The Outlaw And The Runaway. Tatiana March

have to put a stop to this foolishness. I’ll speak to the sheriff. If that fails, we’ll get a lawyer. Someone competent, from Prescott or Flagstaff.”

      “Celia girl, listen to me.”

      There was an odd shine in her father’s eyes, a strange fervor in his expression. Celia held her breath. A terrible fear unfurled in her belly. Surely, the accusations could have no merit? Surely, there was no possibility that her father had actually been involved in the crime?

      “Yes, Papa?” she prompted him, her body rigid with tension. “I’m listening.”

      Her father spoke with a breathless eagerness. “This is the solution I’ve been looking for. Soon I’ll be too weak to work. You’ll be left to support me, with little money coming in. You spent your young years nursing your mother, and I don’t want you to bear the burden of nursing me, too. If I go along with what they claim, the authorities will have to take care of me. And you’ll be free. The house is in your name, and I’ve got a bit of money put aside, not in the bank but elsewhere, and I’ll get it sent out to you.”

      “No, Papa, no! We’ll fight them. Prove your innocence.”

      “No, Celia.” Her father frowned, looking pained. “I’ll not hear a word from you against this plan.” His expression softened. “Don’t you understand, Celia girl, I want you to have a chance. I’ll send you the money. You can sell the house and go away, start over in some other town.”

      “I’d rather nurse you than move to a place full of strangers.”

      A smile eased her father’s gaunt features and he spoke tenderly. “Come closer.”

      Celia flattened her palms against the reinforced oak panel and hovered on her toes, her face lined up with the hatch. Her father pressed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “I love you, Celia girl. And I understand that you want to look after me, give me comfort in my final days. But the greatest comfort you could give me is to write to me in Yuma prison and tell me that you’ve settled safely in some other town where people have no prejudice against you. Then I’ll be able to die in peace.”

      “Papa...” Her voice caught in her throat. It was an unreasonable demand for him to make, and yet how could she ignore it? How could she deny her father what he was asking for? And in some horrible, practical way, she understood the logic in his thinking. With only her meager earnings to rely upon, they might not have enough money for doctor’s bills and other expenses. This way, the territorial government would have to take care of him, feed him and eventually bury him.

      “All right,” Celia replied, anguish tightening her chest. “I won’t try to reason with the sheriff. But promise me this—when they question you, you’ll tell no lies. And if they end up releasing you, you’ll come home to me, and let me nurse you, like I nursed Mama.”

      “I promise you that, Celia girl.”

      Voices erupted on the boardwalk outside. The barber hurried over to Celia. He shoved her aside and slammed shut the hatch in the oak door. Speaking with a nervous agitation, he grabbed her by the elbow and bundled her toward the rear exit. “Go out the back way.”

      Celia wrenched herself free. “I’ll go out the way I came in.” Holding her head high, she marched out of the shop. In the street, she could see the lean, wiry sheriff with the expensive tan Stetson hat leading over two horses, his bay and a dun gelding she recognized as rental stock from the livery stable.

      The sheriff came to a halt by the boardwalk and turned to detach the shackles from his horse. Carrying the clinking chains in one hand, he climbed up the steps to the boardwalk. Celia stood still, her wide skirts blocking the entrance to the barbershop. When the sheriff came toe-to-toe with her, she held her position for a moment, then shifted aside to let him through. There was no point in resisting. If the sheriff knew his job, he’d get her father to reveal the truth and send him home to her where he belonged.