Felton. How could Luke face down a dozen men? No, never. Forgetting the meals, she rushed across the street and into the jail.
Luke stood behind his desk with that oh so familiar smirk. Joshua Felton and his sister stood before him, as angry as a stomped beehive.
“You will release my brother, immediately,” Felton growled.
Luke glanced over at her, giving her a small welcoming smile then turned back to Felton and his sister. “The Judge will be here in a week.”
Felton rose up to full height, obviously unaccepting of that response. “My brother cannot rot in your jail for a week. Don’t be ridiculous.”
Rebecca felt her heart swell with pride when Luke simply shrugged. “Then your brother shouldn’t be beating up miners, nor trying to kill a sheriff.”
Both of the Felton siblings blanched for a moment. It was obvious that Luke’s statement had been a surprise.
“No,” Felton yelled. “It’s all lies. You know people, they would like to take us down a notch.”
Rebecca watched as Luke’s brow furrowed. “A dozen people saw him beat that miner. Another dozen saw him shoot Sheriff Reed in broad daylight. The man even tried to kill me last night, a sworn law officer. And I know you ain’t calling me a liar.
Felton swallowed hard as he registered the stone stare from Luke.
Luke continued, “Him and Cooper were both hiding in the dark to shoot me down as soon as I stepped into the room. Your brother is a low-down snake and you know it. The time served here will be taken off his sentence. What is a week off of ten years? Unless Reed dies. Then it won’t matter. If the judge says so, he’ll be hung, case closed.”
Sarah Felton gasped as the reality of the situation finally began to sink in.
“Regardless,” Felton said. “I demand you release him. I have a dozen men outside who agree with me.”
Rebecca’s insides clenched as she saw a coldness wash over Luke’s face as he stared back at the man. “You listen Felton. And listen close. If anyone tries to break out your brother. I will have but one option. And that is to shoot him for trying to escape. It won’t take much to convince me, I can tell you. Do you understand? If’n you want a dead brother, then you make your move.”
Both Rebecca and Sarah gasped at the same time as they saw the seriousness in Luke’s words. She watched as Felton’s eyes slowly began to understand. This was not a man he could push around.
Sarah was the first to regain her balance as her brother’s face turned beet red.
“What about bail?” she asked. “Can we pay a fine?”
Luke shrugged, “That’s up to the judge. And like I said, he’ll be here in a week or so.”
Joshua Felton stared back, flexing his fingers as if he wanted to pull his gun. Rebecca could see it on the man’s face. He hated being thwarted. That was the problem she realized. No one had ever taught this family how to lose. Good when things were going their way. But it led them to make mistakes. They didn’t think they could fail.
For the longest minute, the two men stared at each other until finally, Felton said, “This isn’t over,” before turning and storming out.
Sarah Felton glared at Luke for a moment then turned and started to leave. Her eyes grew big when she saw Rebecca standing by the door. “You better tell your man to back down. He’ll be all alone. There isn’t anyone in this valley who is going to stand with him. Not against us.”
Rebecca scoffed as her eyes narrowed. “Oh Sarah, I always knew you were not as intelligent as you tried to seem. This proves it. If you had any sense, you’d calm your brother down or you are going to lose both of them.”
Sarah Felton’s eyes grew big before she huffed and stormed out, her head up as if she were a queen leaving her court.
Rebecca watched her go then reached and slammed the door behind her before turning back to Luke. “They didn’t even ask to see their brother.”
Luke smiled to her. “I think they are more worried about how they look. It’s hard being top dog in the middle of something like this. And once you’re top dog. There is nowhere else to go but down.”
She nodded as she took a deep breath then gasped as she remembered the two meals getting cold across the street. Without explaining herself she hurried