Chapter Seven

Lucas woke up to a loud rapping at the door. He bolted up in the bed, his heart pounding. For a moment, he thought those knocks were gunshots.

"Rise and shine, bridegroom," came Zeke's voice from the other side of the door. "It's time to head on out. I got everything ready for our trip."

Did Zeke say ‘our' trip? Lucas was sure that the sheriff said Zeke would stay in town while the sheriff helped Lucas find Bernadette. Lucas looked over at Gail's bed to see if she recalled the same thing he did, but her bed was empty. Startled, he jumped out of the bed.

"Gail?" he asked as he scanned the room. Where could she go? The room had two beds and a table with a pitcher of water, a bowl, and a towel. The only place a person could go was under the bed. And he was certain she wouldn't go under there. To be sure, he peered under both of their beds. All he saw were a bunch of dust bunnies.

A new series of knocks came from the door. "Rise and shine. We're losing daylight."

With a shake of his head, Lucas went to the door and opened it. Zeke was standing in front of him with two rolled-up bedrolls under one arm and a leather sack hanging over his back.

"Where is the sheriff?" Lucas asked as he scanned the empty hallway.

"He couldn't make it," Zeke replied. "On our way out of the jailhouse last night, there was a shootout between Ben and Nick. Ben's a lousy shot, so he ended up shooting my uncle in the leg instead of shooting Nick. My uncle is at home where my aunt will tend to him." He smiled. "This is my first time going out to rescue someone. When I help you bring back your sister, people around here will finally have to look at me with respect."

Lucas frowned. "Is Gail with your aunt and uncle?"

"No. I'm supposed to take her to their house on our way out of town." Zeke furrowed his eyes. "Isn't she here?" He looked into the room.

"She's not here."

"Where did she go?"

"I don't know. When I woke up, she was gone." This wouldn't have happened if they had shared a bed last night. If they had slept together, Lucas would have felt her leave the bed. He pushed the twinge of guilt aside that told him if he had been sincere about his marital vows, he would have shared a bed with her, even if it meant he had to put these two beds together.

"Huh. That is strange." Zeke handed him a bedroll and shrugged so that the strap of the leather sack was more secure on his shoulder. "You don't think someone kidnapped her and made her his wife, do you?"

"No. I would have woken up if someone came into this room to kidnap her."

"But you didn't hear her leave," Zeke pointed out.

Taken aback by his logic, Lucas asked, "Why would someone want to kidnap her and make her his wife?"

"Because she's desirable."

"Desirable?" Lucas wished he hadn't blurted that word out. A groom shouldn't be surprised someone found his bride desirable.

"She might not have the kind of beauty that jumps out at you," Zeke replied, "but she is pretty. She's like a sunset. They're easy to miss, but when you take the time to really look at them, they take your breath away. You got lucky with that one. Now, you don't have to worry about me. I believe once a woman is wed, she ought not to be touched by anyone but her husband. Be careful, though. Not every man out here thinks that way."

It was funny that in all the years Lucas had known Gail, he never looked at her the way Zeke did. Then again, everyone back in Pennsylvania thought she was a wallflower. Lucas didn't think she had any suitors until he came along. He still remembered how relieved her father seemed when he asked to court her. Her father probably worried she was never going to attract someone. Little did her father realize that men like Zeke existed. Little did Lucas realize men like Zeke existed.

Lucas studied Zeke. "Do you really mean that about not touching Gail?"

Zeke's eyes widened. "Of course! I take marital vows seriously."

Lucas relaxed. "I'm sure Gail is fine. She probably had to visit the privy."

"What's a privy?"

Zeke had to be joking. Everyone knew what a privy was. Yes, this territory was uncivilized in a lot of ways, but they had privies. Lucas saw a few of them throughout the town. There were even a couple of them located at the back of this hotel.

As much as he wished he didn't have to, Lucas explained, "A privy is where people take care of personal business."

"Oh! That's called an outhouse, not a privy."

Yes, Lucas supposed the more vulgar term could be used for them. Considering all the violence and crude language he'd been forced to endure over the past 24 hours, Lucas wished he hadn't sent his sister to Arizona. No lady should be subjected to this kind of life.

His mind returning to Gail, he hurried for the privies out back. When he reached them, he knocked on the doors and called out Gail's name, but no response came from any of them.

He spun to face Zeke who had just caught up to him. "Why can't the men in this town obey the law? Why do they insist on cheating, fighting, stealing, and kidnapping?"

Zeke gasped. "There's no reason to be upset with me. Uncle and I do what we can to stop the crimes."

Zeke's protest did nothing to calm Lucas down. "You mentioned men wanting to run off with Gail. That implies men around here kidnap other men's wives. If you and your uncle are here to stop crimes, you're both doing a lousy job of it." The last thing Lucas needed was to lose Gail on top of everything else that was going wrong.

"No one can blame you for being worried about Gail, but that doesn't give you the right to talk to me that way. I take this job seriously. So does my uncle. We'll go through town and start asking questions. Someone is bound to have seen her." Without waiting for Lucas to respond, Zeke strode for the main street.

Forcing down the urge to scream in frustration, Lucas followed him. Curse Zeke and that uncle of his! Those two knew very well what kind of men inhabited this town and didn't see to it that locks were put on the doors of the hotel rooms. If Lucas thought someone was going to sneak into his room and kidnap Gail while he slept, he would have demanded they share a bed.

Just as the two made it to the front of the hotel, they saw a woman sitting on top of a horse waiting by the entrance. She wore a blue full-length skirt that was split in the middle, giving everyone the impression that she wore pants. She wore a white high neckline blouse with long sleeves and a blue riding jacket. At the rear of her saddle, she had secured a bedroll, a canteen, and a rolled-up map. She tipped her hat back, and Lucas blinked in surprise. Was it Gail? He approached the woman so he could get a better view of her. Yes, it was really her. He breathed a sigh of relief. Good. She wasn't holed up somewhere with another man.

"Well, just take a look at you," Zeke said. "How did you get all fancied up like that?"

Lucas frowned at him. He wasn't comparing her to a sunset, was he?

"I bought these from a shop just down the street." Her gaze went to Lucas. "Cody took pity on us and gave us some money. We have enough for a couple of weeks here, should our journey take longer than expected." With a smile, she looked between Lucas and Zeke. "I'm ready to go."

"My uncle said you need to stay with him and my aunt," Zeke pointed out.

"It doesn't matter what he said. I'm going."

"Oh no, you don't. You're not allowed to defy a sheriff."

"I'll defy whoever I want when it comes to doing my part to help my family. When I married Lucas, Bernadette became my sister. I'm not going to stay behind while you two search for her. I don't care what the sheriff says." She narrowed her eyes at Zeke, as if daring him to keep arguing with her.

Lucas' eyebrows rose in interest. Yes, it had frustrated him when she'd insisted on coming to Arizona with him. At the time, he wished that she'd be like the other ladies who would have understood that staying where it was safe was in their best interest. Now, however, the spark in her eyes made him suspect there was a side of her he wanted to know.

"She's going with us," he told Zeke. "Your uncle might want to keep her here, but I'm her husband, and what I say goes." Without waiting for Zeke to reply, he added, "Are we going to ride horses like she is, or are we walking?"

It took Zeke a moment to respond. "We can't go without horses. Arizona is a big place. It's not meant to be walked."

Lucas looked expectantly at him.

Zeke jerked. "Oh, right. Well, let's get them."

Zeke hurried past Gail. Glad they were finally heading out to rescue his sister, Lucas went after him. He caught the appreciative smile Gail gave him, and a pleasant feeling he couldn't quite describe flooded through him.