Free Sundown by Jade Laredo Page A

resigned to the present.
    “I should have never let him follow me.”
    “You should have known he would have.”  Jenny tried to reply, her voice strained with memory.  “Your brother would have followed you to the ends of this earth if he had to.”
    “ He was so dead set against war.  I never thought he’d enlist in the army just to find me.”
    The wind blew again this time soft like a gentle caress against her face.  Jenny closed her eyes, and smiled.
    “But he did, and I love him even more for doing so.”
    “He was a good man, better than me.”  Luke nodded.
    “And now you are the better man for taking care of us.”  Jenny murmured.  “At least that’s what Miss Gentry said.”
    “Bella?”  Luke queried.
    “Miss Gentry.”  Jenny corrected.  A slow smile touched the corner of her lips.  “By the way, I invited her to supper this Sunday.”
    “Why’d you go and do something like that?”  Luke muttered.
    “It’s inevitable.”  Jenny replied.  “She’s going to figure it out sooner or later.”
    “The boys and I.”  Luke paused.  Working a tick in his jaw, he changed the subject.  “We need to leave for a spell.”
    Jenny perched her chin.  “Why?”
    “That damned Pinkerton agent Rafferty is hot on our scent again.”  Luke suddenly stood to his feet.  “He’s been asking around town about me.”
    “Where will you go?”  Jenny looked up.
    “Abilene, maybe Tulsa.”  Luke figured.  “Hell, wherever the wind blows, I don’t care just as long as we lose his trail.”
    “When?”
    “Since you were so kind to invite Miss Gentry to Sunday supper, I’d suppose Monday morning.”
    “How long this time?”
    “We won’t be here when the baby comes.”  Luke answered her unspoken question.  Rubbing his chin, he rolled his eyes heavenward.  “I suppose I’ll have to get that meddling preacher to look in on you.”
    “You mean, your brother.”
    “You’re barking up the wrong tree.”
    “I have complete faith in the two of you.”  Jenny issued him a solemn vow.  “One day you boys will make up for past grievances.”
    “When Hell freezes over.”
    Jenny shook her head.   “Hasn’t it already?”
     
    No one back home had ever bothered to explain that Colorado Territory was hot and dry, and enough to shrivel a woman’s skin like a wrinkled prune.  Tugging at the drawstrings of her bonnet, Arabella pulled the cap snug over her head while carefully handling a steaming hot apple-pie.  Placing the desert in the back of the wagon, she wrapped a towel over the tin, and climbed into the buckboard beside her father and Lena.
    “You sure you don’t want to come along after service?  Arabella asked her father.  She issued him a sidelong glance.  “Miss Jenny invited you.”
    “She did?”
    Arabella watched her father’s eyes grow soft, considering her question.  For a moment, she thought she detected a hint of interest.  Looking down at the reigns, he shook his head. 
    “I’ve got some work to go over at the office with Wade.”
    “Too bad.”  Arabella murmured.  “She seems like an awfully nice person.  Considering her recent loss, I’d say she’s more than hospitable.”
    “Send Miss Jenny my regards.”  Wyeth replied.  Yanking on the reigns, the team instantly moved forward. 
    As the wagon rattled down the streets of Sundown, Arabella tried hard to understand her father’s position.  Perplexed, she wondered about his aloof behavior.  Aside from Lena, Doc Parker, and his jailhouse deputy, she noticed her father had no desire to socialize any further than his own tight-knit circle.  Somehow, she decided she would have to find a way to change this. 
    In the distance, the church bell rang. 
    When, they reached the building they were the last to enter for Sunday service.  Hurrying to take a seat, Arabella followed Lena and her father who found room next to his deputy, Wade Coffee and his wife, Lydia.  She had yet to have a proper