The Lawman (The Willow Creek Series #1) Read Online Free Page B

them yet. The fire in her eyes hadn’t dimmed since then either. The scorn he’d seen in them was directed at him and him alone. “She’s trouble. I’m just making sure she doesn’t give me anymore.”
    “And keeping her locked up will accomplish that?”
    “It sure will.” Morgan knocked back his drink, turned and refilled his glass.
    Holden grunted. “I know it’s been a while, and you’re used to the company of whores, but come on, Morgan, surely you know a lady isn’t going to sit quietly while locked up. The jail stinks, the bedding has been there since the building was built ten years ago and if she has to survive with nothing but your cooking, she’ll be dead in a week.”
    Morgan glared at his brother. “I’m not going to coddle her.”
    “Care if I do?” Holden asked, grinning.
    The look on Holden’s face told Morgan exactly what his brother had in mind. The fact Willow Creek was so isolated left the men to women ratio lopsided. There were more single men in the county than he cared to think about. And once those men realized Abigail Thornton was in town, they’d be flocking to the jail in droves. He wasn’t sure why the thought of those men knocking on his door irritated him but it did. He pushed the thought away, swallowed the rest of his drink and turned to Vernon. “What do I owe you, Vern?”
    “On the house, marshal. After the week you’ve had, you deserve it.”
    “Obliged,” he said before turning back to Holden. “I’m going to head home and get cleaned up. Want to meet me at the hotel for supper?”
    “Can’t do. I promised Alex I’d be home before dark.” They walked back outside, stopping to look at the town before Holden said, “I will go grab something decent to eat for your newest prisoner though. It’s the neighborly thing to do, after all.”
    Holden grinned before taking off for the hotel in a jog. Morgan watched him go and disappear inside before looking back at the jail. The squat little building had seen better days and the roof leaked more often than not. Keeping Abigail Thornton locked up was going to be more trouble than he wanted. He could feel it in his bones. Holden was right about one thing. Keeping her locked up would cause a stir. One he didn’t want to deal with. He knew he had to let her go come morning but for some reason, the very thought of doing so irritated him.
     
    * * * *
     
    Abigail had dozed off while sitting up and was startled awake when the marshal came back. She blinked at him a few times, trying to get her eyes to adjust in the low light of the room and tell her she was seeing what she thought she was.
    The man who left hours before had been a complete unkempt mess. This man caused her pulse to race. He’d left his hat behind, his guns still strapped to his lean hips, and he stood by the door staring at her as if he’d never seen her before. He’d washed and replaced his dirty clothes with clean denim trousers and a blue chambray shirt, the cuffs once again rolled up to his elbows. He was clean-shaven and just as she’d suspected, the marshal was a handsome man. Well, once you overlooked the busted lip and swollen eye. Taking in his features, she realized he was much more handsome than his brother, Holden, who had brought her a meal from the hotel. Too bad the marshal’s loathsome attitude was so unforgiving.
    She’d had a long time to think about her situation once he left and knew, like it or not, she was stuck in Willow Creek. She had no money to buy a ticket for the stagecoach and her pleas to the driver would be useless now. She’d gone as far as she could and she’d have to start planning all over again. The potential husband she’d managed to arrange for was gone. If the marshal let her out of the jail, where would she go? She didn’t even have enough money to buy a decent meal, let alone a place to bed down for the night. The filthy mattress under her was better than the cold ground or someone’s barn, if she were