Finally a Bride (18 page)

Luke Davis grinned again. “Good point, Reverend. I was referring to my eldest. She’s actually my stepdaughter, but I think of her as my own. That feisty little Abby, though, sure is giving Jack a run for her money.”

Noah nodded. He’d seen traits of Jack in her sister. “Do you think you could call me Noah or even Pastor, instead of Reverend? I’m uneasy with that title.”

The marshal nodded. “I can do that.” He hooked his thumbs in his pockets and stared at Noah.

Struggling hard not to squirm, he picked up his axe and leaned on the handle. He could see the marshal was working up to something.
Don’t ask. Not yet
.

Luke’s mouth twisted sideways. “I reckon I should warn you about those three gals. My Jack’s never shown a great interest in men. I imagine that’s the fault of her first father.” Luke stared off in the distance, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “Let me just say he wasn’t a kind man.”

Noah had heard a few rumors about James Hamilton when he previously lived in town, but being just a kid, he hadn’t thought on it much. Besides, the man hadn’t sounded all that much different from his own pa. He was well aware of the issues that surfaced when a kid lived with a cruel father. Could that be why Jack had always acted so tough?

“Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that I don’t think you have to worry about her or Penny, but I’d watch out for that Tessa Morgan. If she sets her hat for you, well … just consider yourself duly warned.”

Noah had seen the blond gal looking at him more than once, and she always tried to weasel up next to him if she saw him alone. He swallowed hard, then looked Jack’s stepfather in the eye. “I didn’t come here looking for a wife, Marshal.”

“Luke.”

Noah nodded. “God sent me here to share His Word with the people of Lookout.”

Luke pursed his lips. Then a wry smile tugged at his mouth. “I once thought God sent me back to Lookout for a certain reason, too, but things turned out far different from what I’d planned. Don’t close any doors on God. He may have more for you here than you ever expected.”

Noah’s heart leapt before he lassoed it back under control. Maybe he could find a home here and the friends and respect he craved. But Pastor Taylor would eventually return to town, and then Noah would no longer be needed. Yeah, he could start another church, but he wouldn’t do that. The parishioners would most likely stay with Pastor Taylor anyway.

“Well, guess I’ll be moseying along. Have a good day … Noah.”

Noah’s grasp tightened on the wooden handle as he watched the marshal walk away. He exhaled a sigh of relief, knowing he’d dodged another bullet. He turned the log on the chopping block to get the best angle, then lifted the axe, just as the marshal spun back around. The man strode toward him with purpose. He eyed the axe and slowed his steps.

Noah lowered the tool and waited. Sweat ran down his temple, but he didn’t swipe at it.

Luke shook his head. “I’ve been a marshal for ten years and was a soldier for another decade before then. One thing I’ve learned is to trust my gut, and it’s screaming that we’ve met before.” The marshal’s gaze hardened, but he didn’t look unkind. “Noah Jeffers isn’t your real name, is it?”

Chapter 13

J
ack and Penny’s quick steps echoed along the boardwalk as they passed a moseying couple. Jack glanced over her shoulder just as the man and woman turned into the newspaper office. She blew out a heavy breath and allowed her steps to slow.

Penny copied her and peered back toward Dolly’s shop. She patted her thin hand against her chest. “I don’t know how you keep from having curly hair.”

Jack stared at her friend. “What?”

Penny swatted her hand in the air. “The marshal is so stern. He scares me so badly my hair curls.”

Shaking her head, Jack couldn’t help grinning. “Luke may act tough, but he’s just a big, lovable puppy.”

“Nuh-uh.” Penny stiffly shook her head, her eyes wide. “I’d better head back home before Mama comes looking for me.”

Jack waved. “See you tomorrow.”

Penny walked backwards down Bluebonnet Lane. “You gonna dance with the minister if Billy doesn’t hog you?”

“No. I doubt I’ll be dancing at all since my knee still hurts.”

Penny shrugged and turned around, then continued down the lane at a quick clip.

“Well, now, that disappoints me.”

Billy
. Jack closed her eyes and took a calming breath. He was more annoying than a bad case of poison ivy. Forcing a cordial smile, she turned to face him. “H’lo, Billy.”

His passionate gaze raked her from head to toe, a slow smile stealing across his mouth. “Sure am glad you didn’t kill yourself when you fell off that roof.”

“So is my ma.” Jack resisted rolling her eyes at her dumb response.

Billy scowled and leaned against the boardwalk railing, crossing his arms. “What’s that nonsense about you dancing with that new minister?”

“Nothing.” Jack’s ire simmered. It was none of his business who she danced with. “I won’t be dancing with anyone because my knee is still tender.”

“I’ve been looking forward to this social just so’s me and you can kick up our heels a bit.”

“Sorry to disappoint you. I need to go.” She started across the street, but he intercepted her, blocking her way.

Irritation flickered in his blue eyes. He forked his fingers through his white blond hair. “Hold on now. Surely you could dance with me a little bit.”

She glanced at the store and boardinghouse, half relieved no one was watching and half disappointed. Where was Luke when she needed him?

She’d told Billy over and over that she wasn’t interested in him, but he failed to believe her. “I’m going to the social, but I won’t be dancing. My knee is all right for walking, but I can’t dance and risk twisting it and doing more damage. The doctor said it may take a long time to heal.”

“Then why are you bothering to have that new dress made?”

She could hardly tell Billy she hadn’t been all that interested in the dress her ma had ordered until Noah Jeffers came to town. Jack lifted her brows. “How do you know about that?”

“Tessa told me.”

Ahh, Tessa. She’d probably bragged about how much nicer her own dress was and how it had come all the way from Boston.

He stood with his hands on his hips, staring down at her. She couldn’t deny he was a handsome man, and that was part of the problem. He thought he could flash his dimpled smile and get every gal in town to swoon. Well, not her. She never swooned.

“Why don’t you ask Velma Tate? She’d love to go with you.”

He snorted and looked as if he might gag. “She’s fat.”

Jack crossed her arms. “She is not. Besides, she’s really nice and likes you a lot.”

“Well, I don’t like her. You’re my fiancée. It wouldn’t look right for me to take some other gal.”

Gritting her teeth, Jack leaned in close. “I—am—not—your—fiancée. And stop telling people that I am. You hear?”

His smile returned. “Oh, Jacqueline, are we having a lover’s spat?”

“Oh!” Jack stomped her foot. The sharp pain that grabbed her knee like a bear claw instantly caused her to regret the action. She bent down, rubbing her knee through the fabric of her skirt and petticoat. “We’re not lovers. And I thank you kindly not to ever say that again.”

“You all right?” He had half enough sense to look repentant.

She straightened but kept the heel of her sore leg off the ground. “No, I’m not, thanks to you.”

“I didn’t make you stomp your foot.”

Jack rolled her eyes. Men were so dense. A dog barked behind her, and she heard a harness jingle. She stepped to the side of the road and looked to see who was coming. A farmer she didn’t recognize tipped his straw hat at her. His black-and-white dog sat on the seat beside him, wagging his tail. Jack smiled and waved at the man.

Billy scowled as the wagon passed them. “Who’s that?”

“I don’t know. I was just being friendly.”

He stepped up close to her and brushed his fingers through the hair that hung into his eyes. “How come you ain’t more friendly to me?”

She hated hurting people’s feelings, but she was also getting tired of Billy’s possessiveness. “Maybe because you won’t take no for an answer. I’m not interested in marrying you, Billy. Or courting, either. I don’t ever plan to marry, so you’re wasting your time.” As soon as the words left her mouth, an image of Noah Jeffers chopping wood invaded her mind.

“You’re just too high and mighty, Miss I’m-the-marshal’s-daughter.” Billy’s childish, singsong tone set her nerves on edge.

“Luke doesn’t have anything to do with us.”

The door on the boardinghouse flew open, and Alan stepped onto the porch. He shaded his eyes with his hand; then he saw her and waved. “Emmie’s awake and wants out of bed. Ma said I should come find you, Sissy.”

“I’m coming.” She looked at Billy again. “I’ve gotta go.”

A muscle in his jaw ticked, and he glared at her, his eyes as cold as ice. “Most girls in this county would be happy to dance with me. You just be ready come tomorrow night, or else.”

Jack shoved her hands to her hips and leaned toward him. “Or else what?”

“You don’t wanna find out.”Billy spun on his heel and marched back toward the mercantile his mother owned.

Jack watched him go. She wasn’t one to scare easily, but something in the tone of Billy’s voice set her senses on alert. What would he do if she didn’t dance with him? Hurt her? Or one of her siblings?

Besides her father, only one person had ever scared her like Billy just had, but he was long gone. Too bad Billy wasn’t also.

Noah’s hands sweated as he stared at the marshal. He found it hard to swallow, as if the man had his fingers around Noah’s throat, but he couldn’t lie—he wouldn’t. All he could do was tell the marshal the truth and hope the man believed that he had changed. That he wasn’t the troubled youth he’d once been.
Please, Lord, don’t let him send me packing. I’m not done here yet
.

The marshal’s eyes narrowed, and Noah broke his gaze and stared at the wood cuttings spread across the grass where he’d been working. If he had to leave Lookout now, his heart would resemble those chips—splintered and scattered.

“I am with you always.”

Noah lifted his head, resolve coursing through him as God’s words strengthened him. The Lord had sent him here on a mission, and Luke Davis couldn’t keep him from it.

He caught the marshal’s gaze again and nodded. “Yes, sir, we’ve met before.”

Luke’s jaw quivered, as if he was clenching his teeth. “When—and where?”

Noah glanced away again. “Here. Ten years ago.”

The marshal’s eyes lifted to the sky, and he seemed to be searching his memory. His brow dipped, and his mouth twisted to one side. His eyes suddenly widened. “You’re not part of the Payton Gang, are you?”

Noah shook his head, surprised the marshal hadn’t figured out the mystery yet.

“Nah, you’re too young. How old are you, anyhow?”

“Twenty-four.”

The marshal didn’t seem in any big hurry to remember, so Noah waited, hoping he’d get distracted like the last time he asked. Finally, he shook his head. “I can’t recollect who you are.”

Noah kicked a chunk of wood, knowing his time was up. “Noah is what my ma named me. It’s my real first name, but my pa hated it and refused to call me that. Said it wasn’t a manly enough name for his son. I did change my surname, though.”

He tightened his fist on the wooden handle as unwanted memories of his past assailed him. Of all the times he took a beating because he didn’t do something fast enough for his pa or when he burnt the meal or came home late. “My pa was a lazy man and a mean drunk. We were living up near Emporia when he died. I was fifteen and old enough to be on my own, but a kind man named Pete Jeffers took me in anyway and taught me how to be a real man, and he taught me about God’s love.”

Noah leaned the axe against the chopping block. If the marshal got upset when he heard the truth and took a swing at him, he sure didn’t want either of them to get hurt on the axe blade. “Pete was the only real father figure I ever had, and it just seemed the right thing to adopt his name.”