Page 79 of Luna

“Anything. What can I do?” she asked.

Kade pulled an envelope from his shirt pocket and handed it to her. “It would sure be a help to me if you could deliver that to my friend, Tully Barrett. You’ll find him at the sheriff’s office in Baker City. You should have plenty of time. The train usually has an hour wait there before heading down the track again.”

“Tully Barrett at the sheriff’s office. I can do that, Kade.”

Luna took a step toward the train, then stopped, imprinting the faces of her loved ones in her memories and heart. “I love you all so much. Take care!” She waved, then hurried up the steps and found a seat at the front of a passenger car.

By sheer force of will, she kept from crying all the way to Baker City. When she arrived, she was hungry and heartsore, but she rushed off the train, stopped to use the lavatory at the depot, then asked directions to the sheriff’s office. She headed directly there with Kade’s letter in hand.

She opened the door to the office and saw a big man behind a desk who looked up at her with a welcoming smile when she stepped inside.

“Howdy, miss. How may I help you?” the man asked, rising to his feet.

“Deputy Kade Rawlings in Pendleton asked me to bring Tully Barrett this letter.”

“I’m Tully. How do you know Kade?”

“He’s married to my cousin, Caterina. I’m Luna Campanelli.”

“I see the resemblance. Nice to meet you, Miss Campanelli.” Tully held out his hand, and she gave him the envelope. She wasn’t certain if she should leave or wait for him to read it.

“That was nice of you to bring this to me. I’ll skim through it if you don’t mind waiting a moment.”

“No. I just need to be sure I’m on the train when it leaves for Boise.” Luna glanced around the small but tidy office as Tully, who wore a sheriff’s badge, read the note, grinned, and tucked it back into the envelope.

“Well, Miss Campanelli, it seems Kade has a couple of requests, and one is for me to show you something very few people who are friends with him get to see.”

“Really?” Luna asked, wondering what the sheriff was about to show her. He walked over to a door across the room and opened it, then motioned for her to join him.

Inside were jail cells, all of them empty. He opened the door to a cell and stepped inside. “Come right on in. You ever been inside a cell before?”

“Gracious, no!” Luna felt uncomfortable and uncertain, but she followed him.

“See that up there on the wall?” Tully pointed toward the top of the cell by the ceiling.

“No. What am I looking at?” Luna asked, squinting her eyes as she tried to focus on something remarkable.

“Take a step closer,” Tully said. “It’s right up there near the top of the wall.”

Luna walked over until she stood directly beneath the wall and stared upward. She could make out what appeared to be a few letters carved in the wall. She thought they might spell Fred, but wasn’t certain. She heard footsteps and a creak. When she turned around, Tully had locked the cell door, trapping her inside.

“Sir? What is the meaning of this?” Luna rushed across the cell, which took all of five steps, and wrapped her hands around the bars. “Please, Sheriff? I don’t understand what is happening.”

“I’m not entirely certain myself, but Kade is quite adamant that you miss the train today. Settle in and make yourself comfortable. Would you like a book to read? Some lunch?”

Luna was so furious she couldn’t keep from stamping her feet. “I demand you release me at once, sir. I don’t know what prank Kade is pulling, but I won’t stand for it. And what nonsense did you utter about me seeing something few of Kade’s friends have? That was all a trick!”

The sheriff shook his head. “No, that was the truth. There are very few of Kade’s friends who have seen the inside of one of my jail cells. As for what you were looking at, it’s the nickname I gave my wife. I carved the name up on the wall in the cell where she spent some time when we were courting.”

“You locked your wife in a jail cell?” Luna couldn’t help but gape at the man. He appeared friendly and kind, but a terrible beast must lurk beneath his misleading exterior. “On what grounds?”

“Tickling my fancy,” Tully said with a chuckle and backed toward the doorway. “Now, how about that lunch? The hotel makes a mighty fine meal. Do you like chicken?”

Luna wanted to scream and shout and kick things, like Kade and Tony. She had a feeling her cousin’s important errand earlier that morning was to hatch this scheme with Kade to waylay her. For what purpose, she had no idea. Surely, one of them would send word to release her before she had to spend the night in jail. Wouldn’t they?

She couldn’t think of a single reason they would have her delayed in such a humiliating manner. Perhaps they thought if they stopped her, she’d have second thoughts about leaving. No wonder Tony had been so agreeable about shipping her trunks later. He’d likely never planned to send them at all.

After stamping her feet again, she released an angry breath, forcing herself to calm down. She couldn’t spend the day in a fury. When she was no longer seeing red, she looked to the sheriff, realizing he was only doing what Kade had asked. “Chicken will do quite nicely.”

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