Final Justice (55 page)

Rest in peace, Momma
,
Luke thought
.
I kept my promise
.

As though uncannily reading his mind, Sara assured, "I'll look after your mother's grave and see she has flowers at Christmas and Mother's Day."

"That'll be nice of you."

"Well, I always loved her. You know that. Oh, I almost forgot..." Sara went to her car and brought back a paper sack. "Sandwiches for the road. Chicken salad and bologna, chocolate chip cookies, and apples."

Emma Jean hugged her again. "I'm really going to miss you. I wish you were going with us."

Sara was blinking back tears. "Who knows? When the kids are grown, I might just follow you out there."

She walked with them to Luke's car, but just as Emma Jean was about to get in, a familiar voice rang out in the morning quiet.

"I knew if I slept here long enough you'd show up sooner or later," Betsy Borden called sleepily as she crawled out of the roost house. "I've been waitin' for you to see how you're doin', and I figured you'd be back to get Emma Jean's clothes. I nosed around inside and saw some of 'em were still there."

Though it was hard to do, Luke did not flinch as Betsy threw her arms around him. Feathers were stuck in her hair and on her overalls, and she smelled of chicken dung, but she had done a great thing for Emma Jean, and he would always be grateful. "Well, I'm glad I got to see you before we left," he said... and meant it.

She let him go to exclaim, "Aw, hell. You mean you're leavin' town? You ain't gonna be sheriff no more?"

"I'm leaving that job to Matt. Emma Jean and I want to make a fresh start somewhere else."

Betsy pursed her lips, thought about it, then allowed, "Well, I reckon that makes sense, but I'll miss you, 'cause you was always good to me." Suddenly she whirled on Emma Jean and shook her fist. "You better be good to him, or you'll answer to me, you hear?"

Emma Jean swallowed against Betsy's smell and kissed her cheek. "Don't worry, Betsy. I love this man more than my life."

Betsy stretched and yawned. "I best be goin'. Y'all come to see me when you can."

When it was just the three of them again, Sara couldn't hold back her tears any longer. She threw herself on Luke, and he wrapped his arms around her. "This isn't good-bye. We'll meet again."

He loaded the box in the Ford, and soon he and Emma Jean were driving down the winding road that would take them to Birmingham, and, eventually, on to the west coast.

Emma Jean slid across the seat to snuggle close. Passing a sign that read
"LEAVING HAMPTON—HURRY BACK,"
she said, "Luke, I can't help thinkin' now that you're leaving for good that deep down you wish you knew who your real daddy was. I mean, all those years you lived in Hampton, and you might have passed him on the street and not known it."

"I'm sure I did," he said. "But like I've always said, it doesn't matter. I'm here, and now you are, too, and that's all that ever will matter."

He glanced in the rear view mirror, and the smile on his lips came from his very soul.

The moment had arrived at last.

Hampton, Alabama was behind him for all time.

The End

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SAY YOU LOVE ME

A Historical Western Romance

Excerpt from

Say You Love Me

A Historical Western Romance

by

Patricia Hagan

New York Times Bestselling Author

Jacie did not want to wake up, but something was nudging her foot, hard. She forced her eyes to open, then instantly shrank back in horror.

The man was framed by the setting sun, a flaming red and gold halo streaming around him. He stood with fists at his hips, legs wide apart as he stared down at her.

Horrified to think Black Serpent had found her, his name instinctively escaped Jacie's lips, but when the man spoke, she knew it was her original nocturnal visitor.

"I am not Black Serpent. My name is Luke. And you needn't be afraid. I won't hurt you."

Her panic lessened but only a little, because she was still scared out of her wits. She thought of the knife she had stolen from Black Serpent, which she had tied to her ankle, but realized he must have seen it, for her skirt was tangled up about her knees.

He stepped to one side, and the sun was suddenly blinding in her face. She raised her hands to shield her eyes, then held them out to fend him off as he dropped to one knee beside her. "Don't touch me," she said hoarsely, angrily. "This is all your fault, anyway. If I hadn't thought Black Serpent was you, I'd never have walked out that door so trustingly."

"I can't help it if you mistook someone else for me. Now drink. You need water." He raised her head and held a canteen to her lips. She drank eagerly, but he withdrew after she had taken only a few sips. "Too much will make your stomach hurt. Now tell me how you escaped."

Suspiciously, she said, "You're one of them. Why should I tell you anything?" Then she noted how he was dressed. Though bare-chested, he wore army trousers tucked into knee-high boots. His hair hung all the way to his shoulders. An Indian in stolen clothes, no doubt. "Did you kill a soldier to get that outfit?" she asked sharply.

"Get something straight, Miss Calhoun. I'm not one of Black Serpent's followers. I'm an army scout... sometimes. And you can trust me. I swear it."

"And how is it that you know my name?"

"I asked Captain Logan. But that's not important. I want to know how you were able to get away from Black Serpent."

"There was whiskey in some of the boxes they stole from the fort. They got drunk and passed out." She was not about to confide she had drugged Black Serpent. That was her secret, and just because this man said he could trust her didn't mean she would do so.

"So you stole a pony and rode away," he said, admiring her courage.

"Yes, I rode all day, but I must have passed out from hunger and the heat. It's a wonder they didn't find me before you did."

"Well, I sure didn't have any trouble, but I've seen Black Serpent and his friends when they drink too much. They probably don't feel like coming after you and may not bother anyway, since they got what they were really after—guns and ammunition. But I'm not taking any chances." He allowed her a few more sips of water, then stood and held out his hand to her. "We need to get out of here." He felt sure Black Serpent had not told her about Sunstar, or she'd have been screaming to high heavens, demanding to be taken to her.

Jacie raised up on her elbows. "I don't want to go back to Bird's Fort. Captain Logan isn't doing anything to help me find my mother. I'd rather go to Fort Worth."

"I'll decide what to do with you later when we get a chance to talk. Right now, we're getting out of here."

Jacie allowed him to help her up but stood her ground when he started walking toward his horse, a huge white stallion. "Mister, I can't see that we've got anything to talk about. You know why I came here in the first place, but you don't want to help me, so the least you can do is point me in the right direction."

He turned to sweep her with an amused gaze of scrutiny. She had spunk. Spirit. He admired that. Another woman probably would not have managed to escape Black Serpent in the first place, much less stand up to a stranger in the wilderness. But he was losing patience. He had seen the Indian on horseback watching from a distant rise and thought he recognized him as one of Black Serpent's men. He had turned back, no doubt to report what he had seen, and Luke wanted to get the hell out of there. If they caught up with him, he would have to face a dozen men by himself, and he had to consider the safety of the woman.

"Well are you going to help me get to Fort Worth or not?" She was annoyed by the way the corners of his mouth quirked in a smile, as though he found her an amusing child. "If not, then I'll manage on my own somehow."

She looked around for her pony and saw that he had maneuvered himself up to a rocky ledge to nibble at a patch of wildflowers. She was relieved to see the satchel was still tied on, and she lifted her skirt to climb up, then saw that her knife was no longer strapped to her leg.