The Sheriff's Sweetheart by Laurie Kingery

Author:Laurie Kingery
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2011-10-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Sam unlocked the sheriff’s office, taking down the “Sheriff Is Out” sign, eager to do some quiet work at his desk after his return from La Alianza. He’d stopped at Gilmore House to tell the mayor about his visit, and Prissy’s father had decided to call a council meeting to discuss the matter.

Sam wanted to get his thoughts and recommendations down on paper while his impressions were still fresh. He planned to urge the council to call a town meeting to warn against the Ranchers’ Alliance, to urge the townspeople to neither sell their property to them nor join. He wondered if they could pass an ordinance against new saloons or gambling halls. Was such a thing legal, and would it be enough to discourage the scheming Raney? He outlined his thoughts on a sheet of paper, point by point.

The idea of encountering his tormentor again had rankled his nerves at first, but during the ride back to town, Sam’s resolve had stiffened. Even in the unlikely event Raney recognized him, he had no power over the sheriff of Simpson Creek. If he harmed a lawman, it would bring the federals down on him and his cabal. He wouldn’t want that, for they’d poke their noses into the land-buying scheme.

And he couldn’t prove Sam had taken the ring. He might not have even realized that Sam was the one who had taken it, for Sam had left the safe locked up again, and he might not have missed the ring right away. Sam only hoped some unlucky employee of Raney’s gambling emporium hadn’t taken the blame for the theft instead.

He’d known the so-called Ranchers’ Alliance was a bad thing, but now that he knew Raney was part of it, it was even worse. He had to defeat Raney and his coconspirators, not only to achieve his own revenge, but for the sake of the town and San Saba County.

And for the sake of the life he was trying to build here. With Prissy.

Sam began writing with such force that the lead broke in the pencil he’d so painstakingly sharpened to a point. Thunderation. Now he’d have to whittle it down again.

He’d just pulled his knife out of his pocket when the door was wrenched open. William Waters III burst in, slamming the door behind him.

“Sheriff, it’s about time you put in an appearance!” he cried. “I’ve been looking for you all morning.”

Sam had heard the term “purple with rage” before, and he judged the easterner’s complexion was only a couple of shades away from that. His eyes bulged as if someone had a chokehold around his neck. He was practically hopping from foot to foot in his fury.

“The very least you could do if you’re out is to have a deputy here to take your place,” Waters went on. “But no doubt you were lollygagging at the mayor’s mansion, mooning over his daughter.”

Sam smothered his irritation at the accusation. So the little banty rooster was jealous, was he? It wouldn’t do him any good.

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