Free The Marshal Meets His Match by Clari Dees Page B

face and neck to give him some relief from the fever. That’s what I was doing when I heard you arrive.” Picking up a basin and wet cloth from the bedside stand, he left the room.
    Meri dropped her face into her hands. Fear sat so heavy on her chest it was difficult to draw a breath, and she trembled all over. Her heart labored with hard, painful thuds. She couldn’t have stood to her feet if she were forced at the point of a gun.
    A gun .
    The nasty urge to find the man who’d injured her father swept over Meri in a black rage. Oh, how she wanted to hurt the man who’d done this! Do to him what he’d done to her father! Anger surged through her temporarily replacing fear, and Meri shot to her feet as Dr. Kilburn reentered the room carrying a fresh cloth and basin of water.
    “Here, keep your hands busy and your father a little cooler.”
    Meri moved to do his bidding, tenderly wiping her father’s face repeatedly with the cool wet cloth while chewing on the anger raging through her and envisioning what she would do when she got her hands on the person who had caused her father’s injury.
    It was some time before she paid any attention to the quiet nudging in her spirit to pray, to forgive, and when she did, she couldn’t push any words past her clenched teeth or her even tighter heart. The man who did this didn’t deserve to be forgiven, her emotions argued.
    Giving up the halfhearted struggle, anger and fear once again vied for dominance, and the bitter ache that had resided in her heart since her mother’s death shaped itself into a hard, defiant, angry knot.
    Meri lost track of time and jumped when she heard subdued voices and multiple feet entering the house. Laying aside the wet cloth and grabbing a nearby towel, she hastily dried her hands, smoothed back her hair and straightened her clothes. She wished she’d taken a moment to change into fresh attire, but she was out of time. A knock sounded, and she stiffened her spine and took a deep breath before stepping to the door to open it.
    Pastor Willis entered the room followed by six more men, all showing signs of having recently and hastily washed up from their day’s labors. The men included Mr. Benhard, the Western Union agent; Mr. Allen, the surveyor; Mr. Gumperston, owner of the cafe; Mr. Hubert, the barber; Mr. Van Deusen and Franks. All were members and elders of Little Creek Baptist Church, and hearing the clock chime from the parlor, Meri realized that these men, in all probability, had delayed their supper by coming to pray for her father. The knot in her chest softened just a bit at this display of concern and care for him, and she struggled to swallow past the lump that blocked her throat.
    Dr. Kilburn was last through the door, behind the solemn little troop, and ushered Meri through the now-crowded room to seat her in the rocker. Pastor Willis stood at the end of the bed and pulled a small Bible out of the pocket of his black frock coat. After flipping through the pages, he stopped and read aloud the passage from James 5 before asking the assembled men to take turns praying.
    Closing her eyes, Meri listened to the humble prayers. Men she had been acquainted with only in a cursory way through church and town activities now knelt at the Throne of Grace asking for healing for their Brother in Christ. Men like Mr. Van Deusen who never spoke more than a few words at a time poured out their hearts to God as they prayed for her father. Their fervent requests made the small room ring, and the simple eloquence of their prayers further loosened the knot that had formed in her chest.
    When Franks stepped up to pray, Meri’s eyes startled open, and her gaze flew to his face when he mentioned her. “Father God, I ask in faith, dat you heal Brother Ian, dat you raise ‘im up from dis bed a sickness. And Father, I ask dat you heal Miss Meri from de hurt a losin’ her Mama, and dat you give her de abil’ty to forgive de man dat did dis crime. I ask dis in