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“Let’s look on the bright side. Maybe Martha will have lunch ready.”
Mercy punched his shoulder but laughed, and the sound eased the tension in him.
Chapter Sixteen
Gray pulled up the wagon in front of the jailhouse and hopped down, moving to the other side to help Mercy from her seat.
“You’re becoming the regular gentleman,” she murmured to him as he slowly lowered her.
“Don’t say that too loudly,” he said with a grimace. “I should probably stop being so chivalrous before you start expecting me to be on my best behavior all the time.”
She laughed. “Don’t worry. I would never expect such an impossible miracle.”
He leaned in closer. “I’ll make an exception just this once, bein’ that we’re technically still newlyweds and all.”
He dropped a quick kiss on her lips, and she gave him a soft smile that had him wanting to toss her back in the wagon and hightail it back to their bed.
“Ah, you two are just adorable,” Jason said from the doorway.
Gray grimaced. “Remind me to kill him one of these days.”
Mercy laughed. “I’m going to go visit Martha. You two play nice.”
Gray grunted. “I’m not making any promises.”
She laughed again, gave him a little wave, and headed off across the street to the General Store.
“It looks like the honeymoon is going well,” Jason said.
Gray ignored him until Mercy was safely inside the store and then decided to ignore the comment altogether. “How are things here?”
Jason shrugged and moved aside so he could go into the building. “Pretty uneventful. The doc came by this morning to check up on them. Everyone should heal up well enough.”
Gray grunted. “Can they travel?”
“I believe so.”
“Good. Go round up the doc. And the preacher, too, I guess. There was an incident this morning.”
Jason’s teasing manner disappeared, and he nodded, all seriousness for once. “Is everyone okay?”
“Yes, for the most part. Mercy was a little shaken up, maybe, though she wouldn’t admit it. It wasn’t like the first time. Josiah wasn’t there to just scare her. And he was none too happy I disrupted his plans again. I think we can be expecting company soon. He was muttering something about seeing me gone before the month was out. He might try to make good on his deadline.”
Jason blew out a low whistle. “I’ll go get the men.”
He left immediately, and Gray took the time while he waited for them to show up to explore his new office. The last sheriff hadn’t left much behind. If Gray were staying, he’d definitely need to get some more firearms and ammo. And a teakettle, which the town council had apparently not provided yet. Damn what he wouldn’t do for a good strong cup of coffee right then. The morning had been interminable. Once he got Josiah’s men out of town, he was grabbing his wife and taking her home. And probably not leaving for a month.
Jason was back with the men much sooner than Gray anticipated. Maybe the little twit would be useful after all.
“Jason tells us there was some trouble this morning,” Doc said as soon as he entered the building. A man who got down to business. Gray liked it.
He nodded. “Josiah showed up at Mercy’s place. I sent him away, minus the use of his gun hand. He was mighty upset that we’re holding his men, and I’m sure the loss of his gun hand didn’t improve his disposition.”
Doc’s eyes widened. “You shot his gun hand?”
Gray nodded sharply. Doc, Jason, and the preacher exchanged a glance but thankfully didn’t offer comments. Good. Gray couldn’t tell if they disapproved or not, and he didn’t really care. He’d refrained from killing the man. Against his better judgment. If he showed up threatening Mercy again, his hand would be the least of his problems. Gray wouldn’t hold back again, even if it did ruin his retirement record of zero kills.
“What do you want to do?” Jason asked.
