Avery slipped from her chair and rushed into his arms. As was his habit, he squeezed her tight and planted several kisses on her face, making her giggle. She sobered quickly. “Be safe, Daddy.”
“I always am, sweet pea.” He let her go, then gave Tresia a brief nod. “I’ll see you later.” He paused. “And whatever you have planned for dinner will be fine.”
Tresia smiled at him, making him feel less anxious about leaving. It was a confident smile—warm and inviting andcomforting at the same time—and it made him want to get his day over with so he could come back to spend time with her.
He left the kitchen and went into his study, where he pulled his holster from the gun safe he’d recently purchased and buckled it low around his hips. Taking the Wanted posters with him, he walked to the front door. He took his hat from the hat rack, placed it on his head then headed outside, stopping on the front porch for a moment, which had become a habit. He focused on the beautiful morning, the last dregs of the nightmare that had awoken him gone, but never truly forgotten.
A bounce in his step, he walked across the street and entered the Marshal’s Office by the back door. He could hear Merrill and Rafael talking. Merrill, it seemed, was the victim of more teasing about his fondness for Polly.
He stepped into the main room of the office, noticing that the desks were put in order and polished to a high sheen and he wondered who had done that. Was it something Nate did? Or did they have someone come in and clean? He’d have to remember to ask.
“Mornin’, Boss.” Merrill greeted him with a big smile, his face a little red, probably from the teasing he’d been receiving.
“Mornin’, Merrill.” He handed his deputy the Wanted posters. “Anything happen overnight I should know about?”
The big man shook his head. “All quiet according to Nate.”
“That’s what I like to hear.”
“Are you ready?” Rafael asked him as he leaned against one of the desks, coffee cup in hand, obviously waiting for him.
“As I’ll ever be.”
“Good.” He finished his coffee. “I’ll get the horses ready and meet you outside.” He nodded toward Merrill, then left the office through the kitchen door.
Devlin turned toward Merrill as he unrolled the Wanted posters and laid them flat on his desk. The deputy frowned ashe studied the top poster and uttered the name written in bold, black letters. “Ned Delany. I don’t like the looks of him.”
“I didn’t either,” Devlin admitted, “but it doesn’t seem like he would venture this far north. Let’s hope he doesn’t change his pattern. I don’t want him in my town.”
“I agree. Serenity is a quiet place. We don’t need his kind of trouble.” Merrill pulled the top poster from the pile, grabbed nails and a hammer, and quickly tacked the poster to the wall.
“Anything you need before Rafael and I head out?”
“I’m good.” Merrill gestured to the posters. “I’ll just hang up the rest of these.”
“I’ll see you later then.” Devlin left the office and stood on the raised sidewalk under the awning for a moment, his focus on the town square across the street. Already, the people of the town were going about their business, walking along the paths to get to the other side of the square or sitting on one of the benches and enjoying the early morning sun.
The steady clip-clop of horses’ hooves on hard-packed dirt drew his attention, and he walked down the porch steps, meeting Rafael as he led their mounts to the front of the building.
“Where are we heading?” he asked, as he climbed into Challenger’s saddle and made himself comfortable.
“I thought we’d head out to Stone Creek so you can meet Wyatt MacLean, then swing over to Crooked River, Alfonso and Damita Serrano’s place.” He smiled, showing a full complement of white teeth. “Do you play chess?”
“I do. Why?”
“Alfonso. Don’t tell him that. He’ll break out his chess board before you dismount your horse.” He laughed. “He used to come into town on a weekly basis just to play chess with Marshal Kimbel while Damita shopped. He misses that, I’m sure.”
“Actually, I don’t think I would mind. It’s been a long time since I’ve had someone to challenge me.”
Rafael laughed again. “Just remember you said that. We’re also going to stop by Montaña del Trueno and finally Hacienda Zepeda.”
“Zepeda? Isn’t that your last name?”
“It is,” he said, his eyes dancing in his face.
“Any relation?”
“My family.”
