Chapter Twenty-Nine

From the corner of his cell, Luke watched Faith pace from one wall to the other as they waited for Roady and the men to return. Early this morning, Roady had filled them both in on the bloody boot print as Colton listened sullenly from the bench against the far wall of the jailhouse. Now the boy was off with Smokey, fetching coffee from the restaurant across the road.

Faith turned, her expression hard. “What’s taking Roady and the men so long? Why aren’t they back yet?”

“I doubt a half hour has passed since they left. You may as well sit and relax. Who knows what kind of resistance Mrs. Van Gleek will give them?”

“She won’t tell them anything. I’d like to question her myself. And I would if she’d ever come into town. She’s hiding out, Luke, not mourning. I have no doubt in my mind that she’s been carrying on behind her husband’s back. Mr. Van Gleek came home and discovered them, and that was that.”

Pretty much what I’m thinking too. “You’re probably right.”

“Luke, how can you be so calm at a time like this? I’m scared to death, and you act like being locked up for days is nothing. I wish your parents and brothers were here. And Brandon. We need to send for Justin. With Brandon in Cheyenne, he’s the next best thing. Having some law on our side would be comforting. At least having Y Knot’s deputy will pull some weight with Jack Jones.”

His wife’s frustration was feeding his anger. “I wouldn’t count on that, sweetheart. Jack has his mind set, at least for now. If he gave in without reason, he’d look like a fool. We’ll get the evidence we need. You don’t have to be frightened.”

Her lips gripped together, going white.

His words weren’t helping in the least. Faith was rattled. Maybe she had good reason to be. “Come here,” he said, going to the bars and putting out his hand.

She quickly crossed the room and laid her cheek against his palm.

The feel of her skin always reminded him of a thunderstorm on a dark night, one of his best memories. She was his rock, but now he could feel her quivering with fear. The anger he tried to keep tightly in check ratcheted up a few more notches, making him want to punch his fist through the back wall. “We’ll see how things go over the next few days,” he said, as calmly as he could. “Justin can’t leave Y Knot with Brandon and my family away. His duty is there.”

“Hayden can watch over the town. And Chance and Tobit. Trent Herrick, Morgan Stanford, a lot of good, responsible men. I can think of several handfuls of more names if you’d like to hear them. We can send Nick for him as soon as—”

“No, we can’t.” He ran his thumb over her cheek to soften his curt interruption. “With last winter’s devastation and so many ranchers wiped out, we’ve had more than our fair share of lawlessness this spring. Men are hungry, and that will move them to do anything to feed themselves and their families. For now, Justin needs to stay put in Y Knot. Period. If things here get bad enough, I’m sure Roady will send for reinforcements and also send a telegram to Cheyenne to the family and Brandon. For now, we’re doing just fine. Investigating takes time. The guilty person won’t jump out and say hello.”

He put his face as far through the bars as he could manage and pulled Faith closer for a kiss. Jack Jones wouldn’t railroad him. He had a wife to love and children to protect. If push came to shove, he wouldn’t go down easy. But until they exhausted all the legal ways to circumvent this situation, they had to play by the rules. And that was difficult for Faith. All she could see was a bad end coming. He wouldn’t let that happen.

Gazing deep into her eyes, he silently made a promise to her and himself. Nobody would use him as a scapegoat and get away with the deed. Not while he was still alive.

The screech of a hawk sounded outside. He drew back and turned his head, listening.

“What?” Faith asked.

Luke put his finger to his lips and cut his gaze to the door to the outer office. Jack and the deputy had been there when Faith arrived a little while ago, and they’d heard the sounds of their voices in conversation. Now all was quiet, but Luke had the strangest feeling something was up.

“Keep talking low, like we just were,” he said close to the bars. “I’ll climb on my bunk and look out the window.”

She nodded, and her pupils dilated. Blinking, she cut a glance back to the door and then watched Luke.

“Go on, sweetheart,” he whispered, slowly moving to the cot.

She nodded. “I can’t wait to have you home,” she said, unhurried and loud enough that they could hear her if they were listening. “Holly and Dawn miss you terribly. I can’t even imagine what they’re thinking. They miss their daddy tucking them in bed each night.”

Faith’s words moved softly around the room, the truth of her statement about the girls making his stomach tighten, and then anger blossomed hot. He was innocent. He hadn’t killed anyone. Jack Jones would pay for his stupidity when Luke was free.

He didn’t know what to expect outside. One foot up, he leaned to the wall, feeling the coolness beneath his palm. Grasping one bar, he pulled himself farther up. Nothing out by the broken-down chicken coop. He looked down and received the shock of his life.