Sara Sterling and Marybeth Johnson were sitting at the kitchen table with two small cups in front of them. If Marybeth hadn't been gagged and Sara's pretty mouth hadn't been busted, they'd have looked like they were about to have tea.
"Thaddeus," Sara cried. She stood up and moved toward him, but was promptly shoved onto her knees by a man Kid assumed was Matt. The man slapped her. Sara didn't make a sound when he hit her, just winced, and Kid took an automatic step forward to help her. Mary Beth made indignant sounds behind her gag.
"Oh, let her up," the man behind Kid said. Matt stepped back, keeping his shotgun ready, and Sara got to her feet and went to Kid.
"Let me help you." She gently took hold of Heyes and the two of them eased him onto the floor. As soon as his partner was safely down, Kid swayed, and Sara put her arm around his waist and helped him sit. "Oh, Thaddeus," she said softly, reaching into her pocket and taking out a handkerchief. She handed it to him for his side and leaned over to check on Heyes.
"The girls?" Kid asked.
"They took them from me, them and Marybeth's little boy." Sara's voice was acidic.
"Now, now, they've been locked in the pantry, a safer place for them than out here, wouldn't you say?" He looked at his accomplice. "Matt, how have the ladies' behaved?"
"I know you said it ain't necess'ry to tie 'em but that one," he jerked a thumb at Mrs. Johnson, "wouldn't shut her mouth, so I gagged her and told her if she took it out I'd shoot her. As for her," he indicated Sara, "she's been sitting there plottin' something."
Kid leaned against the back of the wall slightly, resting himself, but he didn't dare relax; he was watching for a chance to get them out of the mess they were in. Sara looked over Heyes and the Kid with her eyes glittering and she stood suddenly, moving toward a basket that sat on a shelf in the kitchen.
"Widow Sterling, what do you think you are doing?" The man who had viciously 'escorted' Kid and Heyes inside the building asked.
"I'm getting a needle an' thread," she replied in a cold, matter-of-fact voice. "An' I'm going to get some towels an' a jug of water, also."
The man laughed, shaking his head when Matt moved towards her. "You are, are you, widow?"
"Yes, I am, Mr. Kelly." Sara stared defiantly at the man. Meanwhile, something clicked in Kid's mind—Kelly, Kelly of the Circle Eights ranch, the second biggest ranch bordering the Bennett's spread? Had to be. And judging by the fact the man was probably around his thirties, he had to be Hard-nosed Kelly's son.
Sara picked up the basket and within a few seconds, Kelly strode over to her and knocked the basket onto the floor. Mrs. Johnson, still seated at the table, jumped.
"You spoke to me in an insolent tone," Kelly said in a soft, cruel voice.
"And yet I am more polite to you than you deserve," Sara retorted. "After all you are a lyin', bushwhackin'—"
Before she could finish her rebellious speech, Kelly back handed her so hard that she was thrown back against the shelves, her head hitting them with a thunk. Kid was on his feet and taking a few steps forward before he had time to register the pain that moving caused him.
"Don't," Sara cried, looking not at Kelly but at the Kid. "Please."
Kid paused, but continued giving Kelly his cold glare. Matt had angled his shotgun in the Kid's direction.
Kelly didn't glance at Curry, he was standing over Sara. "Sara, if you speak to me like that again I'll let Matt over there do whatever he wishes to you in front of your daughters." Her face paled and Kid's eyes narrowed. "Do you understand?"
Matt leered at her and Sara gave a small nod. She gritted her teeth and clenched her hands, then said, "Please, Mr. Kelly, I would like to tend to Thaddeus and Joshua."
"That's much better, my dear," Kelly picked up the sewing basket and opened it, taking out the scissors and pocketing them before he handed it to her. "You may fetch the jug of water on the sideboard and a few towels. Just remember that Matt has his gun on you." Kelly turned. "Thaddeus," his tone was mocking. "I suggest you sit back down by your friend."
Reluctantly, Kid eased back down next to Heyes. He looked as his partner, whose slightly pale face accentuated his bruises. The only reason he hadn't punched Kelly through the wall was because of Sara's plea and because his actions might've had consequences for Heyes. To the Kid's surprise, Kelly pulled a cigar from his pocket and walked outside to smoke it, leaving them alone with Matt, who seemed about as intelligent as a buck in rutting season. Maybe now was a good time to make a move.