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She had a tip.Be more observant. Even she could see that Gray was going to snap if Jason kept at him. He wasn’t the most patient on a good day, and ithadbeen a rather eventful morning.
“I mean, I knew you were a legend with a gun, but I had no idea you could fight like that. You took three men out on your own, while I barely managed to handle one.”
“You did wonderfully,” Mercy said.
Jason blushed a little. “That’s very kind of you to say, Miss Mercy, but I wouldn’t have lasted another two minutes. And I’m not real proud of how I got the upper hand.”
He glanced down at the man he’d bested, who had unclenched a little but still seemed to be suffering from the blow.
“Did you win?” Gray asked.
Jason frowned. “Yes.”
“Are you dead?”
“No.”
“Do you want to be dead next time?”
Jason’s frown deepened. “Of course not.”
“Then you do what you need to do to stay alive and quit complainin’ about it.”
Jason gave him a sheepish smile. “Good advice.”
Gray grunted.
Before they had even brought the horses to a full stop in front of the jail, half the town it seemed was there to greet them.
“Doesn’t anyone in this place have anything better to do?” Gray muttered, watching the small crowd of Doc, Reverend Donnelly, Martha, and Mrs. DuVere descend as well as a dozen or so others.
Mercy shrugged. “An infamous gunslinger bringing in four hog-tied captives is bound to cause a bit of a stir.”
Gray’s full lips turned up into a heart-stuttering smile. Maybe it was just because he didn’t smile often, but the sight of it never failed to send her stomach swirling.
Jason jumped down and introduced himself to a flustered Martha while Gray tied up the horses. Mercy clambered down from her seat and nodded at Doc.
“What have you got there?” he asked.
“Some of Josiah Banff’s men who came to my place, looking for trouble.”
Doc’s eyes widened as he peered into the wagon. “Do they need medical attention?”
She shrugged. “Probably.”
Gray hauled the first man out. “They’re fine.” He glanced at Mrs. DuVere. “Is the door still unlocked?”
“Sure thing, honey,” she said, hurrying over to open it for him.
He nodded at her and then looked at Jason. “Bring the rest of them.”
Gray didn’t wait to see if his orders would be obeyed, just turned and marched his prisoner into the jailhouse.
Doc, Reverend Donnelly, and Martha glanced at one another and then the men moved to help Jason unload the rest of Josiah’s men. Doc looked over each of them quickly, murmuring with a slight frown creasing his brow, but he didn’t say much as they moved them inside. He seemed to disapprove of their injuries, which was noble of him. But the men had been on her land,shootingat her, with obvious intent to harm her so their boss could steal her property. Frankly, she thought they’d gotten off easy.
The jail sported two rather new cells, each equipped with a cot. They put the two most grievously hurt on the cots and left the other two to get as comfortable as they could. Mercy stayed out in the front room, watching Gray as he came from the cells and slumped into the chair behind the sheriff’s desk. He leaned back and propped his feet on the desk, folding his hands over his stomach.
When everyone else had rejoined them, they all glanced at one another, at a loss for what to do.
