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“What’s going on here?”
Thank heavens. Someone had fetched the sheriff. Though…she wasn’t entirely sure that was a good thing. The law was supposed to defuse these situations, and of course she didn’t want any harm to come to her father. But with Adam being the newcomer and all, not to mention already being on the sheriff’s bad side even if theyhadbeen sort of getting along lately, his chances of coming out of this unscathed were rapidly diminishing. And judging by the subtle tightening of his mouth, he knew it.
“Where’s Sunshine?” the sheriff asked. “The Thompson boys still giving him trouble?”
“Probably. Plus, it’s Frank’s day off,” Preacher said with a little shrug.
The sheriff sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. “Of course it is.”
“Why is Frank’s day off a problem?” Adam mumbled at Nora out of the side of his mouth, his eyes never leaving her father.
She raised her brows. “Frank is… He tends to be known for… He’s…well, he likes to imbibe on his days off. Tends to get into trouble when he does, so he spends a lot of his free time in the company of the sheriff or Deputy Sunshine.”
Adam’s mouth quirked into a half grin. “Sounds like an interesting fellow.”
“Sorry, Sheriff,” Sunshine said, running in, his hair sticking up on end before he shoved his hat back on it. “Frank is a little quicker on his feet since he’s been keeping the drinking to his off days.”
The sheriff grunted at his deputy and then turned back to the issue at hand, his glowering gaze taking in the gun in Adam’s hand.
“I’ve been gone less than an hour, Brady.”
“I know, Sheriff. My apologies.”
“Are you threatening one of my citizens?” the sheriff growled at him.
“Wouldn’t dream of it, Sheriff,” Adam said.
Nora had no idea how his voice remained calm, playful even, when he had both her armed father and the sheriff—once an infamous gunslinger, always an infamous gunslinger—staring him down. Her gut was roiling like a storm-churned lake, but Adam just shrugged.
“Mr. Schumacher here just lost a hand of poker and doesn’t seem to be handling it well.”
He nodded at her father, who leaned heavily on the table but kept his knife clasped tight in his trembling hand.
Nora’s jaw dropped. Sure, technically that was the truth. But he was leaving a lot out.
“He didn’t just lose a hand of poker, Sheriff,” she said. “Adam just claimed the deed to our property, our home.”
The sheriff jerked his furious eyes back to Adam. “You what? And put that gun away unless you intend to use it against me,” he said, his livid expression turning Nora’s insides to jelly even though it wasn’t directed at her. She didn’t know how Adam wasn’t reduced to a twitching pile of sludge by that glare.
Adam sighed. “Fine, but if I end up looking like a pincushion, I’m going to be very cross.”
The sheriff scowled at her father, marched toward him, and easily plucked the knife from his hand.
“Now, talk,” he said, handing the knife behind him to Sunshine.
She and Adam both started talking, their words jumbling together and over one another. The sheriff held up an impatient hand.
“One at a time!” He took a deep breath and dropped into the nearest chair, rubbing at his forehead. “You,” he said, pointing at her. “You say he took your property.”
“Yes,” she said. Then she frowned. “I think.”
The sheriff blinked at her. “You think?”
She shrugged. “The way matters stand with our marriage makes things a little…complicated. But, just for the sake of argument, since he’s not technically legally my husband and my father technically legally still has control over the property, yes, he took it. I think.”
The sheriff closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Then he shook his head and looked at Adam. “That true?”
“Not entirely.”
