Adobe Moon by Mark Warren

Adobe Moon by Mark Warren

Author:Mark Warren
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gale, Cengage Learning
Published: 2017-06-14T16:00:00+00:00


Inside the bakery Nicholas slapped the front counter and yelled to the backroom, where the clatter of metal pans and baking sheets spilled out like the jolting of a tinker’s wagon. “Who’s running the store here?” Nicholas barked. The racket ceased, and the old man turned his head to watch Wyatt’s face.

Through the connecting doorway came a thin, dark-bearded man wearing a soiled, white apron cinched at his waist. He stopped, his gaze piercing and curious as it settled on Wyatt. A gentle smile broke across his narrow face.

“Wyatt,” he said simply, his voice as unexcitable as a man who had seen most of what there was to see.

Wyatt knew the voice of his half-brother before he recognized the face. They gripped hands across the counter, Wyatt nodding with gratitude for another Earp who had come back from the war.

“Nobody told me you were here, Newton,” Wyatt said. “You look . . . different.”

“Well, Wyatt,” Newton said quietly, “it’s been what? Nine years? I’m married with a family now. Got a little girl pretty as a prairie flower.” He carried his grin down to his apron. “And I’m covered with sweat and flour.” He hitched a thumb to the room behind him. “These ovens are beginning to feel like purgatory.”

Right away the easy manner of their talk bridged the gap of time that had passed, and Wyatt felt his respect for his oldest brother revived as if not a month had gone by since seeing him. It had been Newton who had taught him how to shoot and clean a rifle, how to field dress a deer, and how to harness a team of horses for plowing.

Nicholas tapped a knuckle against the glass of the bread display cases. “Give ’im a sample.”

Newton bent and looked over the selections, finally choosing a fist-sized roll with a dark glazed crust. He tore a piece of newsprint and wrapped the bread, just as if Wyatt were a customer. Wyatt peeled away the paper, smelled it, and tasted. Nicholas wore a wide grin as though he himself had done the kneading and the baking.

Wyatt began nodding as he chewed, and Newton’s easy smile spread up into his face to squeeze his eyes to crescents. “Ma is a good teacher,” Newton said, stepping around the counter to join them.

Wyatt had always considered his half-brother less wild than the other Earp boys. It was to Newton Wyatt had entrusted many a private matter before the war. Newton held a quiet pride and lacked the stubborn streak Wyatt saw especially in Virgil and Warren. People had always liked and respected him, because there was nothing hidden about him. He was smart. And he was personable without being too talkative. When Old Nick stepped back into the kitchen, the two brothers strolled out to the walkway that overlooked the town square.

“What about your wife?” Wyatt asked. “Does she work here with you?”

Newton crossed his arms over his chest, leaned against the awning post, and shook his head. “Jennie .



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