“How are you doing?” she asked as she glanced at his arm.
He shrugged. “Fine, can’t same the same for Felton. He’s moaning back there like a stuck toad. Has been all night.”
She turned to see the ruffled blankets on the unmade bunk. It looked as if they had been kicked into submission after a long night of fighting back. Had he had nightmares last night? she wondered. “You slept here?”
“Not much choice.”
She sighed internally as she shifted over and flattened the sheets then pulled the blankets taught so that she could make his bed. “It doesn’t look good, an unmade bed.”
He laughed. “Becky, that isn’t your worry.”
She spun on him as her forehead narrowed. “Luke Parker, you are my worry. And you’re the one who’s always going on about how important it is what people think about you.”
“Becky, thinking I’m too tough to tackle is one thing. Thinking that I don’t know how to sheriff because my bed is unmade ain’t high on my list of concerns.”
She ignored him as she finished tucking in the blankets. “There, done,” she said as she turned back, her eyes scanning the room for anything else that needed to be fixed.
A nervousness flowed into her as she realized just how things had changed between them. That kiss last night. The words they had said. What did it mean? What happened now? As she had all night, she pushed down the fear bubbling just beneath the surface. Had it all been a dream?
“Are you coming over for breakfast? Helen is talking about changing the menu. Steak and eggs instead of steak and beans.”
He smiled and shook his head. “Can’t leave Felton. Not yet.”
She frowned. “But …”
“Can you have Helen send over a couple of meals? The town will pay.”
Rebecca nodded as once again the nervousness filled her. Was that it? Was he dismissing her? She looked up into his eyes, desperate to know what he was thinking. Everything felt unsteady, unknown territory.
“You said last night, that we would talk tomorrow,” she said as she glanced down, no longer able to meet his eyes.
He gently lifted her chin. “I also said I wasn’t done kissing you.”
Their eyes locked as she felt herself melt inside. Her heart pounded in anticipation as he slowly lowered his lips to hers.
“Yes,” she moaned as she sank into him.
The kiss seemed to last half of forever as she felt a heat begin to build inside of her. A strange new need that scared her.
“You sure about this? Us?” he asked as he pulled back and stared into her eyes. “I mean …”
“Luke Parker, I have never been more sure of anything in my life.”
He smiled that famous Luke smile that made the world feel safe and secure. Taking a deep breath, he stepped away. “You best get them meals. We’ll work out everything else later.”
Rebecca paused as her heart fell. Why was he dismissing her? then she saw it in his eyes. That lustful look that mirrored her own feelings. He was sending her away before things went farther than either of them were ready for.
“How does Felton like his steak?”
Luke snorted. “He’ll eat what you give him or go without.”
She smiled then turned and left, the only saving grace was knowing that she would be back in a few minutes with a hearty meal for him.
Helen raised one eyebrow when she learned that she would be sending over a meal for Felton. “I don’t know if that man deserves my cooking.”
Rebecca smiled at her friend. “We can’t let him starve. It wouldn’t be right.”
“Well, he isn’t getting any of my cobbler. I can tell you that.”
Sighing to herself Rebecca hurried to get a pot of coffee going. Did Luke have a coffee pot? Yes, she remembered, there was a wood stove in the corner with a coffee pot on top.
When the orders were ready, Rebecca covered them with a cloth, set them on a side table to open the door, and saw a dozen riders storm into town. Turning as a phalanx they pulled up in front of the jail. Her insides stiffened to stone as she recognized Joshua Felton step down from his horse and hand his reins to Bill Carver, one of his cowboys.
Sarah Felton also got down. Wearing a brown riding habit, that allowed her to ride astride, she climbed down without assistance.
Rebecca pushed down the terror inside of her. They were here to get Mark Felton. How could Luke face down a dozen men? No, never. Forgetting the meals, she rushed across the street and into the jail.
Luke stood behind his desk with that oh so familiar smirk. Joshua Felton and his sister stood before him, as angry as a stomped beehive.
“You will release my brother, immediately,” Felton growled.
Luke glanced over at her, giving her a small welcoming smile then turned back to Felton and his sister. “The Judge will be here in a week.”
Felton rose up to full height, obviously unaccepting of that response. “My brother cannot rot in your jail for a week. Don’t be ridiculous.”
Rebecca felt her heart swell with pride when Luke simply shrugged. “Then your brother shouldn’t be beating up miners, nor trying to kill a sheriff.”
Both of the Felton siblings blanched for a moment. It was obvious that Luke’s statement had been a surprise.
“No,” Felton yelled. “It’s all lies. You know people, they would like to take us down a notch.”
Rebecca watched as Luke’s brow furrowed. “A dozen people saw him beat that miner. Another dozen saw him shoot Sheriff Reed in broad daylight. The man even tried to kill me last night, a sworn law officer. And I know you ain’t calling me a liar.
Felton swallowed hard as he registered the stone stare from Luke.
Luke continued, “Him and Cooper were both hiding in the dark to shoot me down as soon as I stepped into the room. Your brother is a low-down snake and you know it. The time served here will be taken off his sentence. What is a week off of ten years? Unless Reed dies. Then it won’t matter. If the judge says so, he’ll be hung, case closed.”
Sarah Felton gasped as the reality of the situation finally began to sink in.
“Regardless,” Felton said. “I demand you release him. I have a dozen men outside who agree with me.”
Rebecca’s insides clenched as she saw a coldness wash over Luke’s face as he stared back at the man. “You listen Felton. And listen close. If anyone tries to break out your brother. I will have but one option. And that is to shoot him for trying to escape. It won’t take much to convince me, I can tell you. Do you understand? If’n you want a dead brother, then you make your move.”
Both Rebecca and Sarah gasped at the same time as they saw the seriousness in Luke’s words. She watched as Felton’s eyes slowly began to understand. This was not a man he could push around.
Sarah was the first to regain her balance as her brother’s face turned beet red.
“What about bail?” she asked. “Can we pay a fine?”
Luke shrugged, “That’s up to the judge. And like I said, he’ll be here in a week or so.”
Joshua Felton stared back, flexing his fingers as if he wanted to pull his gun. Rebecca could see it on the man’s face. He hated being thwarted. That was the problem she realized. No one had ever taught this family how to lose. Good when things were going their way. But it led them to make mistakes. They didn’t think they could fail.
For the longest minute, the two men stared at each other until finally, Felton said, “This isn’t over,” before turning and storming out.
Sarah Felton glared at Luke for a moment then turned and started to leave. Her eyes grew big when she saw Rebecca standing by the door. “You better tell your man to back down. He’ll be all alone. There isn’t anyone in this valley who is going to stand with him. Not against us.”
Rebecca scoffed as her eyes narrowed. “Oh Sarah, I always knew you were not as intelligent as you tried to seem. This proves it. If you had any sense, you’d calm your brother down or you are going to lose both of th
em.”
Sarah Felton’s eyes grew big before she huffed and stormed out, her head up as if she were a queen leaving her court.
Rebecca watched her go then reached and slammed the door behind her before turning back to Luke. “They didn’t even ask to see their brother.”
Luke smiled to her. “I think they are more worried about how they look. It’s hard being top dog in the middle of something like this. And once you’re top dog. There is nowhere else to go but down.”
She nodded as she took a deep breath then gasped as she remembered the two meals getting cold across the street. Without explaining herself she hurried back, retrieved both plates, and delivered them to the jail.
Luke thanked her then sighed heavily. “I need you to leave.”
“What! Why?”
He looked back over his shoulder at the door to the jail cell in the back. “Because. I don’t know them Feltons. There’s no telling what they might try.”
Rebecca groaned under her breath. “Luke Parker, I walked across this continent when I was eight-years -old. I’ve lived on a farm in the middle of nowhere for the last eleven years. I’m a western woman. We don’t scare easy.”
Luke’s smiled and started to shake his head.
“If you mock me,” she growled “I will burn your next steak. I know how to use a gun. I can help. You can’t do it all alone.”
He stepped around the desk to take her by the shoulders and look deep into her eyes. “Becky, I know you’re tougher than my old brindle ox. I seen it more’n once. But …”
“Luke,” she interrupted, “there are a dozen stories of women standing with their man against danger. Hundreds maybe. If you say this is man’s work … I swear, I will never talk to you again”
He sighed again, “It is a man’s work, and you know it.”
“But …”
“Listen Becky. I know you wouldn’t break. But, you are my weakness. If Felton thinks you’re involved in keeping his brother behind bars, then you become fair game in his world. And we both know. If he takes you. I’d trade that scum in that cell for you in an instant.”
She frowned as she shook her head. Luke might be correct but that didn’t make it all right. “But, what’s to stop him doing that anyway. Whether I help or not.”
Luke took a deep breath. “Convention, I guess. Men out here don’t take kindly to women being hassled. Felton would ruin everything if he took you. An outsider. But if you stand with me. Holed up in this jail. Then that changes the way people will look at it. A woman taking on a man’s job should be expected to be treated like a man, they’ll say. It might be enough for him to take action.
She pulled back as her forehead furrowed. “Why do I feel as if you are making up excuses to keep me out of danger.”
He smiled and shook his head. “Maybe a bit of both. Besides, I need you on the outside feeding me information along with three meals a day.”
Her heart ached at the thought of leaving him all alone to face them. But she could see it in his eyes. He was never going to back down from this. She fought to keep a tear from her eyes. This felt so wrong.
“Please, Luke. Please be careful.”
He smiled then reached into his desk and removed two letters. “Wrote these last night. One to the Marshal in Carson City. The other to the Army out at Fort Ruby. Can you make sure they get on the stage? Give them to Chester himself.”
Rebecca nodded as she took the letters from his hand.
“I love you,” she said as her heart broke in two. Why did it always seem as if they would never be safe? Why must there always be another danger just around the corner?
Chapter Sixteen
Rebecca sighed heavily as she rinsed the last dish and put it aside. Her stomach turned over with worry at the thought of Luke all alone. It wasn’t right. She had been watching the street. No one had gone to the jail to offer to help.
Not one person. For two days.
Taking a deep breath, she wrung out the dish towel then turned to Helen and raised an eyebrow. “it’s quiet. I thought I’d take a break.”
Helen scoffed then shook her head. “You are not going over to the jail. He’s right. You stay away from there. You’ll just make it harder for him.”
Rebecca felt her soul sink. There must be something she could do.
“What about …”
“No,” Helen said emphatically. “Listen, don’t you think I know what you are going through. Chester left this morning guarding enough silver to sink a canoe. There have to be a hundred men within spitting distance who would like to take it from him.”
The worry behind Helen’s eyes shocked Rebecca. She had never seen this side of her.
“It is like this every time he goes out.” Helen continued, “I have to wait. That is all I can do. That and pray that he returns safely. That is what we do. It is the price of loving an honorable man.”
“But why?” Rebecca said. “Why does it have to be them?”
Helen shrugged. “Because, think what this world would be like without men like them. It ain’t a pretty picture. You want men like Mark Felton being in charge?”
Once again Rebecca sighed. Her friend was right, but that didn’t make things easier. She was thinking of sneaking out the back when the opening of the front door stopped her. Twisting, she growled under her breath when Joshua and Sarah Felton stepped in followed by two of their cowboys.
Every instinct told her to attack, these people wanted to kill Luke. But she forced the anger down and put on her best smile as she stepped into the dining room.
“Welcome,” she said as she waved her hand to a table for them to sit.
The elder Felton glared at her with narrowed eyes. Sarah though, was even worse. Her look was pure hate. The kind of look that told Rebecca to never turn her back on this woman. Sarah had changed, Rebecca realized. Or, at least let the façade fall, so that the true Sarah was exposed.
The two cowboys, Bill Carver, and Jess Spencer both removed their hats and dipped their heads to her.
Rebecca wondered what they thought about all this. They rode for the brand. Loyalty was oh so important out here. Especially to the man who paid you. But what did they think? Would they try to kill Luke if they were ordered to?
“Coffee?” Rebecca asked as she used her apron to pick up the hot coffee pot.
“Thank you, ma’am,” Carver said as he turned over his coffee cup for her to fill. Spencer, and then finally both of the other Feltons, did the same.
When she finished, Joshua pulled back a little and stared up at her. “Your uncle’s ranch. You know I bought it from that Travers person.”
Rebecca ground her teeth as she forced herself to remain calm. “Yes, I heard. My uncle ended up dead, the money gone, and you with the ranch.”
Sarah’s eyes narrowed. “We had nothing to do with him getting murdered.”
Rebecca glared at her, unable to keep an appearance of civility. “You didn’t even know your brother tried to kill Sherriff Reed. What else don’t you know about?”
Both brother and sister looked at each other for a second before Felton shrugged then looked at her with knowing eyes. “I assume you would like to have that ranch back?”
A new anger flared inside of her as she realized the man was willing to give her the ranch if she convinced Luke to let his brother go.
“Think about it,” Sarah interjected. “Your man would be safe. You would have your home back. You could settle down together.”
Rebecca barked out a quick laugh before she could stop herself. “You people don’t know Luke Parker. That has to be the stupidest idea I have ever heard.”
Both of the Circle B cowboys swallowed hard as their eyes grew big. Obviously, neither was used to seeing their boss and his sister being talked to this way.
Felton’s eyes narrowed. But it was Sarah that surprised her, she smiled. “Good,” she said with nasty glee. “You will never get that land back. Everything your uncle built will be mine and ours.”
Rebecca studied her for a second, suddenly seeing the evil woman behind the cold eyes. She noticed that Bill Carver was shooting the woman strange looks. As if he were seeing the real person for the first time.
“Perhaps,” Rebecca said as she turned to put the coffee pot back on the brazier. “But I have to tell you. I’m more concerned about the life I create than a few buildings on a stretch of land that ain’t going anywhere.”
The two women stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment before Rebecca smiled and said, “I’ll get you your meals. I assume you’ll be wanting cobbler?”
A sense of pride flashed through her when she turned and walked away. She had gotten the last word. The look of worry in Sarah’s eyes had been priceless. The realization that the Feltons had come up against an unmovable object in Luke Parker was finally sinking into their heads.
She thought about her efforts to convince Luke to back away. Not now, she thought to herself. These people could not be allowed to win.
.o0o.
Luke leaned against the door jam and stared into the cell. His prisoner sat on his bunk with his head in his hands. McAdams had wrapped a bandage around the man’s head the night before, then told Luke there wasn’t much more they could do.
“He’ll just have to suffer through the headaches,” McAdams had told him. “But he should be all right.”
Now, the man looked like death warmed over. A pasty white face and trembling fingers. Was it the headwound? Or was the man worried?
Mark Felton looked up through bleary eyes. “Was that my brother I heard earlier?”
Luke nodded, “And your sister.”
Felton shuddered, “I take it they ain’t real pleased?”
“No, can’t say they are.”
There was a long pause in the conversation as Felton obviously tried to wrap his mind around his situation. “Reed? He still alive?”
“Last I heard he was awake for a few minutes then went back down under.”
The prisoner swallowed hard as the realization began to settle in. His life would depend upon the sheriff surviving. Ten years in prison wasn’t near as bad as hanging.
Silver Creek (The Parker Family Saga) Page 10
