She nodded, recognizing his words as the absolute truth. Naomi had believed the sheriff to be a pushy, bossy hard-ass, but he was so much more than that.
“I want to help him.”
Gideon stared at her hard. “You have feelings for him.”
Although she hadn’t told Zeke yet, she told his best friend. “Yes, I love him and I won’t turn away now.”
“Good, he’ll need as much love as we can give him.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “We’ll be there in a few minutes. Keep him safe for us until then.”
Chapter Ten
Naomi cleaned up the room, then brought the bucket of dirty water downstairs. Her mind kept returning to Zeke and why God had seen fit to match the two of them together. She often wondered if there was a purpose to the way things happened. Perhaps since they’d both had enough misery to last a dozen lifetimes, they were meant to find each together.
When she arrived in Tanger, she wouldn’t have predicted falling in love with Zeke or finding a man she could spend her life with. Yet she had, and he was a bigger mess than she. God must have a sense of humor.
It was probably nearly seven already. Her stomach rumbled with hunger but she ignored it. Time enough later for vittles after Zeke was taken care of. Perhaps he might feel up to dinner at Elmer’s later—or maybe not. He was still in very rough shape. She wanted to help him, but knew keeping him in her bed wasn’t the wisest choice. She was glad she’d gone to tell his friends, but knowing they would come and get him soon made her wish she hadn’t.
“Good morning, angel.”
Startled, Naomi dropped the bucket on her foot as she whirled to face the speaker. A young man stood there with wavy brown hair and sparkling blue eyes. He was a stranger to her, but she’d seen him in town before. No doubt the minister’s collar meant he was the town’s new reverend.
“Good morning.” She reached down to massage the bump on her foot.
“My apologies if you hurt yourself. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He held out his hand. “Reverend Gregory Conley.”
Embarrassed by her appearance, she briefly shook his hand, looking like death with snarls in her hair and a stained dress. Not to mention she’d been avoiding ministers, church and God since He’d seen fit to take her father and her life away from her.
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Miss Naomi Tucker. I’ve got to get back inside, Reverend.” She grabbed the bucket handle and turned to go back up the steps when his hand on her arm stopped her.
“Please call me Gregory, if you would. I’m new in town and wanted to be sure to meet everyone.” His wide smile was so open and innocent, it made her lips twitch. However, she needed to get back to Zeke.
“I’m sorry but I don’t have time to talk more today. I appreciate you introducing yourself to me, but I really must go.” She started up the stairs. “If you’ll excuse me. Good day, Reverend.”
Naomi closed the door behind her, ignoring the minister’s stutters. She didn’t need a sermon, and definitely didn’t need a young man meddling in her life no matter how sweet or innocent he was.
Zeke watched the door, at peace for the first time in a long time, as he waited for Naomi to return. She’d been gone only a few minutes, but he already wished she was back. He’d never thought to be a man mooning over a woman, but he was doing it anyway.
When the door opened, he almost smiled, until he caught sight of the paleness of her face and the dark circles under her eyes. After she shut the door behind her and leaned on it, she met his gaze with a tremulous smile. The night caring for him was nearly as hard on her. God only knew why she did it—he didn’t deserve it.
“You’re awake.”
A knock at the door made her jump a country mile. She pressed her finger to her lips to shush him and he understood she didn’t want anyone to find him there. Zeke would definitely be fired if they did, considering Hettie would know he’d lied to her.
“Zeke, you in there?” Gideon’s voice came through the closed door.
He let out a huge sigh, relieved to know his cousin was on the other side of the door.
Naomi opened the door, blocking the opening with her slim form. “He’s still not doing very well.”
“That’s why we’re here.” Gideon sounded calm.
Lee, on the other hand, wasn’t even remotely calm. “You got him drunk, you goddamn whore, now let me in there before I tear your fucking arms off.”
Zeke vaulted off the bed, ignoring the lurch in his stomach. “I told you more than once, she is not a whore. You’d best never say that again, Lee.”
Gideon, Lee and Jake came in, giving Zeke time to absorb the shock of the Devils coming for him. After the tumultuous few weeks and the falling out they’d had, it warmed Zeke’s heart to see them protecting him.
“Lee, you owe Naomi an apology. She didn’t give me any booze, you idiot.”
His brother frowned as he unclenched his fists. “That’s not what Lucy told us.”
Zeke’s stomach dropped to his knees. Lucy had told them Naomi got him drunk? His head pounded with liquor and confusion.
“Lucy lied. Naomi was the one who took care of me and cleaned up my vomit and shit.” He glanced at her, at the hurt plainly written on her face.
“So you’re cozy with her now, then?” Lee gazed around the room, always ready to believe the worst in people.
Zeke swayed on his feet and Naomi caught him. “Sit down before you fall down.” She was bossy when backed into a corner, but in this case he allowed her to walk him to the bed to sit.
Gideon smacked Lee in the arm. “He’s still drunk, you idiot. Stop being such an ass.”
“Yeah, don’t be an ass,” Jake chimed in. His blue gaze found Zeke’s and he asked without speaking if everything was all right. They’d always shared the responsibility of watching each other’s backs and it would likely never change.
“Look, I’m fine. Still a bit drunk, feel like shit on a horse’s ass, but thanks to Naomi, I’m alive.” He rubbed his hands over his eyes. “I don’t know why the hell Lucy lied to you.”
Naomi snorted. “I do. She’s in love with you, you dolt.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “You can’t tell me you didn’t notice.”
Zeke shifted on the bed, uncomfortable with the topic and unwilling to feel guilty. “I told her I wasn’t interested in marrying her.”
“What did she say to that?” Gideon looked at him much too intently.
“She said something about she had always hoped something would happen.” He shrugged. “I ain’t never even kissed her, Gid. I don’t know how she got it in her head to snag me for her man.”
“Must be your charm.” Lee paced the small room like a caged panther.
“Shut up, Lee.” Zeke pressed his palms to his temples. “I told you to apologize to Naomi and I meant it.”
Lee stopped pacing and stared at his brother. “What for? She’s a whore.”
All thought flew out of his head as he jumped on his brother and started pounding the piss out of him. Gideon and Jake pulled him away, but not before he’d split Lee’s lip and given him a shiner to last at least a week.
Naomi stood in the corner, her hand over her mouth, watching them as if they were the crazy freaks at the circus. He wanted to reassure her the fighting was normal for them, but that might make her think they really were crazy.
Gideon pushed him onto the bed. “We came here to rescue you from yourself, but it seems we were too late.” He nodded at Naomi. “I thank you for your help, Miss Tucker, but we’ll take him home now.”
Jake pointed to the corner of Zeke’s lip. “Looks like Lee got a punch in after all.”
A twinge of pain radiated from the spot. “Dammit, I’ll likely have to explain that to the damn town council too.”
“You might want to wait until you’re sober,” Gideon suggested dryly.
Zeke knew his cousin was right. He was still swimming with whiskey in his veins, and the liquor wasn’t about to let go for a while. Naomi stood next to the bed, concern and love evident in her expression.
“Thank you, little one, for everything.”
“Take care of yourself, Sheriff.” She stepped towards the window without saying goodbye. Perhaps she was feeling the same tightness in his chest that he was. That would be something.
Jake, Gideon and Lee waited for him by the door. The sight of them standing in Naomi’s room told him they were still family, no matter what had happened between them. He wanted to say thank you but couldn’t. It wasn’t easy for him to say on the best of days, much less when he had been drinking.
Instead he nodded at them, a bad idea because his stomach rolled with the movement. Lee was beside him in seconds, his arm around Zeke’s waist followed by Jake on the other side. Gideon walked ahead, scouting for anyone who might see the sheriff in such a state.
“Hang on there, big brother. We’ll get you home.”
Zeke wanted to walk on his own, but he was obviously in no shape to do that just yet. His family was there to help and that’s all that mattered. For the first time in days, the pain inside him abated.
It took a bit longer than usual to walk to the restaurant, and by the time they arrived, Zeke was a bit lightheaded. Early Sunday morning and he was half-drunk in the street. Although they wanted to remain unseen, luck was not in their favor.
Gregory Conley strolled down the street, bible in hand and a frown on his normally chipper expression.
“Sheriff, are you hurt?” He headed towards them and Zeke couldn’t stop him before he got too close. The young minister wrinkled his nose and stopped dead in his tracks. “What is that smell?”
“Medicine,” Lee snapped. “We’re bringing him to his bed to get better.”
“Better from what? If I didn’t know better, I’d think it was whiskey I smelled.” Gregory took another loud whiff. “I did see him entering Aphrodite’s last evening.”
Zeke wanted to find a hole and drop himself in it. As if it wasn’t bad enough to be drunk and incoherent in front of Naomi, now the new preacher in town was witness to his stupidity. Just lovely.
“I told you it’s medicine. The sheriff needs to get to bed so get out of the way, Conley.” Lee didn’t cotton to treating men of the cloth like they were better than anyone else.
“Reverend Conley, we appreciate your concern, but we’ve got it under control.” Gideon was always the peacekeeper.
“I’m concerned about the well-being of every citizen of Tanger and that includes the sheriff.” Reverend Conley looked older than his probably twenty years. “I must insist on helping. He obviously needs spiritual guidance.”
Zeke wanted to dropkick the kid back to Kansas or wherever the hell he’d come from, but he could barely stand up straight.
“I don’t want any help. Just find someone else to save.”
They made it to the restaurant with Conley dogging their tail. He continued his diatribe about the sins of liquor until Lee practically slammed the door in his face. Gideon shook his head at his cousin.
“What? The idiot wouldn’t shut up.”
“I realize that, but it wouldn’t kill you to be polite to the town’s new minister,” Gideon admonished.
Lee snorted. “As if I ever wanted to be polite.”
“That’s the gospel truth.” Jake chuckled.
“You are a serious redheaded pain in the ass. Why don’t you go home to your Italian wife?” Lee glowered at Jake.
“Make me.”
They started up the stairs and Zeke’s stomach flipped upside down. He closed his mouth and swallowed back the bile that threatened.
“Hurry,” he managed to get out.
“Shut up, both of you, Zeke needs our help,” Gideon snapped. “Let’s get him upstairs.”
Zeke wanted to protest, really he did, but he couldn’t. Everything from the previous day and night hit him with the force of a sledgehammer. As soon as Jake and Lee took his arms, blackness threw a cloak over him and then he knew no more.
Chapter Eleven
The first formal Sunday service in a year in the town of Tanger began at ten on a beautiful morning. It was expected that the old Reverend Delmont’s followers would take time to warm up to the young reverend. However, the townspeople didn’t live up to that expectation. They came to the old church in droves.
The town council led the way, with Hettie Cranston in her faded but serviceable, cranberry-colored dress. On her arm was Byron Ackerman in a spiffy shiny suit with his hair slicked back with pomade. Edith walked with Martin. The big burly blacksmith couldn’t have looked more proud. Naomi was surprised to see Margaret walking with Matthew, but glad for it. They were both gentle souls and maybe they’d find happiness together. Even that new banker with the cane arrived in his Sunday best.
Naomi watched it all as if it were a parade. Many folks passed under the saloon as they made their way to the church. Perhaps they were all in need of praying or salvation or whatever it was they were searching for. She had given up on church after her father’s death.
It had taught her to stop asking God for help because he didn’t listen, any more than anyone else did. She had to rely on herself, not a deity she’d never seen nor heard from. During her incarceration in Tanger’s jail, she’d broken down and prayed, not that it had done any good. However, it reinforced her belief in self-reliance.
She couldn’t see the front of the church from her perch by the window, but she imagined Conley greeting each of them with his boyish smile. A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Louisa. Me, Joe and Carmen are going to go to church to see what the fuss is about.” Louisa poked her frizzy head through the open doorway. “Do you want to join us, or are you still entertaining your man?”
“I’m alone.” Naomi looked at her friend’s earnest expression and wanted to ask what she was excited about.
“We hear the preacher is going to do some good old-fashioned fire-and-brimstone type sermon.” Louisa came fully into the room wearing a light blue dress with frayed edges. The garment had obviously served the purpose of a Sunday dress in a previous lifetime.
“Why would you want to hear that?” Naomi couldn’t control her distaste. Men of the cloth who threw bolts of fire at ordinary folks just to make them quake in their shoes and throw up their hands in surrender weren’t worth the effort to listen to.
“’Cause he’s talking about the wages of sin, ’specially whiskey and women.” She waggled her eyebrows. “We thought we’d have a little fun and sit in the back.”
Not even remotely fun in Naomi’s opinion, but if they wanted to go, she wasn’t about to stop them.
“I reckoned I’d ask if you want to go with us.”
“No thanks.” Naomi smiled at Louisa. “Thanks for inviting me though.”
Louisa shrugged and waved. “We’ll see you later then.” As she walked through the door, she stopped. “I told her, but she don’t want to come.”
Carmen pushed past the sweet brunette. “Oiga, chica. They’re talking about your hombre today.” She looked deadly serious. “I hear they want him to stop being sheriff.”
The bottom dropped out of Naomi’s stomach at Carmen’s warning. “How do you know?”
Carmen raised one dark brow. Naomi knew then the Mexican woman told the absolute truth and it scared the hell out of her.
“I’m coming with you.”
* * * * *
Naomi didn’t know whether to run away or find a corner to get sick in. The dilapidated church was filled nearly to capacity. Every eye in the building turned to look at the contingent from Aphrodite’s. Lucy wasn’t with them, but nonetheless they were painted with the same brush. Another reason s
he didn’t like church, people were judgmental.
Joe looked dapper in a starched white shirt and brown trousers, while Carmen wore a blue peasant blouse and skirt. Naomi had chosen her only acceptable dress, the yellow one she’d met Zeke in. It seemed fitting that she’d come to a church to relive her own personal nightmare and protect the man she loved. Kind of a fitting way to exorcise her personal demons.
It had been cloudy the day the Yankees burned her father’s church down, the day they murdered his congregation. She had tried to forgive and forget, but God had taken everything she loved that day. Most folks would have prayed for help to get through such a trying time. Naomi simply grew a steel spine and moved on.
Gregory Conley stood at the pulpit, reading through his bible presumably. When he caught sight of them, he smiled in a way that made her skin crawl. The rest of the folks just nodded and turned around, satisfied the preacher had welcomed the tainted souls. Perhaps they hoped he’d save them. Naomi wanted to snort at the thought.
“Good morning, everyone,” he began. “I want to thank you all for making my first sermon such a success by coming to the church.”
More smiles all through the pews.
“Today’s sermon is a timely one. I happened to witness one of our finest members in the community suffering the sins of imbibing too much.” His smile vanished as the man started in on a subject that obviously bothered him. “The wages of sin aren’t worth the everlasting damnation you’ll suffer for enjoying them.” He pounded the wooden altar. “We cannot allow this to continue, and for that, my friends, I need your help.”
Matthew Marchison seemed to be the only one frowning at the minister. When he glanced at Naomi, she saw the same concern she felt. The shopkeeper had been kind to her and she hoped he wasn’t the only one who didn’t like the direction the sermon was headed.
Naomi’s throat went dry as sand when Gregory’s gaze met hers. In the depths of his eyes she saw not only passion for preaching, but fervor as well, reminiscent of her father when he thundered from the pulpit.
Devils on Horseback: Zeke, Book 3 Page 16