“Cooper?” he asked as he once again dropped his head into his hands.
“Dead,” Luke told him. “That belt gun was a surprise.”
Felton snorted, “Not enough, obviously.” Suddenly his brow furrowed. “Why didn’t you kill me? You had me. I was going to kill you. Ain’t a jury in the state would have said you was wrong.”
Luke stared at the man for a long moment. “I ain’t got all my questions answered yet.”
Felton looked up and frowned, “I didn’t kill Tom Johnson.”
“Then who did?” Luke asked as he studied the man closely.
“Don’t know,” he said with a heavy sigh.
“Why’d your brother buy that land? It don’t make sense.”
Again, Felton shrugged, “Don’t know. My brother never tells me why he does things. Not when it comes to the ranch. He just expects me to shut up and do what he tells me.”
A frustration rose inside of Luke. The man wasn’t lying, he’d bet his horse that Felton was telling the truth. At least as he saw it. He continued to study him for a long moment, then pushed off the door jamb and said, “How do you like your steak? I’ll pass it along to Helen.”
“Medium is fine,” he said with a furrowed brow, obviously trying to understand why the new sheriff was being nice to him.
Luke had just returned to his desk when the door opened and Jack Strumph and Tuthill the banker stepped inside. The large blacksmith smiled. “Saw the Feltons stopped by.”
Tuthill looked like a typical nervous banker, “What did they want? You ain’t letting him out, are you?”
Luke snorted as he shook his head. “Yes, that was them. They were keen to get their brother sprung. Told them they’d have to wait for the judge.”
The two men frowned, obviously wondering what he was going to do. He wished he could tell them. But it pretty much looked like he was stuck here until the judge showed up.
“We could hold a trial ourselves,” Tuthill said. “The city council could appoint a judge. The man tried to kill our sheriff. The sooner we put this behind us the better. We could add the charge for killing Tom Johnson.”
Why was the man in such a rush? Surely it wasn’t hurting the banking business. “I ain’t sure he’s the one who killed Tom. Besides, would you want to be the judge who sends a Felton to jail?”
The man’s face drained of color as he realized the long term ramifications.
“You’d have to be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life,” Luke added.
Strumph nodded, “What about you? Won’t you have to be on the lookout? Not just now. But long term.”
“I never planned on sticking around, remember?” The thought made Luke freeze inside. What about Becky? She had her heart set on getting her uncle’s ranch back. She would want to stay here. What did that mean? Would he be having run-ins with the Feltons for the rest of his life? And what about his family back in Oregon?
The sudden realization made his stomach clench. Life had changed in ways he hadn’t anticipated. Now there was someone else’s concerns to take into account.
But then another thought jumped to the front of his mind. He and Becky hadn’t really talked of the future. He had just assumed. But maybe he was being foolish. Heaven knew she could do better.
“We’ll leave you alone,” Strumph said as he pulled at the banker's arm. “Is there anything you need?”
Luke scoffed. “A dozen deputies.”
Both men blanched for a second. “I wouldn’t be holding my breath.”
Luke nodded, “That’s how I figured it.” A cold shiver ran down his spine. There were a dozen ways they could take him. Of course, because the place was made of adobe it’d be hard to burn him out, not without killing their brother. But that left eleven other options. A handful of cowboys quickly rushing the jail. A stand-off shooter taking him out from some second-story window. Maybe a trade for a hostage. There were so many ways that could get their brother free. It was just a matter of them picking a way.
No, he was alone for this. All he could hope for was the judge and the U.S. Marshall showing up early.
Strumph and Tuthill left him. He sat back and peered up at the ceiling as he tried to map out possibilities and traps. No, he’d have to take it a day at a time and play it as it came.
A cloying quietness settled over the room making it feel as if the walls were pushing in on him. How long would he have to sit here guarding his prisoner?
Pushing back, he walked to the front door and opened it without stepping outside. He could get a good look from this position. Two men across the way just outside of Helen’s restaurant. Cowboys with guns on their hips. Circle B men. Another two standing outside the livery station.
He moved to the side and looked north. If he wasn’t mistaken, there were three men at the far end of the street. Luke twisted around to see Bill Carver and another man step outside of the hotel and glance to the jail. His stomach fell. How many men were going to die over the next few days?
The thought of letting Felton go never really crossed his mind. Wrong was wrong no matter which way you looked out. He’d just have to muddle through.
He was just turning to go back inside when the doorframe next to his face exploded followed by the echo of a rifle shot rumbling from down the street.
Dropping, he pulled his gun and ducked inside before slamming the door.
Well, that answered that question. They were going to stand off and try and get him from a distance.
Using the barrel of his gun, he pushed a shutter aside and studied the street. The Circle B men had disappeared, maybe expecting him to come out shooting. Strumph stepped out from his forge and frowned as he looked up and down the street.
Luke let the shutter fall back into place and leaned back against the cool adobe walls giving a quiet thank you for the foot-thick walls. An anger flared inside of him as he wiped at the splinters in his cheek. This meant war, no holds barred and these idiots didn’t have the faintest clue what they’d started.
Chapter Seventeen
Rebecca continued to pace while she waited for Helen to finish preparing Luke’s steak. Her heart ached from the worry. They had shot at him only hours ago. Why didn’t someone do something? He was holed up in that place all alone. Treed like a cougar trapped by hounds
“Here you go,” Helen said as she held out two plates loaded with food. “I still think you should let me take them over.”
Rebecca shook her head. “They won’t shoot me. Not now. It wouldn’t get them their brother.”
“I don’t know,” Helen said with a doubting look.
“I’m taking them. He’s my responsibility.”
Helen’s eyebrows rose. “You sure? I mean, it’s only been a few days. You two?”
Rebecca laughed. “it’s been a lifetime. I was sure when I was eight-years-old.”
“Oh honey,” Helen said with a deep concern. “You don’t know how this is going to turn out. He’s put himself in a tight spot. He’s all alone. I don’t want you getting hurt. Not again.”
A gut-wrenching fear filled Rebecca once again, the thought was never far away that she might lose Luke. But she couldn’t change the way she felt. Shrugging, she left her friend and made her way across the street. As she walked, she glanced both ways to confirm that the sentries were still stationed outside the hotel and livery stations. Those at the far end of the road had disappeared though. Probably off to get something to eat.
Would it be like this for the next week?
When she reached the door of the jail, she started to open it then froze before going in. “Luke, it’s me,” she called out.
“All right,” he said from inside.
Rebecca took a deep breath and wished she had a hand free to check that her hair was still in place. Don’t be ridiculous, she told herself. The man was hungry, he didn’t care if a wisp of her hair had broken free.
When she stepped inside, she sighed with relief to see him coming from around his
desk. She smiled to herself. It seemed that no matter the danger, her stomach still fluttered every time she saw him.
“This is Felton’s medium steak,” she said as she indicated the plate in her right hand for the prisoner in the back. “Helen said that any man who wanted his steak cooked that way couldn’t be trusted.”
Luke nodded as he relieved her of both plates and turned to take one back to Felton in his cell. When he returned, he stopped for a moment as he studied her with the eyes of a wolf, lustful and full of need.
She felt her body flush with excited embarrassment. The two of them stood there, both of them silently sending a dozen messages back and forth.
There was so much she wanted to talk to him about. Their future? What he thought of her? How many children did he want?
Her tongue however refused to work. It was as if she was terrified of opening a subject that might push him away. Or worse, it might be tempting fate to talk about something that could be taken from them.
“Becky,” he whispered as he stepped towards her.
“Luke,” she answered as she found herself melting in his arms. This was where she belonged. Here, with this man. Nothing else mattered in this world as long as she had him.
She looked up into his eyes, desperate to know if he felt the same way about her. He smiled softly then leaned down and took her lips with his.
Rebecca felt a heat build inside of her. A fire that would never be extinguished. Her hands reached up around his neck to hold him in place when the door opened behind them. She gasped with embarrassment as she broke away and spun around.
The doorway framed a tall cowboy in a black hat with two guns, one on each hip.
“You have to be the stupidest man I have ever known,” the cowboy said as he stepped into the room and slammed the door behind him.
Luke froze, his hand hovering over his gun. “If you think I’m an idiot, you should meet my brother. He’s worse.”
The cowboy frowned. Luke scowled at him then smiled slightly. The cowboy laughed, marched across the room, and threw his arms around Luke to pound him on the back.
Rebecca’s stomach fell. Who? What?
“God, Jacob,” Luke said. “You’ve grown two feet and put on some beef.”
The tall cowboy laughed. “You ain’t changed, still an ugly cuss.”
Jacob? Luke’s brother? Rebecca scrambled to understand. He was here, now. Yes, it was the boy from the trail. The boy who had grown into a man.
“Becky,” the tall cowboy said as he turned to her with a huge smile. “You do realize you was kissing the wrong brother, right?”
“Jacob?” she asked with disbelief then reached out to give him a tight hug. All these years and both of the Parker boys were here. The two people she trusted more than anyone in this world. The boys who had shared her greatest adventures.
“Jake, now,” he said to her. “Hanna’s oldest had problems saying Jacob, so it got changed to Jake.”
“How are they,” Luke asked his brother. “How is Hanna?”
Rebecca could see the worry in his eyes. Once again, her heart went out to him. He had sacrificed returning home to come help her. Sacrificing his own happiness for hers.
“Good, good,” Jake said. “Zion is getting long in the tooth. But don’t you dare tell him I said that or he’ll skin me alive. Hanna just had another boy. That makes five to the two girls.” Here Jake smiled at Luke. “They named the tike Lucas. He’s just as ugly as his oldest uncle.”
Rebecca watched as Luke’s eyes grew big with surprise. Then, slowly a smile spread across his face, showing that he was obviously pleased.
“What are you doing here? I didn’t send for you.”
Jake laughed then smiled at Rebecca, “He ain’t changed, always thinking he’s in charge of me.”
“Jacob,” Luke growled. “You’ve walked into a snake pit. I swear boy, you …”
“I got an idea what’s going on,” Jake said. “Stopped by the Bull’s Head Saloon. Would have stopped at the Red House, but it seemed some idiot sheriff closed her down for two days. Anyway, you could of knocked me over with a feather when I heard you was the new sheriff. I tell you, brother. You got these people thinking you’re a right ornery hombre. Faster than lightning and meaner than a beaten dog.”
“Don’t change the subject. Why are you here?”
“Hanna said I could come,” he said as he shrugged. “Got to admit it. I might have gotten on her nerves a bit. Pestering her a bit. But she could see, things are too tame at home. Zion’s already done solved everything.” Then he laughed. “I didn’t want you having all the fun by yourself. Besides, you said in your letter you was helping Becky Johnson. I couldn’t have stayed out of it.”
Here he turned to wink at Rebecca then said to Luke, “You always did say she was the one person you felt something for.”
Rebecca gasped. Had Luke really felt the same about her as she had always felt about him?
“Jacob,” Luke sighed, “this isn’t the same as hunting rabbits or busting broncs. These people shoot to kill.”
The tall cowboy’s eyes narrowed, “So do I, big brother. So do I.” He patted the gun on his left hip. “Took this off a rustler down on our southern range. He wasn’t going to need it no more.”
Luke let out a long sigh as he examined his brother then turned to Rebecca. She looked back at him and smiled. “At least you’re not alone anymore.”
He rolled his eyes then reached into the desk drawer and pulled out a gold star to toss it to his brother. “You better wear this. At least they’ll know who they’re trying to kill.”
Jake looked down at the star in his hand then smiled. “You always did know how to find the most fun. I’m telling you, brother, Zion is going to be so upset when he finds out we got into a fight and didn’t invite him.”
“Here,” Rebecca said as she took the star from his hand so that she could pin it to his chest. Her insides bubbled with excitement. Jacob Parker here. Luke wasn’t alone. It was hard to imagine anything ever defeating the Parker brothers.
The young cowboy smiled down at her. “I’m telling you, Becky. You done picked the wrong brother. The man is older than dirt and about as smart as an addled frog. Don’t you want someone prettier with half a brain?”
This was the Jacob she remembered. Funny, light-hearted, with a twinkle in his eye and a ready smile. The boy who fought to make the world happier. “Someone like you, I suppose,” she said with a smile
“Well, I got to think it’d be a better move.”
She laughed as she patted his chest then stepped back to stand next to Luke. “Maybe, but a girl can’t help who she falls in love with.”
Jacob frowned for a moment as he studied her, then his brother. Finally, he shook his head. “That’s my brother. Always there first and always getting the treasures.”
“Don’t you forget it,” Luke said to him. Then leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, silently marking his territory. Rebecca’s heart soared. He was telling his brother that she was his and always would be. A thought that made her insides tingle with happiness.
“Oh well,” Jake said with a shrug then he smiled. “So, what’s your plan brother? Do we go in guns blasting, or take them out one at a time? Oh, by the way, who are we fighting exactly?”
Luke laughed and shook his head. “We got but one job, keep that man in his cell until the judge gets here. That and figure out who killed Tom Johnson.”
Jake turned to her, his eyes softening, “I was sorry to hear about your uncle. He was a good man.”
Rebecca’s heart broke as it always did when she thought about her uncle’s death. But like the death of her parents, she knew that eventually, the hurt would form a callus.
“Thank you … Jake,” she said. She must remember to call him Jake. The name Jacob sounded too much a boy’s name. Then, remembering her manners, she asked him, “Have you eaten? Come on, Helen makes the best cobbler this side of Saint Louis.” She pulled at his arm to get
him started.
Jake looked at his brother and raised an eyebrow.
“You get something to eat,” Luke told him. “I’ll want you here at sundown.”
Suddenly Rebecca paused as the truth of the situation returned. This was two men against a dozen. And by the look in Luke’s eyes, he would never entertain the idea of letting it all go and walking away.
“And stay clear of the Circle B riders,” Luke told his brother. “Helen’s, then right back here. Do you hear?”
Jake sighed, “Yes big brother.” Then turning to Rebecca, he smiled. “He ain’t seen me in a coon’s age and ten minutes is all it takes for him to be issuing orders.”
“Keep him out of trouble, Becky,” Luke said to her.
She smiled then rushed back to kiss him on the cheek. She wanted to yell to the world that this man was hers. Pulling back, she stared up into his eyes. “You be careful, I love you.”
He smiled down at her, but she could see it deep behind his eyes. A worry that he might fail her. That was her Luke, always wanting others to be safe and happy. Even if it cost him. Yes, that was her Luke. The man she loved.
Chapter Eighteen
Luke watched Becky and Jacob walk across the street and felt a sense of doom fill his soul. Now there were two people in danger. The two most important people in his life and it was his duty to make sure nothing happened to them.
But he knew Jake, the boy might have grown into a man. But he hadn’t changed. He’d be sticking his nose into every crack and cranny looking for trouble.
He took a deep breath as he thought of his sister and her family. God how he missed them. Throughout the war, all he had wanted was to return to them. To sink into the happiness that surrounded Zion and Hanna and their growing brood. To feel that sense of normal, that sense of right.
But instead, he was wrapped up in this, and now he’d pulled his brother into it. What would Hanna think if she knew he had put Jacob at risk? What about Becky? What would she think of him falling for a girl he hadn’t seen in eleven years?
Silver Creek (The Parker Family Saga) Page 11
