Free Swept Away by Mary Connealy Page B

around a bit too long to be fit company for a young woman like Rosie.
    Since she quit touching Dare right away, Luke didn’t say anything. Instead, he kept plowing through his breakfast.
    “I got a chance to talk with Jonas this morning.” Dare picked up his fork. “He’s been up all night. Hingle died and his brother needed company. The funeral will be today, so we won’t see Jonas until after that’s over.”
    “You didn’t get called in?” Rosie asked. “Didn’t Mr. Hingle need a doctor?”
    “I’ve doctored him ever since I came to town. He’s a lunger, who was a long way gone when I got here. I’ve treated him to the extent I could. Not much to be done for consumption when a man’s as sick as Hingle was. He and his brother knew it and had accepted it. Shame, though, as Hingle was a good man. This town will miss him.”
    “You all came to Broken Wheel to help me, and you’re so busy with your jobs I’m going to make things tough.” Luke hadn’t meant to visit his trouble on his old friends, but it had happened anyway.
    “What you’ve got to do needs doing, Luke. We need to rid this town of Flint Greer for more reasons than just to get your ranch back and get justice for your pa. I’ve found out Greer was a carpetbagger who came down from the North after the war. He was just starting out when he killed your pa. Since the day your pa died, he’s stolen more land, killed good men, and driven others off their property until he owns almost every square foot of land all the way around town. What he doesn’t own is controlled byComanches and Kiowas. There’s no chance for this town to grow with the current circumstances. You’ve got right on your side, and I’ll be proud to back you while we clear out Greer and his hired guns.”
    “I mailed all the papers to Jonas because I knew he’d gotten to town. If they got here, Jonas should’ve seen Vince about them and things should be in order to evict Greer.” Luke poured more coffee, thinking of all that lay ahead.
    Rosie flinched when Luke poured, as surely as if he’d yelled at her for being lazy. The woman clearly intended to care for all of them—and the rest of the world while she was at it. If she showed signs of boredom, he’d swap rooms with her and let her tidy up the attic, too. That’d slow her down.
    “You’re talking about the papers including a letter from a judge?”
    “Yep.”
    “They’re here, and we’re ready to back you when you serve them.”
    Luke looked at his friend and shook his head. “I should’ve never let you get involved. It’s my fight.”
    “Couldn’t’ve stopped us, Luke. You were always the kid among the Regulators. You need your elders to help you along.”
    Luke’s head came up, annoyed, but it was an old joke. He’d almost missed being teased by his barely older friends. Almost. “I was doing a full day’s work on the ranch when you were still sittin’ on your mama’s lap and sucking your thumb.”
    Dare laughed. “Well, you always acted more like a kid than the rest of us.”
    “Or maybe you all acted like a bunch of old codgers.”Luke pounded a fist on the table and made the plates and cups jump and clatter. “I could take every one of you at the same time, if I had a need to.”
    Still chuckling, Dare said, “You always were an easy one to stir up, Luke.”
    “Guess I’d better not slug a man who’s putting his life on the line to help me.” Since he had no plans to punch his friend, Luke relaxed his fist and went back to his coffee.
    “Reckon not.” Dare reached for the pot, but Rosie beat him to pouring. “You’ll spend the rest of the day hiding.”
    “I don’t care much for hiding.” Luke took a long drink from his tin cup.
    “Tomorrow morning you’d best get up and out early, hide in the hills during the day until we can get everything in place. I expect Big John to ride in soon.”
    “What’s a Regulator?” Rosie asked.
    “It’s how we met in the war.” Luke