couple of hours?”
“Damn it, Abigail!”
“Well, it’s not all my fault. If you weren’t so stubborn and had a deputy to help you, then he would have been here and this would never have happened. I think I shall have to petition the city council, insist they hire a deputy.”
Dumbfounded, he stared at the woman for a split second. “You know what Abigail? I think that is the first sensible thing I’ve ever heard you say.”
A smile formed on her face.
He shook his head. “I do need a deputy—to keep idiots like you out of my office.”
“Well, I never.” She stomped her foot, twisted about to run up the street.
He followed her out the door, looking for the first available male figure. “Kent!” he hollered at the man walking down the boardwalk. “Tell Evan I need him, and then go tell Jake as well as any other man who’s willing to ride posse.”
“Right away, Sheriff!” the man answered as he picked up his steps, belittling the fact he was well past the age of sixty.
****
Hannah wore little more than her shift when she heard the roaring sound of thundering hoofs. She brushed aside Margaret’s measuring tape and rushed to the window. A large group of men galloped down the street. Adam rode the lead horse. She stuck her head out the window.
“Hey McBride, where are you going?”
He waved the rest of the group to continue forward and reined his horse to a stop. Her heart hit the floor. A person never forgets the sight of a posse . She pulled her head in, and without bothering to grab a wrap, ran to the door then down the stairs.
Adam met her at the bottom step. A worried frown covered his face.
“Adam?” she questioned.
He took her hands as his eyes roamed her scantly covered body. “I have to ride posse. But don’t fear. Nothing will keep me from attending the wedding.”
“Ride posse?”
“Yes, I’m afraid we had a prison escape.”
Her throat grew tight. “Nathaniel?”
He nodded.
“Oh, Adam.” She wrapped both arms around his torso.
“Don’t fret now.” He hugged her for the briefest of moments before his hands moved to pat her back. “Promise me you’ll stay in the house. I don’t believe he’s still in town, but I don’t want you to take any chances.”
It was hard, but she managed to give him a slight nod.
“I’ve commissioned a couple of men to stand guard at the front and back doors. So don’t be frightened if you see them.”
She tried to nod again, held the sob burning her throat. He bent and covered her mouth with a hard, hot kiss, and then in a blink of an eye, he was gone. She stood still, listening to the fading clops of his galloping horse. Is this what it will be like being married to a lawman? Listening to him ride into danger on a daily basis? Pressing a trembling hand to her thudding chest, she sank to the bottom step of the stairway.
****
Picking up Kingston’s trail was easy, the man stayed on the main road, pushed his mount hard. Adam set the pace for the posse, riding their horses steady, but easy, so not to wind them. It wasn’t long before they came upon a dead horse.
“That was one of my best mounts!” Fred Alfreds, the livery owner, said as he climbed down to investigate the carcass. An appalled look filled his face as he looked up. “He rode it to death, Adam.”
“He can’t be much further,” Adam said, glancing around. Brown, flat ground stretched out in every direction until it met the cloud dotted sky. The Kansas prairie provided little to no shelter or hiding spots. But you never know where there might be a small gulley amongst the high grasses. “Keep your eyes peeled.”
The dozen men with him nodded then spread out a little further, covering more of the area as they heeled their horses forward. He wasn’t too afraid of an ambush. Kingston didn’t seem to be too smart in that sense, but he was wily, the information Evan had gathered had proven that.
A mile or so up the road they reined the horses in at Juan
“Damn it, Abigail!”
“Well, it’s not all my fault. If you weren’t so stubborn and had a deputy to help you, then he would have been here and this would never have happened. I think I shall have to petition the city council, insist they hire a deputy.”
Dumbfounded, he stared at the woman for a split second. “You know what Abigail? I think that is the first sensible thing I’ve ever heard you say.”
A smile formed on her face.
He shook his head. “I do need a deputy—to keep idiots like you out of my office.”
“Well, I never.” She stomped her foot, twisted about to run up the street.
He followed her out the door, looking for the first available male figure. “Kent!” he hollered at the man walking down the boardwalk. “Tell Evan I need him, and then go tell Jake as well as any other man who’s willing to ride posse.”
“Right away, Sheriff!” the man answered as he picked up his steps, belittling the fact he was well past the age of sixty.
****
Hannah wore little more than her shift when she heard the roaring sound of thundering hoofs. She brushed aside Margaret’s measuring tape and rushed to the window. A large group of men galloped down the street. Adam rode the lead horse. She stuck her head out the window.
“Hey McBride, where are you going?”
He waved the rest of the group to continue forward and reined his horse to a stop. Her heart hit the floor. A person never forgets the sight of a posse . She pulled her head in, and without bothering to grab a wrap, ran to the door then down the stairs.
Adam met her at the bottom step. A worried frown covered his face.
“Adam?” she questioned.
He took her hands as his eyes roamed her scantly covered body. “I have to ride posse. But don’t fear. Nothing will keep me from attending the wedding.”
“Ride posse?”
“Yes, I’m afraid we had a prison escape.”
Her throat grew tight. “Nathaniel?”
He nodded.
“Oh, Adam.” She wrapped both arms around his torso.
“Don’t fret now.” He hugged her for the briefest of moments before his hands moved to pat her back. “Promise me you’ll stay in the house. I don’t believe he’s still in town, but I don’t want you to take any chances.”
It was hard, but she managed to give him a slight nod.
“I’ve commissioned a couple of men to stand guard at the front and back doors. So don’t be frightened if you see them.”
She tried to nod again, held the sob burning her throat. He bent and covered her mouth with a hard, hot kiss, and then in a blink of an eye, he was gone. She stood still, listening to the fading clops of his galloping horse. Is this what it will be like being married to a lawman? Listening to him ride into danger on a daily basis? Pressing a trembling hand to her thudding chest, she sank to the bottom step of the stairway.
****
Picking up Kingston’s trail was easy, the man stayed on the main road, pushed his mount hard. Adam set the pace for the posse, riding their horses steady, but easy, so not to wind them. It wasn’t long before they came upon a dead horse.
“That was one of my best mounts!” Fred Alfreds, the livery owner, said as he climbed down to investigate the carcass. An appalled look filled his face as he looked up. “He rode it to death, Adam.”
“He can’t be much further,” Adam said, glancing around. Brown, flat ground stretched out in every direction until it met the cloud dotted sky. The Kansas prairie provided little to no shelter or hiding spots. But you never know where there might be a small gulley amongst the high grasses. “Keep your eyes peeled.”
The dozen men with him nodded then spread out a little further, covering more of the area as they heeled their horses forward. He wasn’t too afraid of an ambush. Kingston didn’t seem to be too smart in that sense, but he was wily, the information Evan had gathered had proven that.
A mile or so up the road they reined the horses in at Juan
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