The Law and Miss Penny Read Online Free Page A

that he'd completely lost his mind? He knew a lot of things. For starters, he was lying alongside the road, one that looked familiar. He'd traveled this trail several times before, he was sure of it. Looking up at the sky to study the shapes and colors of the clouds, he could also claim knowledge of exactly when to expect the next downpour—soon.
    What he didn't know was his own height, weight, or the color of his eyes. He saw that the woman peering down at him had violet eyes and black hair, and for all he knew, so did he. He glanced at his boots, knowing without question that his toes were pointing due south. Yes, he knew plenty. But he had no earthly idea what the full name of the man inside those damn boots could be.
    "Cain," he said in a defeated whisper. "My name is Cain."
    Mariah sat back on her heels, her expression now more than simply amused, and then looked at both her mother and father, giving them a quick wink. If a man ever deserved to be brought down a peg or two, it was this one. Besides that, he had cost them at least a hundred dollars by running the medicine show out of Bucksnort before it had even begun. He owed them that much in labor, if nothing else. And Zack could use some rest. As long as Slater's memory was faulty—and there was no way of telling how long that might be—he would be whoever they told him he was and do whatever they said... including, serving as a guinea pig for Mariah to test her new nostrums.
    As she contemplated the perfect name for the lawman to go along with her perfect plans for him, a glint of gold at the edge of his vest caught Mariah's eye. When she recognized the object poking out from beneath the rawhide as his U.S. marshal's badge, her grin widened. Perfect. Not only had she found him a name, but another way to test his memory as well.
    Biting her lip to keep from snickering, Mariah said, "Your name is... Law. Cain Law."
    Law? He rolled the surname around in his mind, seeking a comfortable slot, a ring of truth. Law. It felt right and sounded right, too. It fit him as well as his broke-in boots.
    Gripped with a kind of savage joy, sure that his complete memory would return now, Cain bolted upright, forgetting about the low, throbbing ache at the back of his head. Lightning flashes went off inside his skull, scalding his brain with their brilliant light. His body went rigid, and he collapsed against the rain-soaked roadway. And then, once again, nothing. Merciful, cold, nothing.
    * * *
    The rain started up again, this time in earnest. Oda and Zack fashioned a litter out of a canvas flap from the tent they lived in while on the road, and then Mariah helped them carry the marshal to the medicine wagon. Several aborted attempts and strained muscles later, they finally managed to heft the lawman's 200-odd pounds into the rig. Once inside, they unceremoniously dumped him on Mariah's bed. Then they went up the road a short distance, searching for a place to stay for the next day or two.
    Before long, Oda spotted a wide flat spot not far off the trail, and they decided to set up camp there. As he did during inclement weather or whenever he feared the family's safety might be at risk, Zack butted the rear opening of the tent against the back of the wagon, creating a two-room home where privacy was maintained, but help was within shouting distance. Tonight Mariah would sleep in the tent with her father and mother instead of in her bed in the medicine wagon. If the lawman should awaken or need further assistance, at least one of the Pennys would hear him.
    The A-shaped tent was large enough to contain at least a dozen adults comfortably, and in fact, had been used on occasion to house the medicine show during surprise snowstorms and downpours. A little sheepherder's stove, its cylindrical black chimney stack sprouting through an opening at the side of the tent, served as both fireplace and grill. Amid intermittent raindrops splattering against the cloth roof above her, Daisy trotted