Page 54 of The Sheriff and the Outlaw

“Now wait a minute,” Josey replied, turning back to the stove. “I never said I was going.”

“Oh Josey, please?” Lillian begged, jumping up and down. Daxton smiled. He hadn’t seen his daughter this excited about anything in a while.

Josey looked over at Daxton with tears in her eyes. “Daxton, don’t do this. Please... let me stay here.” It was then that he noticed she was shaking.

Without thinking, he pulled her into his arms, wanting to take away all the years of pain she had endured at the hands of that man. Holding her, he sensed there was more that she wasn’t telling him. But something inside him told him not to push it farther.

“Okay.” He nodded, taking in the fresh scent of her hair, reminding him of wildflowers. Then he pulled back to look into her eyes. “Then we’ll all stay home.”

The children groaned.

“No, I can’t do that to the children,” Josey was quick to interject, her eyes wide. “Take the children. Seriously. I’ll be fine. Plus, I could use the time to rest.”

He sighed. Although he hated to leave her alone, his children wanted to go to the rodeo in the worst way. That was all they had been talking about over the past few days since he told them.

Daxton sighed. “If you’re sure—”

“Yes, I am,” Josey quickly cut him off and then turned him around and gave him a gentle nudge toward the bedroom. “Now, go get ready while I fix breakfast.”

“Yeah!” Lillian and Andrew cheered in unison.

“Well, if we’re going, then you’d both better get ready, too. Don’t you think?” Daxton smiled, enjoying their excitement.

Josey’s lips curled into a smile as relief spread across her face. At that moment, Daxton realized that it would take a while for her to feel comfortable enough to go out of the house without looking over her shoulder.

The ride to Laramie didn’t seem to take long. Josie had made them some bacon biscuits from their leftover breakfast. He was going to have to talk to her about cooking so much. He smiled to himself. He didn’t care so much about the food being cooked, as them all gaining weight from the amount she was cooking. And at this rate, they would be out of food in the dead of winter. But he wasn’t complaining. On days like today, it was good that she had cooked so much.

“Do you think they’ll have bull riding?” Andrew asked when they neared Laramie, his eyes wide.

“I’m sure they will,” Daxton replied, smiling as he kept his eyes on the road ahead.

“I want to see the cowboys race!” Lillian announced, clapping her hands in delight.

“Actually, they probably won’t be racing as such.” Daxton shrugged. “Maybe just some barrel racing.”

The children talked animatedly about the rodeo when he stopped his rig in front of the livery stable in Laramie a few hours later.

“Hello, sheriff! What can I do you for?” Mr. Townsend, the owner of the livery stable in Laramie, approached Daxton. “So, what brings you out of Whiskey River?” Then he looked over at the children with wide eyes. “You kids here for the rodeo?”

“Yes!” Both Lillian and Andrew screamed as Mr. Townsend laughed.

Daxton had known Mr. Townsend for years. Whenever he came to Laramie on business, Mr. Townsend did a good job of caring for his horses and rig.

“Now, don’t be getting the young ‘uns any more riled up than what they are,” Daxton joked, stepping down off the buckboard. He reached up and helped Lillian down, while Andrew jumped down on his own on the other side. “It’s all they’ve been talking about since I told them were coming a few days ago.”

Mr. Townsend laughed as he handed the reins to one of his men. “Well, I hear tell that they’re puttin’ on a good show over there.” He looked down at the children, a broad grin spreading across his face. “You kids are in for a real treat!”

“Can we go ahead, Pa? I want to see the rodeo clowns!” Andrew asked, his eyes wide. “I promise I’ll look after Lillian.”

Lillian scoffed, indignant. “I don’t need looking after.”

“Oh, yes, you do.” Daxton gave his daughter a stern look. Then he saw the look of anticipation that filled their eyes and relented. “Okay.”

“Yeah!” they both yelled, running off.

“Lillian, stay with your brother!” Daxton called after them. How much trouble could they get into, after all? They were both good children and he’d trust them with his life.

“They’re good kids,” Mr. Townsend said, mimicking what Daxton was already thinking.

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