Vera said, “That’s so unfair.”
Jack stood. “I guess I should get back to work. I’m still filling the silo, and Hilda’s out back, grazing.”
“Listen, Jack,” Wyatt said as he walked him to the door, “if you meet Lucy to see what she wants, don’t promise her anything, but report back to me.”
“How will I know who she is?”
“She’ll stand out. Look for red hair, bright colors, and a lot of makeup.”
When Wyatt returned to the sitting room, Vera picked up her sewing. “I feel bad for him. The other man drew first.”
“He’s in a pickle, all right. I just don’t think there’s anything we can do to help him.” Wyatt glanced at her sewing. “Are you almost finished making your gifts?”
“Our gifts,” Vera corrected.
Wyatt smiled. “But you’re doing all the work.”
“You paid for the supplies,” she quipped with a wink.
“Do you think your siblings will like me?” he asked.
“Certainly, what’s not to like?”
Wyatt shrugged. “With so many in the family, will they have enough room for us?”
Vera laughed. “That’s a good question. The house has three large bedrooms and two of them are wall to wall beds. The boys have the smaller room, the girls the other, and the third was our parents’ room. None of us have ever slept there. Thea wrote that she’d be cleaning that room for us.”
Wyatt wondered how many beds the room had. The situation might prove uncomfortable. He looked at Vera and saw that she was blushing.
There had been so many times Wyatt had felt the urge to touch Vera’s shoulder or arm affectionately. He didn’t, but he’d wanted to. One of them had to be the first to start them off toward intimacy. He knew that he wanted an intimate relationship with Vera. He supposed that, being the man, it was up to him to show his affection first.
He walked over to where she was sewing and put his hand on her shoulder. She jumped slightly, and he knew he’d surprised her. He squeezed her shoulder. “You’re doing a magnificent job on those gifts, Mrs. Stone.”
Vera and Wyatt were eating lunch the following day when they heard a pounding on their front door.
“I’ll get it,” Vera said.
“No, you sit down. I’ll get it,” Wyatt said. “It’s one o’clock. It might be Jack.”
“Oh,” Vera said. “I’m coming, too, then.”
Wyatt led Jack into the sitting room where Vera sat waiting for them. She greeted Jack, who took a seat by the fireplace and rubbed his hands in front of the fire. “Will I ever get used to this cold?”
“I must knit you a scarf,” Vera said.
Wyatt sat on the edge of the sofa beside Vera. “Did you meet her?”
“Yes. What a character! You won’t believe what she wants from me.” Jack continued to rub his hands to warm them.
“We’re all ears,” Wyatt said.
“She wants me to kill her husband.”
“What?” Vera and Wyatt said in unison.
Wyatt cocked his head. “Husband? Who’s her husband?”
“A man named Leland Baxter.”
Wyatt gasped. “Lee?”
“Do you know him?” Jack asked.
“He’s a friend.”
“Well, it seems she ran off with him, they married, and now she says he threw her out of his house and wants an annulment. If he succeeds, she’ll lose everything she married him for: his ranch and money.” Jack shrugged. “I guess she thinks that since I killed a man, I would do it again.”
“Dagnabbit!” Wyatt couldn’t believe his ears. “Does she know the other man drew his gun first?”
“She doesn’t care.”
Wyatt leaned back against the sofa cushions. “I can’t believe I’m hearing this.”
Vera seemed to get her wits back after her initial shock and asked, “What did you tell her?”
“Wyatt said I shouldn’t give her an answer, but I wanted to yell ‘no’ at her from the rooftops.”
“What did you tell her?” Wyatt asked.
“I told her I’d think it over, but I refuse to kill again. You don't understand how killing that man has haunted me. Killing someone is a serious matter. I lay awake nights, wondering what that man’s life would have been like if I hadn’t killed him. Would he have a family? Would he have become a sheriff one day like his father? I regret that I was so fast with my gun. I’d rather it was me who’d been me shot than carry this guilt around.”
Vera leaned over and patted his arm. “I’m so sorry, Jack.”
Jack stood and walked to the door. “It's a heavy burden to carry for the rest of my life.”
Wyatt leaped to his feet to meet Jack at the door. “When do you have to give her an answer?”
“I told her I’d get back to her in a few days, but I don’t know what to do, Wyatt.”
“We’ll think of something,” Wyatt said.
“I hate to tell you this, but I’m thinking of just moving on.”
“Not yet,” Wyatt said. “Let me think about this. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
After he’d gone, Vera asked, “What are you going to do?”
“Pray,” he said. “A friend’s life is in danger. When Jack refuses Lucy’s request, she’ll find someone else to do the job. I need to help Jack out of this mess.”
Chapter Six
After spending over an hour in prayer, Wyatt crawled into bed. The idea came to him before he fell asleep; he credited it as an answer to his prayer.
He worried Jack wouldn’t show up for work that morning. His plan had to work. He hoped Jack would follow his directions.
Vera greeted him and set a cup of coffee in front of him. “How’d you sleep?”
“After praying, I slept well. I think I know what we need to do.”
Vera sat across from him and whispered, “Tell me.”
“I think I’ll wait so we can all hear about it at the same
