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He thought about lying to her, but he figured there was no point in it.

Sure, the mothers in Flagstaff were adamant that he watch what he told their children, but if these were his own kids, then their rules didn’t apply.

“Growing up, my pa would tell me all kinds of ghost stories. Sometimes they kept me up at night, but they were a lot of fun. I’d like to pass those on to my kids someday. ”

“If I tell you something, you can’t tell Lucas. Actually, you can’t tell Gail, either. She’d only tell Lucas.”

Catching the impish tone in her voice, Zeke leaned toward her in interest. “I can keep a secret.”

“When we were children, I snuck a book of Grimm’s fairy tales out of my father’s library.

Mother forbade us to read them because of how scary some were.

That was why he put them up on the highest shelf.

But I knew where the ladder was and got it when no one was in the room.

I hid the book in my room for a month and read the entire thing.

I put it back in the library when I was done, and no one ever found out. ”

Zeke figured he should be appalled. She was a young woman who’d grown up in a reputable household.

Of all people, she should have obeyed her parents in everything.

But there was that other side of him—the side that wasn’t a lawman—who couldn’t blame a curious child for wanting to know what kind of stories were in those fairy tales.

His father had told him some of those tales, and yes, he could understand why a mother might be wary of them.

His own mother had allowed his father to tell those stories to him, but he bet that if he’d been a girl, his mother wouldn’t have approved of it.

Like it or not, there were things boys were allowed to do that girls weren’t, though he thought he would tell his children those stories anyway if he had girls.

And if someone like Bernadette were his wife, then he wouldn’t have to worry about his wife objecting to it.

It was a shame she had her heart set on marrying Blaze.

“So you’re not going to tell anyone, are you?” she asked.

“Of course not,” he assured her. “I gave you my word, and I’m going to honor it.” After a moment, he added, “Are you going to tell Blaze?”

“Why would I tell him?”

He didn’t think he would have to explain that one to her. She was going to marry him.

“I don’t think Blaze bothers with reading books,” she continued. “He seems more interested in pursuing danger than reading about it. He didn’t even want to stay and watch the play about the Red Ghost.”

Oh, well, he supposed that was another way of looking at things. Blaze probably wouldn’t even know what a Grimm story was. “I believe that protecting people from outlaws is important, but there should be time for enjoying a good story.”

“Yes, I think so, too. Reading is fun. Sharing stories is also fun. I’m not sure if I believe everything about the Red Ghost that was in that play, but it was still an entertaining diversion.

The days of riding the horse from one watering hole to the next can get long.

I don’t blame Lucas for wanting a break from it. ”

He refrained from explaining that it wasn’t the tedious days of riding their horses that made Lucas want to stay in town.

If Blaze had exhibited more common sense, he would have shown her why those breaks were so important.

Gail seemed very happy with those breaks.

There was no denying the blush on her cheeks and the smiles she kept giving Lucas when she didn’t realize others were looking.

Bernadette ought to have the same kind of blush and smile right now.

Zeke pushed the thought aside. He had no business thinking of what he would like to do with her.

He didn’t know how Blaze could take one look at her and not want to haul her off to the first preacher he could find.

She was so beautiful. For instance, right at this moment, the morning sun cast a lovely glow on her face that softened her features and gave a pleasant pink tint to her cheeks.

How could Blaze not want to kiss her? How could he not want to take her in his arms and hold onto her?

Even while pursuing outlaws, he ought to be distracted by her.

Unless he didn’t really want to marry her. Unless he was only going to do so because he’d promised Lucas he would.

Zeke blinked in surprise. Where had that thought come from?

“When are we going to arrive in Granite Wash Pass?” Bernadette asked.

It took him a moment to focus his attention on the journey ahead of them.

He cleared his throat and gathered his newspapers.

“I figure we’ll get there tomorrow. At the pace we’re going, we can probably make it there in the afternoon.

The nice thing is that Granite Wash Pass has plenty of water, and there are some settlements.

I doubt we’ll come across anything as nice as Prescott, but we might be able to load up on a couple more supplies.

” He glanced over at the camp and saw that Blaze was sitting up while Faye stirred from sleep.

Turning his attention back to Bernadette, he said, “I hope we’re not making a mistake by taking Faye. ”

“I understand why you don’t trust her, but Blaze has to have good instincts about this kind of thing, don’t you think?”

Considering the fact that Blaze wasn’t hopelessly in love with Bernadette, Zeke didn’t know what to think. “I’m going to be on guard. One of us has to do what’s best for the group.”

She seemed ready to ask him how he intended to do that, but even he wasn’t sure at the moment.

He would have to think about it. He got to his feet and reached forward to help her up.

He pretended not to notice the spark that coursed through him at her touch or the way his heart skipped a beat when she smiled at him.

This was torture. The longer he was stuck on this trail, the more he wanted her.

There was no way he was going to be there when Blaze married her.

When the preacher asked if anyone protested the union, he would have to speak up.

And how embarrassing would it be when she told him she didn’t want to be with him?

Blaze went to Lucas and Gail to wake them up. Taking that as his cue, he escorted Bernadette back to the group so they could get ready to head out.