The Bounty Hunter by Cheryl St.John

Author:Cheryl St.John
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2005-01-01T23:00:00+00:00

SUNDAY ARRIVED on the tail of Saturday night, just as he feared it would. Nate thought of all the things he’d planned to do with his free time, and then resigned himself. He’d promised.

He was going to church.

He dressed in his finest shirt and trousers, tying a new string tie at his throat and donning his polished boots and holster.

Seemed a mite odd to wear his gun to church, but he was the sheriff, after all. People expected to be protected, and he’d feel buck naked without it, anyway.

Reed’s finest buggies were hired out this morning as townspeople arrived. A row of parked ranchers’ wagons stretched along the road to the west, and people milled in the churchyard.

Nate approached the gathering and walked through the open gate in the white picket fence. It wasn’t as though he’d never been to church before. He’d been married in a church. He’d been to funerals. He’d followed a wanted man into the midst of a revival meeting once and had nearly lost him to Jesus before he could get the handcuffs on.

Some of the looks cast his way were those of surprise, but most glances were friendly as he approached the stairs and the open doors.

“Good morning, Sheriff.” Reverend Bacon greeted him with a firm handshake. “Welcome to God’s house.”

“Thanks.”

Inside the small building, the church members were taking their seats on long wooden benches. Nate spotted the Gibbs family, and the mayor and Beatrice stepped out into the aisle so Nate could sidle in and sit beside Evangeline.

She wore a lavender-and-white-checked bonnet that matched her dress this morning, and she moved acres of skirts aside so he could sit. She met his gaze with a demure smile.

The reverend led all the verses and choruses of several hymns, and Nate knew where the Intolerants got in all their practicin’. The message was about David and King Saul, and Nate found the history part interesting. When he’d finished preaching and praying, Reverend Bacon announced a brief meeting for any townspeople interested as soon as the service was concluded.

Nate thought a town meeting held in the church was a mite unusual. It had been his understanding that most of the meetings took place at Lily’s. He had a bad feeling about this gathering in particular.

Reverend Bacon stood at the front of the room to address the people. “You may have heard about the rancher who was injured by a horse last week. I’m sorry to tell you he died Friday.”

Sympathetic murmurs passed through the crowd. Nate had heard about the accident, but hadn’t known the man.

“Some of us have come up with a way to raise money for the family,” he said. “And have fun at the same time. George, come up here and tell them about the idea.”

The barber moved to stand beside Reverend Bacon. “I was thinkin’ we could have us a base ball tournament. I got to thinking about it, ’cause I read about tournaments in the papers. What they do is charge a fee for each team to sign up.

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