Ashes and Memories Read Online Free PDF Page B

room. Emma fought against the bile that rose in her throat. The decomposing corpse of the dead outlaw lay on his back on a long mahogany table, while the short, gray-bearded judge probed the dead man’s ribs for evidence of an old gunshot wound.
    “It’s Joe Garrett all right,” the judge said dispassionately.
    Emma stood in a corner of the sheriff’s office, wishing fervently she hadn’t come. The room was so hot and crowded, she feared she might humiliate herself by fainting or retching any moment. Besides herself, the judge and Reece MacBride, the sheriff and three other men packed the small space. Beyond the open door, several curious passersby peered in from the street, though it was unlikely they could see and even less likely they could hear what was being said.
    Standing in a corner out of the way, Emma glanced from one man to the next. But her attention never strayed far from Reece MacBride, and she marveled at the way he seemed to dominate any room he occupied.
    There was no doubt who was in control of this situation. The power of his presence over-shadowed the authority of the judge and the sheriff. Impatience showed in his golden-brown eyes as he surveyed the proceedings with the grimness of a man who had seen too much death -- just like her father, she realized with a shiver.
    “Yep,” the judge said. “There it is.”
    Emma pulled out her pad and pencil and began making notes. She glanced up to find Reece MacBride studying her with a hint of amusement, and she lifted her chin, even as she felt herself flush under his perusal.
    The judge drew the sides of the dead man’s shirt together, then dug in his valise, withdrawing a handful of bank notes.
    “Mr. Hill,” he said, and the bounty hunter stepped forward in response. “Two hundred dollars.”
    Relief flowed through Emma. It would be over soon.
    Taking the money from the judge, the sheriff turned to the bounty hunter. “You’ll have to sign for this.”
    “What the hell is this?” the bounty hunter demanded.
    Even from across the room, Emma felt the bounty hunter’s rage as if it were a living, breathing being.
     “The poster I had said five hundred,” he insisted, glaring his anger at Reece instead of the judge.
    Tension filled the small space, pressing in around Emma, and she tried to retreat further into the corner. Did they realize how close the man was to violence?
    “That’s all there is,” the sheriff said. “Take it and get out.”
    “What the hell are you trying to pull, MacBride?” the bounty hunter asked, his face twisted with anger. “I heard you were a backstabbing son-of-a --”
    “Just take the money, Mr. Hill,” Reece said, his voice filled with disgust, “and get the hell out of my town.”
    “How much of a cut do you get?” he asked.
    Reece didn’t flinch. He moved closer to the man who’d challenged him, his features drawn in a taut line as he narrowed his eyes and spoke softly but succinctly, a barely suppressed violence smoldering just below his surface calm. “Are you insinuating that a circuit judge would intentionally cheat a citizen? And that I would be a party to such a thing?”
    Emma held her breath, her heart thundering as she waited for the bounty hunter’s reaction. For the second time in their brief acquaintance, she found herself fearing for Reece MacBride’s life.
    “You know what I’m saying,” Hill said. “I want the rest of my money.”
     In the blink of an eye, the bounty hunter made a move toward Reece. The other men in the room went for their guns. But before any of them could clear leather, Reece had his gun out and the barrel pressed against the bounty hunter’s heart.
    She’d never seen anything like it in her life. How could he have reacted so quickly?
    Without taking his eyes off the bounty hunter, Reece took the money from the sheriff and stuffed it into Hill’s vest pocket. “Mr. Stanton, please show Mr. Hill where to sign for his money.”
    Stanton pressed Hill’s