around her. “I’ll never be able to show my face in this town again.”
Eulis snorted softly. “Hell, Letty, most of those men in that congregation has seen a whole lot more of you than your bare bosoms.”
She frowned. “That was the old me. I’ve been born again and that’s a fact.”
Eulis sighed. He didn’t know how to talk to this Letty. In fact, the longer he thought about, the more convinced he became that he had liked the old Letty better.
They’d ridden at a gallop for miles. Their horses were lathered, their sides heaving, and Charity wondered if she’d ever walk normal again. The closer they’d come to Lizard Flats, the quieter they’d all become.
All of a sudden, Charity felt her shame anew. She was anxious about facing Randall Howe again. Would he laugh at her? Would he deny what he’d done? So many questions were running through her mind that she was surprised when Beau James suddenly reined up.
“I reckon that’ll be it,” he said, pointing to the small nest of buildings lit up in the distance.
Her stomach knotted. “Should we wait until morning?”
Mehitable snorted. “Not from where I’m sittin’,” she muttered. “He’s ruined plenty of my sleep. I vote for ruinin’ a little bit of his.”
Beau James’s expression hardened. “He ain’t gonna have a need for sleep… or anything else.”
Charity gave him a quick, nervous glance. “You have to promise me something, Beau James.”
He turned then, his eyes piercing the darkness to gaze upon her face. “If I can,” he said softly.
“Don’t do anything that will get you hung.”
He turned away, staring at the sprinkling of lights in the distance.
“Let’s ride,” he said suddenly, and nudged his horse in the flanks.
The two women followed his descent. The fact was not lost upon either of them that Beau had promised Charity nothing.
At the edge of town, they slowed down to a trot.
“Something is going on at the other end of town,” Charity said. “I see lanterns and people… a whole lot of people.”
Mehitable’s squint deepened. “Maybe we’re too late. Maybe they done hanged the bastard.”
Charity gasped. As badly as she wanted him to pay, she didn’t think she could bear to see a man hanged.
A hundred yards away, Beau suddenly stopped. “Wait here,” he said shortly, before riding on ahead.
Charity frowned. “What’s he doing?” she asked.
Mehitable sighed. Sometimes her sister could be terribly dense.
“Just do what he says, Sister.”
They sat silent in the saddle, watching Beau’s every move. A few moments later, the crowd at the livery began to disperse. Charity wished for more light. She needed to see. To make sure that Beau James didn’t get himself killed.
Suddenly, Mehitable gasped. Charity looked at her sister.
“What’s wrong?”
“Look there!” Mehitable said, pointing to the tall, portly man in the dark dandy’s suit.
In the darkness, in the distance, the small white band on the clerical collar of Randall Howe’s shirt shown like a star.
“It’s him!” Mehitable hissed. Her hand automatically went to her gun.
But Charity wasn’t as convinced. There was something different—something that didn’t ring true. The need to see his face moved her to ignore Beau James’s order. She urged her horse closer.
Letty was thinking real hard on going to change her clothes when she happened to look up. A trio of riders was coming in. At first, she didn’t pay them much mind. But then one separated himself from the group, and as he came closer, the skin on the back of her neck began to crawl. It was something about the stiff way he was sitting in the saddle. She’d seen enough men bent on vengeance before to know when to duck. She pointed.
“Uh… Preacher, I think…”
Eulis turned. More strangers. He sighed. Would this day never end?
The cowboy slid off his horse, letting the reins trail to the ground as he faced Eulis.
Eulis pointed toward the livery. “Pete Samuels is the owner, but he’s up on the hill. Just put your horses inside for the night. He won’t mind.”
The cowboy took another step forward.
Letty took a step back.
“I ain’t in need of a livery,” Beau James said. “I’m looking for a preacher by the name of Randall Howe.”
Eulis smiled. “That would be me. How can I help you, my son?”
Will James drew his gun. “By bleedin’ your sorry self out on this ground.”
Eulis staggered backward, bumping into the lantern he’d hung earlier. It began to sway upon impact. The light pitched and rolled through the darkness like a ship on the seas.
“You came to kill me? But why?