A Relentless Quest for Justice – Extended Epilogue

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Luke stared into the campfire, his heart beating hard as he thought about the mission ahead. It was one near and dear to him. He’d almost gotten Liz to come along with him, but it had been months since she and Micah had settled down on the ranch and she didn’t seem anxious to go back out on the road.

He didn’t blame her. She wanted to start a family and being out on the road, in danger of getting shot and killed, wasn’t a great way to do that.

So, he’d embarked out on his own, heading back toward southwest Texas.

It would be a new adventure for him, that was for sure.

He remembered at Liz’s wedding, seeing Cissy, talking to her, realizing how much they had in common. She was older than he’d thought, the oldest ‘child’ in Bending Fork. She wasn’t a child anymore, though, and spent most of her time taking care of the younger ones. She was about to turn 20, she’d told him at Liz’s wedding six months ago. And that meant she wasn’t too young for him.

He was still a day away from Bending Fork. He was responding to an urgent message Cissy had sent to him, asking him to come to their town and help them with a matter of robbery and theft. Thugs had come through Bending Fork and set fire to several homes, hurt some of the older folk and kidnapped two of their girls.

He was on his way to discuss what he could do for them. Questions he wanted to ask rolled through his mind. Had they contacted the Texas Rangers? Were there any clues he should know about? Was there a trail he could take to follow the kidnappers? So many more questions he wanted to ask.

His anxiety made it difficult for him to sleep but he’d managed to get a few hours in late that night and into the early morning.

He threw his pack together quickly, snuffed out the fire and mounted his horse, setting her into a quick gallop right away. He wanted to get to Bending Fork now. He hated that he ever had to sleep but if he didn’t, he’d end up disoriented and exhausted, in no shape to help Cissy and her family get the kidnapped girls back.

Relief flooded him when he saw the edge of the town in the distance. He had to blink several times as he got closer, not believing what he was seeing. Cissy was on horseback at the entrance to the town and when she saw him, she pushed her horse to move forward.

They rode toward each other. The closer they got, the harder Luke’s heart slammed in his chest. He made sure to look calm on the outside, but his insides were a tornado of chaos.

He smiled when she was close enough to see him clearly. She smiled back and he thought how pretty she was.

“Hello, Luke,” she called out. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

Luke lifted one hand and picked up his hat, dropping it back down as a greeting. “Miss Cissy. It is wonderful to see you.”

“I wish it were under better circumstances.”

Luke could tell by the intense look in her eyes and the way she looked directly at him, she was a woman in distress and needed his help immediately. “I wish I could have gotten here sooner,” he admitted, shaking his head. “But I had to sleep sometimes, you know.”

“I hope you’ve eaten.”

His stomach grumbled as soon as she mentioned food. She’d turned her horse around and was now riding beside him.

“Come, let’s go get something to eat. You didn’t bring Liz with you?”

He shook his head. “She’s a married woman now. I think the life of a bounty hunter might be behind her.”

“Ah.” Cissy nodded, keeping her eyes on the road in front of her as if she didn’t dare look at him. He found it a little amusing. He could tell she liked him the same way he liked her. “Unless she decides to resume it in her old age when her children are grown and gone.”

Luke lifted his eyebrows. “I guess that could happen, yes.”

Cissy finally looked at him, blinking softly. There was something different about her gaze, something that made him want to grab her off her horse and press a long kiss to her soft lips. The thought made his heart jump in his chest and he forced himself to calm down.

“Are you going to continue hunting on your own now?”

Luke had thought about it since Liz had decided the bounty hunter lifestyle was no longer what she wanted from life. He didn’t know what to do without her by his side. Their skills had always matched so well. Even before the ink was dry on the marriage certificate and her wounds from battle had yet to heal, she’d decided to pull away from the life.

She wanted to be a wife and mother. Nothing would change that now.

“I…” Cissy stopped as quickly as she’d started, and Luke shot her a curious look. “I want to make a change to my life, too, Luke,” she finally said, looking at him in a side long look. “But… the opposite of Liz.”

Luke already understood what she meant, but was surprised she would make that decision. He knew the young girl longed for adventure. She’d said as much at Liz’s wedding. Their conversation had been lengthy, but Luke had left feeling like he didn’t know enough about her. Later, he’d chalked it up to his attraction to her.

“You aren’t asking my permission for this, are you?” he asked, lifting his eyebrows. “Because you certainly don’t need that.”

Cissy smiled at him, her face lighting up and making her even more beautiful. The smile reached her eyes, making them crinkle at the corners. “I’m not asking your permission, per se. I’m telling you what I’d like to do with my life. I want to do what you do. I want to solve crimes and find outlaws and stop bad things from happening to good people.”

“Well, you have the courage and bravery to do it,” Luke told her, allowing his voice to be heavy with admiration. “All you need is a guiding hand to keep you safe during the dangerous times. How is your shooting? Can you shoot a gun?”

Cissy pressed her lips together, pulling up in front of a canopied cottage. She stayed in the saddle, looking over at him as he came up beside her. He didn’t attempt to dismount. He wouldn’t do that until she did. She’d called him to Bending Fork. He was their guest.

“My family doesn’t often use a gun,” she said. “But I had an uncle who had a pistol and he taught me to shoot. I’m pretty accurate. I’d like to get better.”

Luke nodded. “You know what you have to do to get better, right?”

Cissy’s former contented, happy look returned. “Yes. Practice.”

Luke looked at the canopied cottages that lined both sides of the street. “I’m willing to bet you don’t have a practice range here, do you?”

“There are practice ranges all around us,” she pointed out.

He chuckled, running his eyes over the mountain that rose up in the distance. “You have me there.”

In less than an hour, Luke was sitting in a very unfamiliar place, surrounded by people he didn’t know. He noticed how they all had a similar look to Cissy—they were dressed the same and had stoic looks on their faces.

Once they entered the small house, Cissy lost her smile and didn’t get it back until they left.

They sat around a small parlor, discussing the bandits, what they had taken other than the two girls, and where they could possibly have gone. Mama Greta was there and the first thing she did was thank Luke for retrieving the Blessed Blade, even though it was Liz that had gotten it back and Luke hadn’t known anything about it until they’d told him later.

Luke took the opportunity to speak to Cissy and Jacob’s father when Cissy left the room for personal business. He leaned close to the man and said in a very low voice, afraid to offend the woman he was falling in love with. “Do you think this life will be too dangerous for your daughter?”

His answer took Luke by surprise and made him think hard about his own future with Cissy. “God is always giving blessings, young man,” the older man said. “And my daughter is one of the most blessed I know. She is strong, healthy, courageous, beautiful. Any man would be lucky to capture her heart.”

Luke could tell by the way the man was looking at him, he was talking about Luke. His cheeks flushed and he dropped his eyes for a moment. “Yes, but, sir, this is so dangerous. She could get…”

“When it is her time, it is her time,” the man replied. “You cannot save her when her time comes, no more than she can save you when your time is up. But again. She is protected. She will carry the Blessed Blade with her and will never get shot.”

Luke didn’t even pretend to understand all of that. It didn’t seem possible to him, and he doubted Cissy would ever make him believe in such a thing, should they end up a couple. Then again…

Cissy came back in the room and resumed her seat at the table. She put her hands in front of her and examined her fingers while Luke and her father continued their conversation. Absentmindedly, she slid the nails of her thumbs along the cuticles of her other fingers,.

“If you have leads,” Luke said, “we should probably be following them as soon as we can before the trail gets too cold.”

“We immediately sent out a scout team of five,” the older man said. “They have sent back regular messages.”

Luke lifted his eyebrows, looking at Cissy. “You didn’t tell me that. Do you really need me here? Surely these five men can defeat the kidnappers and bring the girls home.”

Cissy bounced slightly in her chair, anxiety causing her to chew on her upper lip. “Well, I may have had other reasons for asking for your help, Luke,” she said, her voice strained. “But I’m really glad I did now.”

He tilted his head to the side. Surely he wasn’t so fascinating that she was just glad to be in his presence. He struggled against letting his ego swell and held in an amused chuckle.

“They stopped reporting.” Cissy flashed him a worried look.

His amusement vanished and his tone became serious. “When did that happen?”

“This morning?” Cissy looked at her father for confirmation, and the older man nodded. “Yes, this morning.”

“So, when was the last communication you got from them?” Luke pressed.

Once again, Cissy looked at her father. The older man answered Luke’s question. “We got a post message from Anchor this morning in the wee hours, maybe around two?”

“That’s awfully late for the post to run.”

“It came personally.”

“And everything seemed fine then?” Luke asked, thinking hard.

“Yes, it seemed so. They felt like they were closing in on the men but they’d landed in a small town unfamiliar to them. They didn’t know where the kidnappers were hiding the girls. It could be literally any house in that town, since my scouts don’t know anyone who lives there.”

“What about the sheriff? Have they gone and asked the sheriff?”

Cissy and her father shared a look. This time, she answered. “That was where they were headed when they sent the post. The last thing they told us was that they would send word after talking to the sheriff there.”

Luke nodded. “All right. I don’t think we should waste any more time.” He looked at Cissy. “Do you have everything you need to come with me on the road?”

Cissy pressed her lips together, giving him a curt nod.

“Then let’s go. We gotta find these girls and save them. I don’t want to think what might be happening to them right now.”

Cissy stood up and Luke said goodbye to Jacob and their father.

“I’ll meet you in front of the house,” she said, lifting one finger to indicate she would need another minute. He nodded, moving to the front door and passing from the cool, cinnamon-scented air to the hot, dusty atmosphere outside.

He couldn’t decide which he liked more. He was a desert man. He loved living in the west. There was nothing that would make him move. He was used to the violence, because there was also peace. He was used to the disasters, because there was also beauty.

Mounting his horse, he waited to see just how much stuff Cissy planned to bring along with her. He didn’t carry much. Whatever he needed could usually be bought at a supply store in any town or village.

Cissy surprised him by coming out of the house with the same sack she’d had strapped to her back when they’d saved Liz from Bandicourt, and a sack in each hand. She pushed them all down in her saddlebags and mounted her horse. She caught him staring at her and tilted her head to the side.

“What?”

“I think you might have brought along even less than Liz usually did. And she traveled light.”

“I don’t need much,” Cissy told him. “Anything I need can be bought wherever I go.”

Luke felt a tingle of attraction. He nodded, but could say nothing.

“Well, let’s go, if you’re done gawking at me,” Cissy said, a giggle behind her words.

He broke out in a big grin, his cheeks flushing. He wondered if she could tell how attracted he was to her. He hoped the fact that she’d called him meant she was just as attracted to him. After all, Cottonwood Falls wasn’t anywhere near Bending Fork. He’d had to travel almost non–stop for two straight days to get there.

He was glad he’d felt such urgency. He hoped he and Cissy would be able to find the girls. The name of the town they were supposed to be in sounded familiar, but Luke couldn’t be sure until they got there. Micah had introduced him to some Texas Rangers, and he was hoping to see one of them in the town, too. He felt like they would get more help and have more success if he was the one who asked for it instead of Cissy, whose jewelry–adorned neck, fingers, and wrists were just a small sign of her heritage and background.

Luke didn’t care that she’d led a gypsy lifestyle since her birth and that she likely always would. He was learning more and more about her community and her family every day. Now that he was with her, it would be a lot easier to understand their ways.

The couple rode quietly down the street, each immersed in their own thoughts. There was only one road in and one road out of Bending Fork and that road was so straight, Luke could see the other side of town from where he was.

When Cissy stopped her horse at the limits and stared out ahead of her, Luke slowed his own horse and stopped, coming up beside her. She had a strange look on her face.

“Are you all right, Cissy?” he asked, his voice low.

She turned her eyes slowly and looked at him. “I just realized my life is never going to be the same if I go on this journey with you. I’ll never come back here the girl I was when I left.”

“You will be stronger,” Luke promised. “You will be better. You will be a woman of honor and bravery.”

She gazed at him warmly. “Even if we don’t save the girls?”

Luke pulled his eyebrows together. “Don’t talk like that. We have an excellent chance of finding them. You and your people are blessed, remember? You have the favors of the spirit world on your side. That’s what Jacob believes. That’s what your father believes. Don’t you believe that, too?”

He was glad to see her face relax somewhat. She still had her eyes on him. He would have to get used to being scrutinized, he decided. She looked at him intensely like that all the time. At first, it had made him uncomfortable. Now, he waited for the moments when she did it.

“I do believe that, Luke. I do.” She paused. “Thank you for reminding me. I’m ready to start this new life, to go on this adventure. With you. I’m glad I’m with you.”

Luke grinned wide at her, reaching up to tip his hat in her direction. “And I’m glad to be with you. Shall we begin our adventure?”

Cissy smiled at him, sending a warm feeling through his body. “Yes, Luke. Let’s go.”

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