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He moved closer, brushed his thumb across her cheek. “And who do you need?”
She stared up at him, and he felt himself falling into those deep blue eyes of hers. He cupped her face, and she opened her mouth to say something. Before she could, though, Jason rode up and dismounted, tying his horse in front of the jailhouse.
Gray sighed. The kid had impeccable timing. He released his wife and stepped back.
“Was there trouble?” Jason asked, his brow creased in concern.
“Just some youths harassing Lucille,” Gray said, jerking his thumb at the goat.
“Ah, not Lucille.” Jason went around to the back of the wagon to pet the goat, who bleated at him happily. Was there anyone in town who didn’t love the guy? Besides Gray himself?
“Why don’t you come out for supper,” Mercy said to Jason. “We haven’t seen you in a few days.”
“Not true,” Gray said. “I see him every day.”
Mercy shot him an exasperated look, and he held up his hands and turned back to Jason. “Yes. Please come,” he said, making the words as forced and monotone as he could.
Jason, true to form, didn’t take the bait. “I’d love to. Not much for me to do around here, since we don’t have any prisoners that need watching. Unless we picked one up since I’ve been gone?” he asked Gray.
Gray shook his head. “It’s been pretty quiet. How did things go at Mrs. Burkett’s? Did you catch the thief?”
Mercy frowned in concern. “Mrs. Burkett had a thief?”
Jason snorted. “Someone was stealing vegetables from her garden. I’m pretty sure she knew exactly who it was, too, before I got there.”
“So, you caught him?” Gray asked.
Jason had gone over to his saddle bag and flipped it open. “Yep.” He pulled out a large rabbit by its ears.
“Oh,” Mercy said, hurrying over to take it.
Gray folded his arms across his chest. “Mrs. Burkett reported a thief, so we’d come get a rabbit out of her garden?”
Jason shrugged. “Apparently.”
“How is that the job of the sheriff?” Gray asked Mercy.
She just smiled and added the rabbit to the back of the wagon with Lucille. “She needed help. You helped her.”
Gray opened his mouth to argue and then snapped it shut again and rubbed at his temple, which had begun to throb.
“Why don’t you two head on out?” Jason said. “I’ll handle things here until supper.”
Mercy glanced at Gray, who didn’t need to be told twice to leave. He was climbing up to the bench of the wagon almost before Jason had finished talking. Mercy rolled her eyes and tried to untie Gray’s horse from the post. Birdie, however, was snoring where she stood and refused to budge.
“She’s nappin’,” Gray said. “She’s not goin’ to move until she wants to wake up.”
“Sounds familiar,” Mercy muttered.
Jason laughed. “I’ll bring her along when I come out.”
“Thanks. Supper will be in about two hours,” she said, climbing up next to Gray. Jason nodded, tipping his hat to them as Gray snapped the reins to get them moving.
“Slow down,” she said, laughing. “People will think you can’t wait to get out of here.”
Gray chuckled. It had been a long time since he wondered, or cared, what anyone else thought of him. And that wasn’t changing now. Except with maybe one exception. He glanced at Mercy, who was holding onto her hat with one hand and the bench with the other.
She was laughing but said, “If you don’t slow down, you’re going to bounce poor Lucille right out of the wagon. And she’s already had such a rough day.”
