by Bobbi Smith
With that El Diablo left them. Hadley, Sully, and the others watched until their leader had disappeared back in the direction of Del Fuego. It was late in the day, so they decided to camp where they were and return to the canyon the following day.
"I guess we sit tight for a while, eh, Sully?" Hadley said.
The short-tempered outlaw cast the other men a hate-filled look. "I'll sit tight all right, but not until I've figured out just what Majors is up to. The boss said to keep an eye on him, and I'm going to do just that. And I'm going to get my hands on that little bitch of his. Sister Mary's going to be mine. Wait and see."
"Why do you still want her? He's probably already had her a dozen times by now."
The thought infuriated Sully. "Just because he put it to her doesn't mean she's been had by a real man. There's a lot I want to teach her. With all her talk about God and salvation, I'll see how she likes being possessed by the devil." He gave a demonic laugh as they bedded down for the night.
Back in the canyon, everyone gathered around the campfire for the evening meal. Cody helped Juana and several of the other women with serving the meal. Staying in her role, she waited until the last ladle of stew had been served up before she called out in a clear voice, "We must say grace before we eat. Let us pray."
Those within earshot stared at her as if she had lost her mind. She did not care.
"Oh, Lord, bless this food you have provided for us."
A guffaw sounded from one of the outlaws. "God didn't provide this slop. Sam went hunting this afternoon. He's the one who got the food."
"Watch over us, 0 Lord, and keep us safe. Amen," she finished.
Most of those gathered there had ignored her and had gone ahead and started eating. Only a few of the women and several of the children paid attention. Cody couldn't help wondering what kind of lives the children were going to lead, growing up in a place like this. It was a scary thought. She wished there were something she could do to encourage the women and children to change their way of living, but she wasn't sure what it was.
Dishing herself up a plate of the stew, she got a mug of coffee and went to sit with Luke near their cabin.
"Tomorrow is Sunday, you know," she told him as she began to eat.
"So?"
"I'll need to be up at dawn so I can hold a Sunday service."
"You're not serious?" He shot her a look of complete disbelief.
Cody stiffened in an appropriate move for Sister Mary. "I am more than serious. I am determined. If ever anyone needed to hear God's word, it's these people. Have you looked around? You are living in a den of thieves and murderers. And the children..." There was a catch of emotion in her voice.
"You're wrong to think these people want saving. They're here because they want to be. They're free to go whenever they want to. No one's being held against his will."
Cody shot him a telling, condescending look. "Maybe none of them are, but I am. Perhaps some of the other women came to be here in the same way I did, and by the time they would have been allowed to go, it was too late for them to return to their old lives."
Luke felt the bite of her words, but did not weaken in his defense of what he'd done. "If I hadn't taken you when I did, you might have been killed. Certainly you would have been raped by Sully, and maybe by some of the others."
"How can you know that? You could have just ridden out and taken Sully with you. You could have left me to my life."
Luke felt a sting of guilt, but ignored it. "If you had had a life after I left you. Men like Sully are deadly when they believe they've been insulted or humiliated."
"Humiliated?" she repeated in outrage. "I'll tell you what humiliation is! Humiliation for me is trying to hold my head up when everyone in this camp believes I'm your woman!"
Luke chuckled, then asked in a quieter tone, "Would it really be such a terrible thing? Being my woman?"
His gaze was upon her as he remembered her kiss. He wondered anew how she could have evoked such a response in him.
At his words, Cody glanced at him. The glasses were the only thing that saved her from revealing her confusion about how she felt. She was able to hide her bewilderment behind the thick lenses.
"I have planned a life of chastity and morality for myself. It is difficult to maintain any semblance of dignity when everyone thinks I'm a-"
"I get the picture." He cut her off, not wanting to hear her say the word whore or slut. It didn't fit her. She didn't deserve it. "I want you to think about one other thing, though. I want you to imagine what would have happened if I hadn't taken you with me, if I'd left you, and Sully had gotten his hands on you. Take that thought to bed with you tonight. Think about how your friend Stalking Ghost was going to manage to protect you from Sully when he'd been knocked unconscious. Dream about that. I think you'll find your sleep won't be very restful, Sister Mary."
Luke stood up and stalked away. As Cody watched him go, she saw Juana get up and follow him. The other woman called out to him, and he stopped to talk with her. They walked away together.
For some reason Cody couldn't fathom, she resented the fact that Luke went off with Juana. She told herself she should have been glad he'd left her alone. But instead she grew angry. She got up and went inside.
It was near dusk, so she lit the one lamp on the table. Frustrated and furious, she stared around herself. She knew the best remedy for her temper was hard work, and the cabin was dirty. Urged on by her anger, she started to clean, beginning with the blanket. Taking it outside, she shook it out relentlessly. She was sorry that she didn't have lye soap and hot water to use on it.
As she tended to the task, memories of home assailed her. She usually tried not to think about her family while she was working. She didn't want to risk being distracted by thoughts of her little brother and sister and her aunt who cared for them when she was away. But this case was turning out to be so complicated that it was driving her to distraction! She had never been in a situation like this before.
Cody took the blanket back inside and next dragged the mattress out to pound on. She beat the lumpy pad within an inch of its life.
As she grew tired in her labors her anger eased, and she smiled grimly. The mattress had borne up well under her assault, but it still was far from clean. She dragged it back indoors, vowing to find a way in the next few days to hang it in the sunshine for a while to air it out. She remade the bed and smoothed the blanket over the mattress.
As always when her anger drained from her, Cody felt exhausted, but she still needed a bath. It had been far too long already since she'd last had the chance to wash up. Taking the bucket that stood by the door, she went to get fresh water from the well and lugged it back all by herself. Luke seemed to have disappeared somewhere with Juana, and that was just fine with her, for it gave her the time she needed to bathe. She closed the door behind her.
Cody had found a sliver of soap in the cabin, and she couldn't wait to be clean again, even if she did have to wear the same clothes once she was done. She was cautious how she undressed, though, for she didn't want to leave herself vulnerable to anyone who might force their way in. She unbuttoned her dress and slipped it down from her shoulders, then began to wash. The cool water felt heavenly to her, and though the soap was harsh, the cleanliness it afforded was wonderful. She sighed in ecstasy.
Luke had tolerated Juana's company for as long as he could just to stay away from Sister Mary. The fact that she could make him feel guilty bothered him, and the fact that he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her kiss bothered him even more. Luke knew he wasn't attracted to her phys ically. He couldn't be. She was a preacher. Yet her kiss had stirred something within him that he didn't understand.
Luke tried to analyze what he was feeling. He knew she wasn't pretty, but when he'd carried her inside and freed her hair from the tight old-maid's bun, she'd looked almost lovely. She was a virgin, no doubt, a woman he should not even consider laying a hand on, yet the memory of holding her near would
not be banished.
Despite the aggravation she'd caused him, Luke had to admit that he was glad he'd protected her. She was an innocent in the ways of men, and he wanted to keep her that way until he could get her safely out of camp and back to her real life.
Luke walked with Juana for some distance. He found it almost amusing how she directed them away from his cabin so Sister Mary was out of sight. Luke knew Juana thought she was going to entice him to her house and bed, but he went to her home only to get an extra blanket from her. It was almost dark when he left her without even a kiss, and she was more than a little angry with him.
Luke drew a deep breath as he approached his own cabin. He was tired, and he wasn't looking forward to sleeping on the floor again. Actually, he would much have preferred his own bed back at the Trinity, but he wasn't going to have the luxury of that comfort again until he had identified El Diablo for Jack.
Reaching the cabin, he started to open the door, but stopped when he had it ajar. The vision inside left him frozen in place. He stood there, undetected, taking in the glorious view.
Luke could not believe that the angel standing before him was the same woman he'd spent so much time with, the same woman he'd thought rather homely. Her back was to him. She had slipped her dress down to her waist, and though she was still wearing her chemise, the beauty of her ivory flesh was bared to his hungry gaze. Her hair was still pinned up, but undressed as she was, the swanlike beauty of her neck was revealed and her skin was gilded by the soft glow of the lamp. Sister Mary appeared a most practiced seductress.
Luke's body responded to the beauty of her. He was on the verge of barging in and taking full advantage of the moment. He was going to take her in his arms and lay her upon the bed and-
Then he saw it. There on the bed, big as life...
Her Bible.
Luke couldn't believe that he'd nearly forgotten himself. He forced his carnal desire under control as he turned away from the cabin. He was disgusted with himself. Just one look at her and he'd been tempted to take that which she was not offering. He walked some distance away and stood in the darkness, staring out into the night, waiting for the pounding need to ease from his body.
Luke waited quite a while before going back. This time as he approached he made enough noise to make himself heard. He couldn't decide if he was relieved or disappointed when he found her in bed under the blanket.
"Bedding down already, Sister?"
"Tomorrow is the Sabbath. I have to get up early."
"Are you really planning to preach in the morning?"
"I must. It's my calling. If I don't preach to them, who will?"
Luke grunted, his dulled ardor cooling even more as he stared at her from across the room.
"You have another blanket?" she noted.
"Juana gave me an extra one of hers."
"I'm glad you won't be suffering any more discomfort because of me."
"You wouldn't believe the discomfort I'm suffering because of you," he growled to himself as he blew out the lamp and sought his night's sleep on the floor.
As he moved to put out the lamp, Cody stared at him. He looked very handsome, and she swallowed nervously, remembering how his lips had felt on hers and how her heart had pounded when he'd held her near.
He's a gunman, she reminded herself. He'd murdered the sheriff, and he'd shot the banker. It was her job to bring him in, not fall under some ridiculous sort of spell he was casting on her. Cody rolled over and pulled the covers all the way up to her chin.
"Good night," she said softly.
He grunted in reply. The night was very long.
"And the Lord said, `Come ye unto me like little children.'"
Cody was preaching as several of the women and three small children sat at her feet. She held the Bible before her for them to see.
"The Bible contains all the truths of the world. You need search no further for the truth of how to live a happy life. There are ten commandments that govern all civilized men," she told them, and then she began to recite them, pausing with emphasis on "Thou shalt not steal" and "Thou shalt not kill."
"God loves each and every one of us, but we must strive to be worthy of that love. We can never earn His love. It is freely given to us. We must choose to obey God's will because we want to, be cause it's the right thing to do."
She looked up to find Luke's eyes upon her. His expression was inscrutable. She did not stop preaching, but went on.
"It is only by living by the word of the Lord that true and lasting happiness can be found. All the answers to your problems can be found here." She touched the Bible reverently. "This is where you should put your faith.
"Come forward, brothers and sisters, and confess your sins. God forgives those who repent and change their ways," she urged, her voice a calming influence. Her expression was kindly, not condemning, but loving and understanding. "God sees all, and he forgives all if you truly repent. Come forward and take God's loving forgiveness into your hearts."
Cody bowed her head as she waited. One little boy ran up to tug on her skirt. She knelt down before him, taking one of his hands in hers. She spoke to him in a soft, low voice.
Luke stood back to watch, and when she began to talk to the child, he could just barely hear what they were saying.
"What is your name?" Cody was asking.
"Carlos," he told her.
"Bless you, Carlos." She could tell he felt awkward talking to her, so she encouraged him. "What did you want to tell me? Is it important?"
He nodded earnestly. "I got mad at Esteban, and I stole his toy soldier."
"Did you feel better after you took it?"
"For a while." He was honest.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because you said stealing is wrong."
"It is. Do you still have the toy?"
"Yes, Sister Mary," he admitted, dropping his gaze from hers as he felt the first pang of conscience.
"Then take the toy back to Esteban and tell him that you're sorry. Tell him that you will not steal again. Can you do that?"
Carlos swallowed tightly. "It won't be easy."
"Which one? Telling him you're sorry or not stealing again?"
"Both," he said miserably.
"Sometimes it's very difficult to be good," she told him. "But the rewards are greater than you can ever imagine." She touched his cheek. "Go now and do the right thing. You will be proud of yourself, and you will make your mama proud."
She looked up to see one of the women watching closely. "Your Carlos is a good boy. He is fortunate to have a mother who loves him as much as you do."
"Thank you, Sister Mary."
The youngster hurried off to do as she'd bid, and the mother followed after him.
Cody waited. She had never been in quite the same situation before, and she wasn't sure what to expect. The men who had wandered up while she was talking did not venture forward to speak to her, and that didn't surprise her. At least she had convinced the children that her preaching was real. She glanced up toward Luke again and found that he was still there, watching her.
"If there are no more who wish to confess this day, then our service is ended. Enjoy the beauty of the Lord's Sabbath. Keep his word in your heart and avoid evil. Do these things and eternal life shall be yours. So saith the Lord." She held the Bible up for all to see. "God bless you."
Still clutching the book, she left the group and headed back toward the cabin.
"Nice preaching, Sister Mary," Luke complimented her as he casually came to her side and walked with her. There was a peace about her that impressed him, and he liked her gentleness with the children.
Cody shot him a sidelong glance. "If I were really good, I would have convinced you to confess your sins and free your soul."
"You think I need to confess?" he asked, pretending surprise and grinning at her.
"If everything I've heard about this gang is true, then yes, you need to wash clean the laundry of your soul. Yo
u need to bare your deepest, darkest secrets and seek forgiveness."
Luke's smile turned devastatingly rakish. "I don't think you're old enough to be my father confessor."
Cody was annoyed to find herself blushing again. "I've heard many sad stories in my time."
"What if I told you I haven't done anything that needs confessing?" he teased.
"Then I would think your conscience needs some work," she retorted. Then she added more seriously, "If you ever feel the need to confess, I'd be more than willing to listen."
"But Sister Mary, I'm as innocent as a newborn babe." There was a twinkle of amusement in his blue-eyed gaze.
She stopped walking to look him straight in the eye. "Then what are you doing here?"
He shrugged. "It's as good a place as any," he replied cryptically, and then he turned the tables on her. "What about you, Sister Mary? Why do you travel from town to town, never putting down roots, never staying in one place long enough to establish a life of your own? Why don't you have a husband and children?"
"Because I have a calling. My father encouraged me to listen to my heart, and I cannot deny that I need to do this job." For once her words to him were the absolute, complete truth, not half-truths artfully disguised.
"What about your own confessions? Do you ever admit your failings to anyone?"
"I confess my faults and sins before God, but I will admit to you that my weakness, my biggest failing is the need to see justice done in this world. I want each to receive his reward according to his deeds. Unfortunately, what I want and what happens in the world are often two very different things." She looked up at him, studying the strong lines of his ruggedly handsome face and wondering how he could have become a killer. He looked so kind.
Supposedly, Luke had shot and killed an unarmed sheriff. That fact alone should have filled her with undying hatred for him. It was said that he had shot the banker during the robbery, too. Yet there was something about him that made those accusations seem false. He had been nothing but kind and respectful to her. He had saved her from Sully when he could have left her to face the outlaw alone. Why? Those actions just didn't fit with what she'd been told about the gang and him.
