Finally a Bride (23 page)

“Naw. I tucked Rachel in earlier, then took a final tour of the town. I don’t like to turn in until things quiet down.” Luke let out a low whistle. “Looks like you’ll have a shiner tomorrow. You want me to get you a slab of meat to put on it? Got some down in the root cellar. The cold might help with the swelling.”

“Thanks, but no. It’ll be all right, I reckon.”

Luke nodded and hopped up the steps, opened the front door, and turned down the lamp in the parlor that threw some light on the porch. Then he took a seat on the steps next to Noah. “I don’t know about you, but I sometimes find it easier to discuss things in the dark.”

He could argue the point that the night wasn’t fully dark with the half moon in the western sky, but he held his tongue. The truth was he could use someone to talk to.

“I heard all about what happened at the social. Sorry I wasn’t there, but I’d come back to check on Rachel.” Luke shook his head. “That Billy Morgan has been trouble since the day he arrived in town. It’s time someone put him in his place.”

“I shouldn’t have hit him.”

“Why did you?”

Because I lost control of my temper. “I didn’t want to, but he had me down and wouldn’t quit punching me. I finally got tired of it—no, the truth is, I went berserk. Something in me snapped, and I came up fighting.”

“A man has a right to defend himself.”

Noah shook his head. “This wasn’t defending. This was revenge.”

Luke was quiet for a moment. “You didn’t know Billy when you lived here before, did you?”

“No, he must have come after I left.”

Luke rubbed the stubble on his jaw, making a bristly sound. “Then how could it be revenge?”

Noah clasped his hands tightly together and wrapped them around his knees. He hated talking about his past—remembering how rotten his childhood had been—but the marshal already knew some of his story. “I’m sure you remember what my pa was like. He wasn’t a nice man.”

“Yeah. I had a few run-ins with him before you two left town. He’d drink too much, then start fights.”

“Uh-huh. And he’d come home like that, and any little thing could set him off. I had more beatings as a child than I could count.”

Luke rested his hand on Noah’s shoulder. “I’m sorry about that, son. A man should love his children, teach them right from wrong, not be cruel to them.”

“I think Pa blamed me for my ma’s and sister’s deaths.”

“How so?”

Tears burned Noah’s eyes, but he batted them away. The day his sister died was one of the worst in his life. “Pa had gone hunting when they took sick. I wanted to go for the doctor, but I couldn’t leave them alone. Zoe wasn’t even two years old yet, and Ma was too sick to care for her. When Pa came home and found them dead and me alive, something in him broke. He was never the same. The beatings started soon after that.”

“I’m sorry, Noah. You did the best you could, I’m sure.”

Noah crossed his arms. “I don’t know. I can’t help wondering what would have happened if I’d gone for the doctor when they first took sick.”

“You can ask a million ‘what ifs,’ but it won’t change anything.”

“I know. I just wish I’d been the one who died instead of them.”

Luke lifted his face toward the sky. “They’re safe in the Father’s arms now and will never know pain again.”

“Yeah, I take comfort in knowing that. I told you all that because I want you to understand. When I was about fifteen, a year and a half after we left Lookout, my pa came home drunk and broke one night. He was spittin’ mad that he’d lost what little money he had in a poker game, and he intended to take out his frustrations on me. Well, it had finally dawned on me that I was a whole lot bigger than him and stronger, too. I’d been working some, chopping wood for folks, and I decided then and there that I would never be beaten again.”

“I see. So when Billy had you down on the ground, that fighting instinct kicked in.”

Noah nodded, thankful the man understood. “Yeah. I know that as the town’s shepherd, I’m supposed to be a good example to my flock, but I really bungled things tonight. Maybe it would be better for everyone if I pack up and head back to Emporia.”

Luke draped his arm loosely over Noah’s shoulders. “Don’t hang up your fiddle yet. You told me God sent you here. Do you feel like you’ve fulfilled the work He wanted you to do already?”

Noah barked a laugh. “What work? I’ve been here less than a week.”

“Well, there’s your answer then.”

“What is?”

Luke leaned forward and looked at him. “God sent you here for a purpose. You haven’t completed the task, so leaving now isn’t an option.”

“Oh. I see what you mean.” As much as he’d like to take the easy way out, Noah knew he wouldn’t. “Guess I’ll have to stand up there tomorrow and eat some crow.”

“Like I said, there’s nothing wrong with a man defending himself, and from what I heard, it all started when you stood up for Jack and made Billy stop forcing her to dance. Yeah, maybe you lost control in the fight, but you were defending yourself and an innocent woman. In many people’s eyes, you’ll be a hero.”

“You didn’t see the looks of disappointment I got from other folks.”

Luke stood and stretched. “You’ll never please everyone, Noah. I learned that long ago. So start with pleasing God and being obedient to your calling, and trust God to deal with the people.”

Noah stood, feeling like an old man in his battered body.

“You need to get a good night’s sleep.” Luke opened the front door and held it for Noah to enter. “I, for one, am looking forward to hearing your sermon.”

Noah allowed a small smile. “Yeah, well, don’t set your standard too high.”

They were finally done talking. Jack pulled her pillow out of the window and listened to the creak of the stairs outside her door as Noah climbed them. She hadn’t heard much of what was said, since the men had talked mostly in low tones and Abby’s loud snores filled the room, but she’d gotten the odd feeling that Luke knew far more about Noah than she did.

How was that possible?

Had they talked before?

Why would Noah open up to her papa and not to her?

One thing she
had
heard was a woman’s name—Zoe. Who was she? Could the parson have a gal he left behind somewhere?

The cool breeze blowing in her window sent goose bumps racing up her arm, and she reached over and lowered the sash. Jack sat there, staring into the dark room, scowling and nibbling one corner of her lower lip. It shouldn’t bother her that some woman might have already claimed his heart. In fact, it didn’t.

What bothered her was that she hadn’t been able to get her story. Being a lawman, Luke was fairly tight-lipped, but if she waited for just the right timing, maybe she could get him to tell her something more about Noah Jeffers. At any rate, tomorrow he’d preach his first sermon, and that alone should give her enough fodder for an article.

Lying back, she smiled. For a woman with skills and wiles, there was always a way to reach her goal.

Chapter 17

C
arly dipped the last plate into the rinse water and laid it on the stack on the table. “Is there anything else that needs washing?”

Rachel set the dish she’d just dried on the stack of clean plates and leaned back in her chair, resting her arm across her large belly. “I don’t think so, but the dining table may need to be washed off.”

Ringing out the rag, Carly noticed Rachel lay her head back against the chair and close her eyes. “Is Oscar misbehaving this morning?”

Rachel’s lips curved up in a soft smile. “Not so much. I just can’t believe that breakfast is barely over, and I already feel the need for a nap.”

Carly wiped down the kitchen counters, then rinsed the dishcloth and rung it out again. “Well, why don’t you go lie down? I can finish drying the plates and silverware.”

“I still need to dress for church and fix the girls’ hair.” With obvious effort, Rachel forced herself to sit up and dry another dish.

“Nobody will think bad of you if you were to miss church, considering you will be having a baby any day. I can fix your daughters’ hair.”

“It’s not as easy as it sounds. Emmie isn’t too hard since her hair is too short to braid. Just brush it, but trying to plait Abby’s hair is about as easy as lassoing a cloud.”

Chuckling, Carly found a dry towel and quickly started drying the silverware before Rachel could object. Her friend had offered her a job helping her, but that wasn’t such an easy task. Rachel was so used to doing everything that instead of waiting for help, she just went ahead and did things. Carly was going to have to be on her toes and stay alert if she was to be any help around here.

Thinking of braiding Abby’s hair reminded Carly of her last visit when Rachel would struggle to get Jacqueline to sit still long enough for her to fix the girl’s tresses. “Is Abby much like Jacqueline?”

Rachel set the last dried plate on the pile and rolled her eyes. “Far more than I wish she was.”

Remembering how young Jack had shed her dresses and donned her worn overalls every chance she got made Carly realize just how long she’d been away. Jacqueline had grown from a spunky ten-year-old who preferred fishing with her two male friends over school or housework, to a lovely young woman. She ambled into the dining room and washed off the table, chairs, and the buffet. She glanced around the clean room, a feeling of satisfaction rising within her.

A bird’s cheerful song wafted in on the morning breeze, fluttering the white lacey curtains, reminding her of Tillie’s house. She wondered how Pastor Barker was getting along without his wife or her to care for him. Had he moved in with his daughter yet?

Carly breathed a wistful sigh. She’d thought of the old couple as caring grandparents, even though she wasn’t their kin. They’d treated her far better than she’d expected when she first arrived as a newly released convict. Her past hadn’t mattered to them any more than it did to Rachel, but in truth, she wasn’t family. She had no family.

And wasn’t that just as well?

As she walked back into the kitchen, she thought about her brother. Tyson was dead now, God rest his soul, and she couldn’t help feeling relieved. Yeah, he’d let her live with his outlaw gang and kept the men away from her with his vile threats, but he’d used her. Forced her into a life of bank robbery, stealing from hardworking people and being on the run. Thank the Lord those days were behind her.

She hung the dishcloth on the edge of the sink and looked at her friend. Rachel again sat back with her eyes shut. Carly reached down, taking her arm. “C’mon, it’s back to bed for you.”

“No, no. I wasn’t sleeping. Just resting my eyes.”

“I’ve heard that line before.” Carly chuckled, helping Rachel to her feet. A streak of jealousy raised its head when she stared up close at the bulge the baby made beneath Rachel’s apron. She squelched the snake of envy and guided Rachel to her bedroom. “When did you say your baby is due?”

“Not for another week or two.” Rachel lay back on her quilt and released a sigh. “I think you’re right about not attending church, although I hate missing Reverend Jeffers’ first sermon and sitting with you.”

Carly pulled a brown knitted coverlet off the back of a nearby chair and laid it over Rachel’s legs. “I’ll be fine, and so will the minister.”

Rachel’s pale blue eyes filled with concern. “I feel so bad that Noah has to preach his first sermon in town with that black eye. It looks atrocious.”

Carly couldn’t help comparing Noah Jeffers to Reverend Barker. Other than both being Christians, they were nothing alike, as far as she could tell in the short time she’d been at the boardinghouse. “Maybe it’ll keep him from fighting again. I can’t imagine Reverend Barker from my old church ever getting into a fight.”

“Just remember, our reverend was trying to help Jacqueline. He never expected to get into a fight, from what Luke told me. I, for one, appreciate him standing up to Billy Morgan. I’ve known that young man since the first day he arrived in Lookout and stayed here with his mother and sister, and he’s always been trouble.”

“Now that he’s been publicly put in his place, maybe he’ll straighten up.” Carly pushed away from the doorjamb she’d been leaning on. “Better round up your girls and make sure they’re dressed, then finish getting ready for church myself. You have a nice rest, and don’t worry. Jacqueline and I will handle things.”