Free Tracie Peterson by Forever Yours-1 Page B

satisfaction. “Depends on how good the horse is.”
    “Now, while we’re in town,” Nicholas said, bringing the wagon to a halt, “I want you to get whatever you think we might need. We’ve got to make sure we’re stocked up for the winter, just in case we have trouble getting into town.”
    Daughtry nodded and pulled out a small list. “I wrote down things for the kitchen.” She glanced up and down the street which was already teaming with people. Several suffragists stood at one end of the street expounding on the necessity of women having the vote. At the opposite end of town there seemed to be an unusual amount of traffic at the railroad depot. “We seem to have come on a busy day.”
    “Looks that way.” Nicholas helped her from the wagon and put a finger under her chin. “Get yourself some warm clothes while you’re at it. I was looking through the things you brought into this marriage and you aren’t at all well supplied.” His mouth curled into a grin, and Daughtry returned his smile.
    “Do you need anything?” she asked. “I can sew, you know, and we still have Mrs. Cummings’s old sewing machine. I’m sure I could get it in working shape.”
    “I could use some heavy shirts for winter,” he said, then placed a light kiss on her forehead. “But don’t worry about me. I want you to make sure you have everything you need. Everything, understood? Even if you worry that I might think it frivolous. I’ve never had a wife before, so I wouldn’t be knowing what one might need.”
    Daughtry was touched by his generosity. “I’ll try to be thorough. Where will you be?”
    “Oh, here and there. I have to get the horse and there’s a few other things I need to attend to. I’ll pick up the mail, so you don’t have to worry about it. Now, here’s some money, and if that’s not enough, tell them to hold whatev er it is you want and I’ll pay them before we head home.”
    Daughtry watched as Nicholas took off down the street. He was so kind and loving. Gone were the images of the hateful man with the rifle. All Daughtry could see was the man who touched her heart.
    She was headed across the street to the general store when she happened to glance once more at her husband’s retreating form. Surprised, she noticed he’d headed to the sheriff’s office. Watching him go into the small building, Daughtry quickly made her way down the street to follow him. She wanted very much to know if her husband were in some kind of trouble.
    “But why would he come here if he was an outlaw?” Daughtry wondered aloud. Biting her lip, she looked around quickly and was grateful to find herself alone on the boardwalk.
    The town was much too small to have a very grand affair for a jail. Daughtry knew from what folks had told her on the train coming here that this was a one saloon, one cell kind of town. She would have been just as happy had they told her it had no saloon, but then, the world wasn’t perfect.
    Leaning close to the window, Daughtry could see her husband in deep discussion with a man she could only guess was the sheriff. She couldn’t hear anything from this vantage point, however. Quietly, she made her way around the building and up the alley. She came to the window nearest the two men and paused. This one had the shade pulled down on the inside. She could see nothing, but she pressed her ear to the glass after a cautious glance down the alleyway.
    “You go far enough back with these men to be related,” she heard the sheriff saying. He said something more, but his words were garbled and Daughtry couldn’t begin to understand.
    Then Nicholas bellowed in voice so loud Daughtry had no trouble distinguishing every word, “I didn’t ask them to look me up. They rode in looking for trouble and I gave it to them.”
    The sheriff, equally enraged, ranted back. “Well, you made your bed this time for sure. You brought it all on yourself!”
    Daughtry wondered silently what Nicholas had brought on