Ryder sighed, lifting the drink to his lips. His eyes scanned the room for Grace, but she was nowhere to be seen.
He felt a little uncomfortable in the stiff tuxedo he was wearing. Until just the year before, his father had handled everything for their family—any and all ranch business went through him. It had been two years since Ryder had come back from his journey. He was established in Deep Caverns as the owner and manager of a horse and saddle supply shop, and his family had begun with a baby boy born to him and Grace. The boy was already six months old and apparently the spitting image of Ryder’s brother Clyde when he was a baby, according to their mother.
Since his father always took care of business, he was usually the one who traveled to these business affairs. There was only one reason why Grace and Ryder were attending this event instead of Jack Duncan.
Ryder felt frustration simmer in his veins.
Helena.
The girl had been nothing but trouble since she reached her eighteenth birthday. She was constantly running away on adventures that sometimes got her in trouble. She was, for some reason, angry with her parents and her sister, claiming she’d never felt loved by any of them.
Her behavior was a surprise to Ryder. He hadn’t really paid a lot of attention to Grace’s sister. Helena had been too young to play with them and all of his focus was usually on Grace in any situation, anyway.
After Helena’s mysterious disappearance from their wedding ceremony, Ryder and Grace had set out to find her. For some reason, the girl had gone to Tumbleweed with Christopher, just to go to the saloon there without anyone knowing who she was.
When Ryder and Grace had eventually found her, Helena was passing herself off as someone much older. She’d told them that she’d left Christopher in the hotel because he was too forceful with her, and she was sure she could find someone else right there in that sleepy little town who would take care of her properly.
It took everything Grace and Ryder had not to hog-tie the girl and throw her over the back of a horse, transporting her directly back to her parents.
Instead, they’d stayed in Tumbleweed with Helena for a while. Ryder didn’t mind the commute between the two towns so he could take care of his business there. He knew how important Helena was to Grace.
But it had been two years now, and Helena was still behaving like a wild and crazy young woman. Her twentieth birthday was in a few months. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan were desperate to have Helena back in Deep Caverns so they could keep an eye on her.
Ryder grunted, scanning the crowd for the sisters. He didn’t see either and dropped his hand to the table, still clutching the glass between his fingers. He wanted a sober mind today. It would do him no good to be drunk trying to convince Helena this was the last time she would be saved. Grace might want to continue rescuing her sister, but Ryder had had enough. How many more times would it take for the girl to understand what she was doing to herself and her life? She was always taking risks, always getting in sticky situations with no plan on how to get out. She picked the worst men on the planet to spend her time with.
He was amazed at the difference between Grace and Helena. How could two sisters be so different? They’d grown up in the same atmosphere with the same parents. And their personalities weren’t just different—they were polar opposites. It was as if Grace had grown up and Helena wouldn’t.
He tried not to be too harsh on Helena and felt guilty for the frustrated thoughts that had been going through his mind. She wasn’t a bad girl. She was just… stupid. She made very unwise decisions. Especially where men were concerned.
He lifted his eyes, feeling like someone was staring at him. A rush of warmth washed over him when he saw Grace’s familiar, beautiful face emerging from the crowd, briefly covered by someone walking past her and then visible again. She was smiling at him.
He hadn’t seen her smile since they’d arrived at this event in Dallas. It was a big place, and one could easily get lost trying to maneuver through the streets. It was the last place Helena had been spotted, so they had a big task on their hands—like finding a needle in a haystack.
But they had knowledge that she would be attending this event as the special guest of one of the local politicians.
Ryder took a step forward, studying the curves of his wife’s lips and the slant of her jawline. He resisted the urge to close the distance between them and pull her in for a kiss. Being with her was the best thing about being alive.
“Ryder,” she called out softly, lifting one slender hand. She was wearing a dress made of fly-away fabric, long swaths of material overlapping the layer below, barely touching her legs mid-shin even in the gentlest of breezes. A canary yellow ribbon served as a belt around her waist. The dress brought out her curves, showing how shapely she was even after giving birth.
“Come here, Grace,” he responded, gesturing with two fingers. “I can’t hear you very well.”
She was giggling when she approached. “Did you think I was going to stop there and try yelling at you across the room?”
He grunted a chuckle and shook his head. “You look happy. Why do you look so happy?”
Her blond eyebrows shot up and her blue eyes sparkled at him. He could see the admiration and love on her face. After resting one hand on her arm, he slid it down to her hand and squeezed her fingers gently. He didn’t let go.
“I’m not supposed to be happy?” Her mocking harsh tone changed mid-sentence when he touched her. She tilted her head to the side and sighed, putting one hand up on his cheek. “I just got through talking to Helena. She has quite a story to tell.”
Ryder’s eyebrows shot up. “You found her? That fast? There must be hundreds of people here.”
Grace laughed softly. “Let’s sit down. They’re going to start the ceremony in a minute. They are giving out awards. Community awards. They say it’s a way to acknowledge what the people do for each other in Texas. All over Texas. People write to this committee, and every single person who is nominated will receive an award.”
Ryder was surprised to hear all that information. He wondered why he hadn’t been told all of that before he came in the first place. “Well, that’s really noble. I’ve never heard of it.”
Grace nodded, shrugging as she led him to an oval table nearby, surrounded by eight chairs. She reached to pull one out, but Ryder was quicker. He held the chair with a smile and she thanked him as she sat down. “I think it’s very new,” she told him as she settled in her seat, smoothing out her dress. “Maybe only two or three years they’ve been doing this. And it seems like only the people associated with politics know about it, anyway. I don’t know why.”
“Well, it’s a nice thing to do. We’ll have to spread the word. So, tell me what Helena had to say. How is she? Has she been eating?”
Grace chuckled. “She has been eating, actually. She’s been eating very well. She…” Her head tilted and her eyes focused on someone approaching behind Ryder. “She’s right there.” She laughed, lifting her hand and pointing behind him.
He turned and stared at the woman coming up to him. She didn’t look like Helena, at first. She looked too well put-together. He stood up before she reached the table and extended his hand.
“Helena? You’re looking well! I’m glad to see it!”
He was completely taken aback by her appearance. The gown she wore was high-fashion, but not too expensive-looking. She wasn’t heavily painted with make-up and her hair was styled gracefully, making her look high class. She took Ryder’s hand and he lifted it up to kiss her fingers.
“Thank you, Ryder! I’m glad you approve! We have to sit and talk. I know you’ve been looking for me for a while now. I want to talk to you about that. I want to tell you how sorry I am.”
“Come and sit down, Helena,” Grace raised her voice to be heard over the murmur of the crowd around them.
Helena nodded at her sister, twisting her upper body and lifting both hands to indicate a young man standing behind her, looking uncomfortable and awkward.
“This is Barnaby,” she said, grinning from ear to ear.
Ryder looked at the young man, scanning him from top to bottom.
“He’s the man I intend to marry,” Helena announced. “Just as soon as he asks me.”
Barnaby had been looking at Helena with a look of utter despair, but her last sentence made his face light up. His smile opened up his entire face and Ryder instantly liked him. He held out his hand to shake and Barnaby took it. The young man’s grip was firm and strong, impressing Ryder.
“Hello,” Ryder said. “It’s good to meet you. You sure you can handle this firecracker?”
Barnaby laughed. “Well, I have for three months. I haven’t lived with her yet, so we’ll have to see how that plays out if we cross that bridge.”
Both men laughed. Barnaby’s brown eyes sparkled in the light of the oil lamps around the room. When he laughed, the brown curls on his head shuffled as if they had lives of their own. He was just an inch or two shorter than Ryder, who was just about six feet tall, but they had a similar build. The only real distinction between them was that Barnaby had a noticeable British accent that was probably one of the things that had endeared him to Helena, who liked anything unusual.
The thought that the sisters had similar tastes in looks passed briefly through Ryder’s mind and he added a short chuckle to the laughter he’d shared with Barnaby.
“Let’s sit down. I want to tell you how I found this man and how happy I’ve been with him. He has turned my life around, I’m telling you. I’m not the same person anymore, I’m really not!” Helena’s voice was excited. Ryder could tell she was indeed genuinely happy and wasn’t in the least impaired by booze or anything else. She didn’t reek of cigar or cigarette smoke. In fact, she smelled like rose petal water—clean and fresh.
“I don’t know if I’ve been that important, Helena,” Barnaby cut in. “You’ve done a lot of work getting yourself together. I’ve just been the one lucky enough to watch.”
Helena looked up at him as he pushed in the chair he’d been holding out for her, giving him an adoring smile. She lifted one hand and placed it on his arm before he pulled away from her.
“Thank you, dear one,” she said lovingly.
He smiled at her and took the seat next to her. Ryder sat back down, looking between the two of them for a moment before glancing at Grace. She was gazing at him, giving him a look that reminded him of the way Helena looked at Barnaby.
He wished the table wasn’t between them.
“Tell me your story, Helena,” he said, leaning forward and resting both arms on top of the table, clasping his hands together in front of him. He gave Helena an interested look, tilting his head to the side. “It’s been, what, six months since you’ve been gone? It looks like you’ve made a lot of changes in that time.”
He was impressed with those changes. He knew Grace had to be pleased by it.
Helena nodded, grinning wide. “Yes, I’ve done a lot of improving. Barnaby here, I didn’t meet him—well, it was four months ago. We’ve been together for three months, but it’s been four months that I’ve known him. Right, Barnaby?”
Barnaby smiled, nodding. He said nothing, his eyes fixed on Helena. Ryder could tell how much he cared for the girl.
He looked back at his sister-in-law, noting how vibrant and excited Helena still was. It wasn’t just seeing her sister, and it certainly wasn’t about seeing him. She just gave off an enthusiastic vibe that Ryder had never felt from her before.
“And we met in the saloon, too!” Helena said the words as if they should come as a shock to both her sister and Ryder. Grace shared a look with him before looking back at Helena.
If Helena didn’t catch on to the looks, Barnaby did. He interjected with, “I never frequent saloons. I am an artist. I came to the United States to paint a portrait of American culture for the people in England.”
“Well, that sounds nice. But didn’t you say you’re the mayor’s son?”
Grace nodded, tapping the table with her fingers to get Ryder’s attention. When he looked at her, she flicked her fingers to the left, indicating a large, round man whose only hair was above his lip and over his ears—and all of it was white.
“That’s the mayor,” she said. “Barnaby is his adopted son.”
“Well, that’s nice,” Ryder said appreciatively. “And it’s also nice to see what you’ve done for Helena. She looks like she isn’t miserable. I don’t think I’ve seen her anything but angry or sad these last few years.”
Helena nodded. Ryder was glad, worried at first he might have hurt her feelings with his blunt words. She gave him a soft smile. “I’m so glad Grace has you, Ryder. After what the two of you went through, losing Clyde, I’ll tell ya, I wasn’t thinking about either of you or Clyde back then. I was only thinking about myself. I’m sorry, Ryder. I’m sorry I never told you how awful it was when that happened. Clyde was always so nice to me. I didn’t properly show respect, and I’m so sorry.”
Ryder lifted one side of his lips in a forgiving grin. “Of course, Helena. I appreciate the apology. You are forgiven, of course. You were just a kid. Had to grow up, didn’t ya?”
She nodded again, her blue eyes sliding to Barnaby. She reached out and covered his hand with one of hers. “I finally found something to grow up for.”
Barnaby lifted his eyebrows. “I’m a thing?”
The small group laughed and Helena shook her head, her face radiating happiness. “No, silly. The thing is love. Oh, you’re just silly, aren’t you?”
They all laughed again. Ryder looked around the room, thinking how surprised he was to be in that place at that time, watching a happy and healthy Helena chat with Grace as if no hard feelings had ever been between them.
It was a good night—a proper ending, Ryder thought, to the saga that had been Helena. Even on their way back to Deep Caverns, Ryder wondered whether or not that would be the last time they would be called to search for the girl. It was likely if that happened, it would be Barnaby putting out the call. He could only hope Helena didn’t prove to be too wild for the young man to handle. To his credit, he had kept his cool and been calm and understanding the entire time they talked that evening.
As Ryder and Grace slid into their hotel bed that evening, he pushed up against her, enjoying the heat of her body and the softness of her skin. They said good night and what seemed like mere moments later, Ryder could hear his wife breathing soft and steady. He wondered how she could possibly get to sleep so quickly. It was normal for her to fall asleep fast, but after the exciting night they’d spent with Helena and Barnaby, he’d been expecting a little pillow talk.
He looked up at the ceiling, where dark shadows curved and waved at him as the moon shone around the trees outside. He slid his arm around Grace’s shoulders, pulling the sleeping woman even closer to him. He could just see the outline of her features in the bright moonlight. He gazed at her, lovingly.
It had been two years, but it might as well have been eighty. His love for her would last a lifetime. He would always be giddy when she turned her attention to him. Such bliss that he’d never expected.
“I love you, Grace,” he whispered as quietly as he could, not wanting to wake her.
And softly, without opening her eyes or moving at all, she whispered back, “I love you, Ryder.”
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Hello there, I hope you enjoyed my new western adventure story and the extended epilogue! I would be very glad to read your thoughts below.
Loved it! You’re a great writer. Your words flow easily. Hope to read many more of your books in the future!👍🏻
Thank you so much for your comment, Laura! I hope you read many too!:)
I really enjoyed the book. I have read over 1000 western stories in the last five years. There are so many great writers of these books and when I start one I can’t put it down. I know I rarely read too much.
Thank you so much for your comment, Neil. I hope you have an awesome day!
Fantastic story I have now read five of your books and can’t wait to see more keep up the good work.
Yours sincerely Alan Bates.
Thank you very much for your comment, Alan. I’m glad you enjoyed my story. Have an awesome day!
I enjoyed this wonderful story about family friends love and grief . Violence,they way it was in that time. You keep your stories action packed and not dull. I really enjoyed the love of the families and the determination of all of the characters. Thank You for the exciting way you write. Will continue to enjoy the books ,so keep writing them.Thank You!
Thank you so much for your comment, Linda. I’m glad you enjoyed the book!
The extended epilogue does not follow Jake and Emily but Ryder and Grace.
May I ditto Vincent’s comment. I was kind a disappointed.
Thanks for your comment, Bob. May I ask what was the main reason you didn’t enjoy the story? Your feedback is very valuable and will help me to become better and better.
5 stars great read clear cut heroes. Dramatic scenes, fun read.
Thank you so much for your comment, Molly! I’m glad you enjoyed the book!
A good read with some very good characters that made the story very thrilling and enjoyable I particularly loved the introduction of Brute the dog but was disappointed that he wasn’t featured at the end . Still a good read though.
Thank you so much for your comment, Peter. Glad you liked it!
This extended epilogue is for the wrong book. Not the first time this has happened. So where is the correct one.
Truely aggravating.
Hi there, Nana. You are commenting on the book’s extended epilogue, which is the correct one, but here is the link in case you want to have it: http://austingrayson.com/ryder
I tried to email it to you, but your email address could not be found.
I loved the stor but your eliqlog did not follow the book telling us about Jake and Emily…
Also, I’m not sure whom is proofreading your work, but I read a number of mistakes….sorry
Thank you so much for your feedback, Linda. I have already talked with my editor regarding this issue.
Awesome and appealing throughout.
Thanks, Bobby. Glad to hear that!
Excellent and interesting storyline again, always different and colourful side characters and strong male heroes, all his stories have great depth and wide vistas of the time and feel of the old western period, his books are always interesting and command your attention from start to finish, once you read one of his books, you will definitely feel the need to read all of them, thank you for bringing the historical west to life for today’s readers.
Thank you so much, Bernice! You always have the nicest things to say, I appreciate it!
A really good storyline! Loved the action and history combined with romance! Well written! Would love know
\read more about the spooky canyon! My grandparents were from Happy Texas and used to tell about hunting mustangs in a creepy place where things disappeared! Loved this story!
Thank you so much for leaving a comment, Beverly! I’m so glad you enjoyed my story. Have a great day!
I do enjoy the interesting characters that you create Austin, and this story drew me along on the journey Ryder took as he sought his brothers killer, made new friends, survived illness, weather, attack, strange places, different people, and loneliness while coming to realize how he needed his life to be.
A tidy ending with Grace’s sister reforming also.
Thanks so much for the comment, Maureen!:)
A very good story and the characters are very strong and determined .So glad Ryder and grace found happiness and the criminal was caught A great read
Thank you for your kind words, Gwen! I deeply appreciate it. Glad you enjoyed the story!
A fast moving story with the human interaction keeping up the suspense and interest. The variety of interesting characters and well rounded personalities add to the panache. I appreciated less violence this time and more human interaction and depth and variety of personality. An excellent story from a very talented author
I’m so glad you enjoyed the story, Margaret!
To be honest, this is not one of your better writings. It took forever to read as I could not get into the story for simple reasoning. I would not recommend this book to anyone. Please go back to your better works that you are known for.
I’m so sorry that you didn’t enjoy my story, Janet. I do appreciate your honest feedback and I will try my best!
I cannot believe the lady who complained about this book, it was great. A sad beginning when a brother is killed and a family is grieving. A very small town sherrif, Ryder, gives up his badge to become a Texas Ranger so he can legally go after his brother’s killer. His mind is on revenge but he wears a star which is a moral delima. After becoming separated from his tracker he meets a female bounty hunter who rides with him for a while. She splits from him because she is tracking a killer who is wanted dead or alive. After killing the man, his wife comes out and starts shooting at her and she realizes that he had a a wife and kids who could have been caught in the gunfire. She meets back up with
Ryder who follows her because she knows more about tracking than he does. After losing his original tracker he was more than glad to find her. This book was EXCELLENT! Keep on writing.
I think I only have one more to go of your books to read but if you would email me a list, I sure would appreciate it. I don’t want to miss a single one.
Couldn’t help but notice the word motel pop up in the narrative several times, didn’t know they had cars back then. The story was not believable in many ways. Just couldn’t get into it. Sorry.
Thank you for your comment, John. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the story, I will look into this with my editor, and I will be more vigilant about such issues in the future.
I really enjoyed reading this book. Suffice to say, I will be reading more of your boo ks. Than you.
Thank you so much for your comment, Sebastian. So glad you enjoyed the story!
Never saw the extended epilogue.
Hi there, do you need any help with the Extended Epilogue? Have a great day!
I enjoyed you writing of this story. I have only read a couple of you books but I do like you style of writing. Keep writing and I’ll read them all.
Thank you for your comment, Richard. I’m glad you enjoyed my story, and you like the style of my writing. Have an awesome day!
This is the first of your books I’ve read but won’t be the last. Very enjoyable!!!
Thank you for your comment, Frances. I’m glad you enjoyed my story. I hope you have an awesome day!
I noticed that your editorial staff should use Grammarly and speak American so when the book are read by us the normal people they understand your writing . Just because a word sounds right doesn’t mean it is. I also noticed people’s names being changed or confused. I am fairly intelligent maybe you could use a person to do that that understands that you are writing about. Computers are I my as good as their users.
Thank you for your comment and honest feedback Marlene. I will look into this with my editor, and I will be more vigilant about such issues in the future.
Yes I enjoyed the book and the extended epilogue, tho the epilogue did not seem that extended. Too many Authors are now using this medium to “sell” a message (religion etc) PLEASE do not fall into that trap.
Thank you very much for your comment and honest feedback, John. I’m glad you enjoyed the book. Have an awesome day!
Once again, most excellent! The continuous action just pulls you through the story! Loved it!
Well done sir! Well done.👍
Sharon Farnsworth
Thank you so much for your comment, Sharon. I’m glad you enjoyed the story. Have an awesome day!
I liked this story! It contained murder (sadly), mystery, adventure, friendships, sadness, justice and love for Ryder in the end. It kept me interested to see how it all ended. Good book!
Thank you for your comment, Dorothy. I’m glad you enjoyed the book!
Another great read. Enjoyed from start to finish.
Thank you very much for your comment, Lowell. I’m glad you enjoyed the story. I hope you have a great day!
Great book as usual. My comment is meant as humor. Hope did our hero fall down the mountain, twice, and still have his hat on? I am smiling g who!a typo v this. In reading all the previous commenta, I find I already agree with positive a ones, so I won’t repeat rhem. Thank you again.
Jeanette Mitchell
Thank you very much for your comment, Janette. I’m glad you enjoyed the story! Have an awesome day!
I love it I could not stop reading until I finished it was so good and interestingly
Thank you for your comment, Maxine. I’m glad you enjoyed the book. I hope you have a great day!
Congratulations! You’ve done again! Very good story, very well written. I’ve read quite a few of your stories, and all are excellent. Like the way they are presented and developed. Is as entertaining as you could ask. keep writting, and I’ll keep reading!! Thanks, take care!
Thank you so much for your comment, Jose! I’m glad you enjoyed the book!
Jacob and Emily story was not shown. The pursuit of an evil criminal came up instead. Would like to see how it all ends
Thank you for your honest feedback, Deborah! I really appreciate it!
Dear Mr. Grayson:
I truly have enjoyed reading your book.
However, you definitely need a better proof reader. There were so many errors and typos that were a total distraction that made me want to just quit reading.
I love to read, then re-read a book. Therefore, if you would consider me to be your next proof reader, I would be most interested.
Yours truly,
Thank you very much for your feedback and kind offer, Patricia. I have already been working with an editor, but I will keep that in mind for the future. Again, thank you very much for your interest!
Revenge and true love. Yes, it is possible for these two emotions to be in tandem. This novel is involving the closeness of brothers and the young girl both were very attached to. When one brother is murdered during a robbery the other brother becomes a Texas Ranger who goes in pursuit of the murderer. The entire adventure brings out old emotions for the surviving brother. Very delightful episode by a very talented author. This is a free ARC copy I received foe my honest opinion.
Thank you so much, Judy. Glad to hear you enjoyed the book!
Very good story. True goodness won out.
Thanks for your comment, Bonnie. So glad you liked the book!
I have two books of yours that have multiple novels in them. These were all pretty good and difficult to put down however I had difficulty maintaining interest in this one. it drug in places something I had not experienced in the other books. The thing I found so much difficulty with were the errors in typing. I had to keep going back to reread previous pages because the sentences didn’t make sense until I could figure out what you meant. I’d certainly go back the publisher to have it reaired. Otherwise, beside this particular story I have enjoyed many of your stories.
Thank you very much, Kathi! You are correct and I’ll look into the editing issue.
The link for the extended epilogue in Enemy on the Edge of Town leads to the extended epilogue for The Pursuit of an Evil Criminal. I’d really like to hear what happens to Jake and Emily.
I quite agree with Kathi above, there are many spelling and grammatical errors in all of your books. I wasn’t sure that this was the correct place to post the comment until reading hers.
Please have a chat with your editor and give them a little more time to proofread prior to publishing.
All of your books are great reading as well as some of those you recommend in your emails.
Thanks for making the day interesting and reading enjoyable.
Thank you! Check your email!