“Yes, I hear you Mead,” Marilee replied with a smile. “Are you going to be a bossy husband?”
“Only when it involves your well-being,” he replied honestly. “I can’t have you taking risks with the most important thing in my life, you.”
“I’ll be careful with your heart, Mead,” she promised, her eyes beginning to droop.
“See that you are,” he warned, but she’d already fallen asleep.
* * *
Three weekslater an exhausted Morgan sat in the marshal’s chair with his feet up on the desk and tried to keep his eyes open. Working each night at The Duchess with his bride and spending a good part of his day watching the prisoners was turning into a challenge. The circuit judge had still not come through to hold court, so there was no help for it. It seemed a string of bank robberies had been taking place over the last few months and every available lawman had been called into service. Some said it was the James Gang back in business, but Morgan had a feeling the three men sitting in the cell had something to do with it. While his eyes were shut, he made a point of listening to as much of their conversation as he could catch.
Many times, they’d reassured each other that someone named ‘Wally’ would be breaking them out soon. So far, Morgan and Hank hadn’t determined exactly who ‘Wally’ was, but Hank had papers on the others. Drake Denton, Carl Eaton and Earl Hanover were wanted in three states for assorted crimes, mainly armed robberies. While not charged with murder, there was a price on each of their heads. Strangely, there were no accusations of kidnapping, which gave credence to their story of having been enticed by Lilly to commit the crime.
Lillian Piersal was no longer being held at Mrs. Barker’s, her bail having been paid by an anonymous donor. Hank tried to keep her locked up, but the law was the law and being as she’d never before committed any other offense and was a respected business owner, his hands were tied. It rankled Callie Mae to no end, to see Lilly strutting around town as though she was as pure as the driven snow. She’d even taken to bringing Laurie’s lunch basket down to the jail on occasion.
Mead had already started building a home for him and Marilee out of a piece of the land at the homestead and his mother was tickled pink. While Emma Whittaker acknowledged Lillian Piersal with a brief nod at church, privately she often remarked she’d like to stick her with a hat pin. Missy responded by offering hers for the job!
Both Mead and Morgan had been in contact with Cara and Witt in the usual way. It seems he mysteriously reappeared the night of the foiled kidnapping attempt and while that was wonderful news, none of the parties involved were at ease about it. It was not the sort of thing that was easily forgotten and Cara, fearful that one night wasn’t the end of their troubles, spent all of her free time searching old newspaper articles for anything that had to do with the small town the Whitakers called home.
Neither of the brothers had discussed the truth of past events with Matthew, who despite his easy-going ways was well aware things were being kept from him. It caused some contention between brothers, but both Morgan and Mead agreed that the risk of revealing the truth might have far reaching repercussions and neither of them wanted to hurt Cara and Witt. Mead, who was extremely grateful for his health and restored physical abilities, was adamant. No one was ever to learn they had traveled through time. Not only would it put others in danger, it would make them both look like lunatics. Morgan agreed but found it hard to ignore the resentful suspicious glances sent their way by their younger brother. Clearly, he knew something, and it was unnerving.
A knock on the door startled him and he realized he must have dozed off.
“Crap,” he said as his feet hit the floor hard. At the door he was surprised to see Laurie’s young sons toting a hamper between them.
“Deputy Whittaker,” Jonah said with a slight lisp. “Ma says we were to bring this to the jail. She can’t get away.”
“I see,” Morgan replied squatting down. “That looks pretty heavy.”
“Naw, it ain’t bad,” Josiah insisted, puffing up his chest. “We’re pretty strong. We been takin’ care of Ma since Pa died, ain’t we?”
“You sure have,” Morgan agreed taking the basket. “And from what I hear you do a good job of it.”
Both boys beamed with pride and Morgan reached into his pocket for a coin.
“Here, this is for you and all the hard work you do,” he said handing it to Jonah. “How old are you now?” he asked.
“I’m six; going on seven and Josiah here will be six in a few months. We’re growing like weeds, Ma says.”
Morgan laughed.
“Well, growing boys need to keep their strength up,” he stated sagely. “You take this coin and stop at the mercantile on your way home. Get a peppermint stick for each of you and one for your little brother too.”
“Gee, thanks Deputy Whittaker,” Josiah cried, already turning to run down the boardwalk. “And Ma said there’s a meal in there for you, too. Come on, Jonah!”
“Take care you get back to your Ma safely,” Morgan yelled after them. Inside he unpacked the basket on his desk and placed each man’s dinner on a tin plate. Walking to the cell he set them on the floor and pushed them beneath the door with the toe of his boot. His own mouth was watering. “Don’t see why you get to eat like kings,” he stated gruffly. “None of you deserve it.”
“What do you care?” Drake shot back. “You get to eat too.”
“Yeah, but I could be at the Blue Bonnet sitting with friends and enjoying a hot cup of coffee and a piece of pie.”
“We’ll get pie for supper. She always sends it at night. Guess the marshal didn’t tell you that, did he?” Earl snorted.
“Just shut up and eat,” Morgan replied walking away. His chicken and biscuits weren’t going to get cold while he was talking to these assholes.
Seated back at the desk he tore into his meal with a sigh of pure pleasure.
“Hell, that woman’s a good cook,” he remarked.
