Page 35

Chapter Twenty-Six

“ Z eke’s coming!” Bernadette left the window and ran over to open the door.

“You need to give him time to get into the building before he’ll be at the door,” Lucas called out with a laugh.

“Don’t tease her like that,” Gail said with an amused shake of her head. “The poor girl is anxious to be with her husband. You can’t blame her for that. I know I’m excited when I know I’ll get to be with you.”

Lucas replied, but Bernadette went into the hall so she could meet up with Zeke as he reached the top of the staircase. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. “I’m glad you’re safe.”

He returned her hug and kissed her. “Nothing’s going to happen for another couple of hours.” He glanced at the open doorway. “Did you tell your brother that we got married?”

She offered him a reassuring nod. “He knows, and he’s fine with it.” She took him by the hand and led him into the room. “Here he is.” She closed the door then stood by him.

“Isn’t Blaze here?” Zeke asked.

“He went to look for you,” Lucas said as he sorted through his cards. “He left about ten minutes ago. Maybe fifteen?”

“I’d say it was more like fifteen minutes,” Gail chimed in. “Not much has been happening. I’m starting to get bored playing card games.”

Lucas offered her a wry grin. “I might get bored, too, if I kept winning each hand.” His gaze went to Zeke. “I’ve only won two hands since we arrived in town. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she was cheating.”

“I’m not cheating. I just happen to be good at card games. I used to play cards with my parents every evening after dinner.” She shrugged. “After a while, the games all seem the same.”

Bernadette turned to Zeke. “What did the sheriff tell you?”

“Like us,” Zeke began, “he knows Lee and Wilson are coming here. I really think we can get them.”

Gail’s eyebrows furrowed. “How can you say that when you haven’t talked to Blaze yet?”

That was a good question. Bernadette waited for him to answer. Zeke hesitated, and by the way he glanced between her, Lucas, and Gail, she realized he was reluctant to say anything. Quite frankly, this surprised her. Up to now, he’d made it a habit of coming out and saying whatever he was thinking.

“Sheriff Hoff knows my uncle,” Zeke slowly started. “If my uncle thought I couldn’t trust Sheriff Hoff, he would have warned me about him.”

“Where are you going with this, Zeke?” Lucas prodded.

Yes, Bernadette would like to know that, too.

“Sheriff Hoff and I have something planned, but I can’t say anything about it,” Zeke replied with a wince. “Are you upset with me?”

“Why would we be upset?” Bernadette asked.

“I’m withholding information. It makes me look bad.”

“No, it doesn’t,” she assured him. “If you lied to us, that would look bad. I’d rather you be honest and say you can’t tell us what you and this sheriff have planned.”

“She’s right, Zeke,” Lucas added. “You’re a deputy. I’m sure there are some things lawmen are privy to that other people aren’t.”

Zeke didn’t hide his relief. “I don’t like withholding information, especially not from family. But as I was talking to the sheriff, I could hear my uncle telling me to do as he wanted.”

“No one can blame you for that,” Gail inserted. “As long as you end up catching Lee and Wilson, that’s what matters.”

“I have no doubt we will,” Zeke told her.

Bernadette’s ears perked up in interest. Zeke had tried to take credit for the capture of Bower and his gang back at the canyon.

But now he was sharing the credit for the capture of Lee and Wilson with others.

She wasn’t sure what had changed this side of him.

Perhaps having Blaze with them had come in use after all.

Zeke had an edge of humility in him he hadn’t had before, and that made her love him even more.

Since they were in front of her brother and Gail, she only kissed his cheek. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

“Don’t leave the hotel,” Zeke said. “The fewer people who are outside, the fewer people we have to worry about.” He paused. “Sheriff Hoff has good reason to think that a few people in the town are working with Lee and Wilson. It’d be safe to assume that you can’t trust anyone.”

A shiver crawled up Bernadette’s spine. Lee and Wilson had ordinary townsfolk on their side? “Where will you be? If Blaze comes back here, we’ll have to tell him where to find you. He was looking for you earlier.”

“I plan to scope out the town, mostly look for hiding spots.” He squeezed her hand. “I’m not leaving anything to chance. Maybe I’ll find him.”

“He has good reason to believe Faye can be trusted,” Lucas inserted.

Zeke hesitated for a moment then said, “I’d like to think she can be, too, but I have to be careful.

Any misstep, and the sheriff and I will lose the opportunity to finally put Lee and Wilson away.

You three aren’t from here. You don’t realize just how dangerous these men can be.

I’m not surprised to hear that they have alliances hiding out in these communities.

It’s impossible to weed them all out. What I do know is that most of the people they have working with them were somehow coerced into it.

I could tell you stories, but some are too terrible to even think about. ”

Bernadette’s stomach tensed. “That’s alright, Zeke. We don’t want to know.”

His gaze went to Lucas and Gail, but it was Lucas who spoke up. “We’d rather just hear scary stories about scorpions and snakes.”

“And the Red Ghost is bad enough as it is,” Bernadette added.

Zeke offered a nod then left the room. On impulse, Bernadette followed after him.

He turned to her in surprise, but she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him before he could speak.

She was so proud of him. Here he was, going into a dangerous situation with notorious outlaws who had connections so deep in Arizona that even the town’s sheriff didn’t know who to trust.

When she released him, she whispered, “Make sure you’re careful out there. I want to keep you around for a lifetime.”

He smiled at her and squeezed her waist. “Don’t you worry. You’re going to meet my ma and my uncle, and we’re going to have a lot of kids together.” He gave her a kiss, this one briefer than the one she’d just given him, then headed on down the stairs.

Blaze frowned as he walked down the street.

He was sure he’d seen the man with that red bandana tied loosely around his neck three times in the past hour.

Yes, the town was small, but he shouldn’t be coming across the same person this much.

The fact that Faye hadn’t been at the livery stable only increased the gnawing sensation in his stomach.

Blaze pretended not to notice the man with the red bandana as he slipped into the mercantile.

He needed to get out of open range. He had been careful to stay out of sight for the most part, but someone had caught note of him at some point and had alerted someone important about him.

He lifted a blanket that had been on the display in front of the window and pretended to inspect it.

His gaze went to the street. The man with the red bandana paused, his attention on the mercantile—his attention specifically on him.

Just as Blaze thought. He was being followed. That man wasn’t Lee, and he wasn’t Wilson. Blaze had memorized those Wanted posters so that he would recognize the outlaws when he saw them. No, this man was someone else. And he bet this man was working with Lee and Wilson.

The only way he was going to escape this place without being caught by that man was to slip out the back door of the mercantile. He wasn’t sure if he could just ask the owner if he could leave that way. Certainly, that would arouse the owner’s suspicions.

Blaze glanced at the owner. The owner was tallying up the order that a woman and her young son were making. An idea came to him. He left the blanket and went further into the store so the man with the red bandana couldn’t see him anymore.

Blaze dug into his pockets and found the money that would cover the cost of the blanket. He approached the woman and her son. “Pardon me, ma’am. I couldn’t help but notice the boy here.”

The woman’s eyebrows furrowed. “Yes, his name is Jack. Do I know you?”

“No, ma’am, you don’t. It’s just that you remind me of my ma. She had the same hair color that you do.” And that was true. She did have the same lovely shade of red hair as his mother. “She’s no longer with us.”

Her expression turned sympathetic. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

He glanced at the doorway of the mercantile then let his gaze linger for a moment on the window.

He could briefly make out the man with the red bandana, still watching—and waiting—for him to leave.

Blaze turned his attention back to her. “My pa died earlier than she did. For the longest time, it was just me and my ma. If you don’t mind, I would like to give you the blanket I saw at the window. ”

“Well, that’s really nice of you, Mister, but I don’t even know you,” she replied. “I wouldn’t feel right about accepting the gift.”

“In the past, people helped me and my ma out when we needed it. We wouldn’t have survived if it hadn’t been for them,” Blaze said, offering up a part of his past he’d rarely told anyone.

“I would like to do this. For them.” He paused and swallowed the lump in his throat.

“As a way to say thanks, even though they aren’t here. ”

Her face softened. “My husband is still with us, but I feel I ought to honor your mother’s memory by accepting the blanket.”

“Much obliged, ma’am.” He placed the money on the counter.

“I left the blanket on the display at the window.” He turned to the owner and feigned panic.

“I don’t suppose I can take the way out back?

It’ll save me time on getting to the livery stable, and I just remembered that I forgot to pay the fee before I came here.

I don’t want them to toss my horse out of there. ”

The owner offered a nod and gestured for him to take the door in the back.

Blaze thanked him and hurried out the back while the owner went to the window to retrieve the blanket. Blaze slipped past a couple of other businesses that lined the alley.

When he came to the end of the row of buildings, he stopped and glanced down the street. The man with the red bandana was still keeping watch over the mercantile. Good. Now Blaze could start watching that man for a change.

Blaze caught sight of Zeke coming down the other side of the street and had to stop himself before calling out to him. As much as he could use Zeke’s help, he didn’t dare give up his location.

Blaze watched as Zeke went past the mercantile.

The man wearing the red bandana only glanced in Zeke’s direction.

That had to mean that the man either didn’t know about Zeke or didn’t consider him to be a threat.

Blaze was inclined to believe the former, especially given the fact that the man wasn’t even mildly interested in him.

It was difficult not to give Zeke some sign that he was close by.

Zeke knew that Lee and Wilson were coming to this town.

He knew where the treasure was hidden, so he knew where Lee and Wilson would be.

Right now, Zeke might be the only person who could get close to Lee and Wilson without arousing anyone’s suspicions.

Zeke being delayed by the Red Ghost might have been a godsend.

Blaze would like to know where Faye was but couldn’t find her at the moment.

Perhaps, the man with the red bandana would eventually lead him to her.

Faye was far more adept at handling trouble than any other woman he’d come across, but if there were a couple of men surrounding her, she wouldn’t be able to tackle them all.

Even he would have difficulty with that.

Things weren’t looking good for her at the moment.

Blaze sighed. He had hoped that he, Faye, and Zeke would be able to hide in key places through the town, but that plan wasn’t going to work now. And that meant he had to come up with something else. But first, he had to know how many people he, Faye, and Zeke were up against.