be three, maybe four horses. Stands to figure one of them was yours. I didn’t take a lot of time to look around on account of we needed to get you here, but I can do that tomorrow.”
    Willa shook her head. “Jupiter tomorrow. I’ll go back. It’s