Silver Creek - G.L. Snodgrass Page 0,30

the time to make her feel welcome and safe. Not everything is your problem.”

He looked back without comment.

“Years later,” she continued as an anger built inside of her. “The girl asks for your help and you race across the continent. A knight in shiny armor. And now. A man you barely know is shot and you take on his load. Putting yourself in danger once more. Why?”

He shrugged.

“I never wanted this,” Rebecca continued. “I never wanted you to be in danger. You were the only person I could think of. But if I’d known …”

“Becky,” Luke said with a shake of his head. “It is what it is.”

“No,” she growled putting her hands on her hips. “Don’t dismiss me. What is it about you that says Luke Parker must get involved to solve the problem? What? Do you think only you can do it?”

His eyes narrowed as his jaw clenched. Rebecca grimaced inside. Had she gone too far?

“A man’s got to live his life so he can sleep at night,” he said as if that made any sense.

She sighed with exasperation. “And a woman is left to pick up the pieces,” she mumbled as she turned and stormed out, making sure to slam the door behind her.

Chapter Twelve

Luke’s brow furrowed as he watched Becky storm out. What was that all about? The thought of her being upset at him didn’t sit right. It made the world feel tilted to the side. But he couldn’t think on it just then. He had a man to track down.

But her words itched the inside of his brain as he stepped out of the office. Why was he doing this? Was she right? Did he think it was because he thought every problem in the world was his to solve?

Or, was it because of what he saw when Zion had saved his family all those years ago? A man standing alone against the wrongness of the world. He knew deep in his gut that moment on the trail had changed him as a person.

It was also the first day he’d strapped on a gun. Determined to never be in that situation again. Alone, helpless.

Again, when Zion jumped into a raging river to save Hanna from drowning. He’d done it without thinking it through. Because it was the right thing to do and a man like Zion could do nothing else. Luke sighed to himself, if he was half the man Zion was, he knew he could die proud.

But the look in Becky’s eyes still ate at him. Why couldn’t she understand? If someone didn’t stand for right, then wrong became the normal. If it wasn’t cut off early, it became too hard. He’d seen it back east. The country had ended up in a civil war because the people in charge had turned a blind eye to the wrong for so long the only way to fix it was by getting half a million men killed.

If they’d fixed the wrong earlier it wouldn’t have been near as bad. But too often, people kicked the problem down the line. Compromising, hoping it would go away.

Like now. Mark Felton had been allowed to think he could get away with shooting a sheriff. People hadn’t told him no enough for the lesson to take. Now he was going to have to track him down and teach him right from wrong.

When he got to the Red House, he paused outside to confirm Felton wasn’t inside waiting for him. Only when he saw the room was safe did he step inside pausing just the other side of the threshold. He shot Frost a quick glance. The bartender seemed nervous, but not overly so.

“What happened?” he asked as he stepped up to the bar.

Frost glanced at the star on his chest then over to a group of cowboys in the corner. Luke had already checked their horses before coming in, they weren’t Circle B men, but cowboys did like to share stories. Frost knew that anything he said would get back to Felton. And Mark Felton wasn’t the type of man you wanted mad at you.

Scarlet was sitting on the lap of one of the cowboys. Jenna, the other girl, stood behind one, her hand on his shoulder.

“Just so you know,” Luke said to the bartender but loud enough to be heard through the room. “Someone tried to kill a lawman. I ain’t going to take that easy. If’n they’ll do that then none of you are safe. Anyone not