Page 64 of In Honor’s Defense

Conley grabbed the ring of keys on his belt and marched down the hall toward the pair of cells that stood at the back of the building. Damaris followed but paused to look back at Luke when he didn’t join her.

“You go ahead,” he urged softly. “I want to chat with the sheriff. I’ll check in on Nate when you’re done, then see you home.”

She nodded, her eyes locking with his. The connection he felt in that moment nearly knocked the wind from his lungs. Her brown eyes tugged so hard at his heart, he felt compelled to rub a hand over his breastbone to make sure it stayed in his chest.

How could a woman look so utterly vulnerable and so courageously strong at the same time?

“I’m glad you’re here, Luke.”

“Me too.”

She blinked and sighed out a breath, effectively cooling some of the heat radiating around him. Tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear, she straightened her shoulders and smoothed the front of her dress. Then, arming herself with a somewhat believable smile, she pivoted and followed the sheriff, leaving Luke to stare after her like a lovesick calf.

Until Conley clomped back into the office area, muttering and scowling. “I guess you plan on waitin’ for her.” It was less of a question and more of an aggrieved resignation.

“I do.”

The lawman waved at a chair pushed against the wall to Luke’s right. “Might as well take a load off, then. Don’t need you towerin’ over me like some disapprovin’ tree.”

Luke chuckled. “You picked up on that, did you?”

Conley’s mouth twitched as if fighting a smile. “You ain’t exactly subtle.”

Luke grabbed the ladder-back chair with one hand, spun it around, and took a seat.

“Coffee?” Conley lifted a dented pot from the small stove behind his desk and held it up in question.

Luke’s stomach growled loudly in answer.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Conley smirked as he pulled a second cup off a shelf. He blew out a smattering of dust, then filled it with dark brew.

He plopped the cup on the desk in front of Luke before taking his own seat. A groan escaped him as he folded himself into the chair.

“You might find this hard to believe,” he said, “but I generally tend to avoid arresting half-grown boys.” He shook his head. “Grimes has been breathin’ down my neck for a month about his missing beeves, though, and when a witness reported seein’ cattle holed up on Baxter’s land, I couldn’t just let it go. This is cattle country. Rustlin’ can’t be ignored. Even when the rustler’s a kid.”

“I agree.” Luke lifted his coffee to his lips. “When the kid actually is a rustler.”

The sheriff shrugged. “Guess that’s up to Judge Kilmore to decide.”

Luke took a swig of coffee and grimaced at the strong, bitter taste. It wasn’t any worse than what he’d drunk in the army, but he’d gotten used to the way Damaris fixed it, sneaking in a tiny bit of sugar to soften the flavor’s rough edges.

She probably thought he hadn’t noticed. And for a while he hadn’t. Until he poured his own cupful the day she’d gone to town and it hadn’t tasted the same. Apparently the fighter who’d spent the majority of his life proving himself the toughest man in the unit had a secret craving for the sweeter things in life. Damaris had recognized it. How, he had no idea. No one else ever had. Not even him. She might be quiet on the surface, but her observations ran deep.

Luke stretched his legs out in front of him and shifted his weight in the chair to avoid the tender place on his thigh where the doc in Huntsville had removed his stitches. “So, who was the witness who spotted the stolen stock?”

Conley raised a brow. “You know I ain’t gonna answer that. I can’t have a certain Horseman harassin’ him about his testimony, now can I? Don’t change nothin’ anyways. The cattle were found right where he said they’d be.”

Luke swallowed his disappointment along with another dose of corrosive coffee. He’d hoped the sheriff would be more forthcoming. Conley might be lazy when it came to investigating crimes, but he wasn’t void of intelligence.

“Mighty convenient, don’t ya think?” Luke asked. “Especially since the stock weren’t there a couple of days ago when I rode the Baxter property line.”

A spark of curiosity lit the lawman’s eyes for a moment before he hid it behind his coffee cup.

“I know the kid ain’t doin’ it alone,” Conley admitted after setting down his cup. “He seemed as surprised as his aunt did to find them cows in their canyon. But that could just mean he didn’t expect his partners to sell him out.”

“His partners.” Luke scoffed. “You mean the four full-grown men who tried to kill him when he accidentally stumbled across their evening activities?” Maybe he’d been too quick to credit Conley with a working brain. “I saw that whole encounter, Sheriff. Nate had no idea the rustlers were there, and the only thing those men cared about was ridding themselves of a witness. There’s no partnership.”

“Tell it to the judge.”