The Law and Miss Penny Read Online Free PDF Page B

Law had an evil look about him, a malevolence of eye and viciousness of tongue to be feared by both men and women alike. What would he do when he regained his memory? What manner of vengeance would he seek against the Pennys' for fooling him so blatantly?
    Suddenly questioning her plans to use this man, she worried not for herself but for her family.
    When she started to rise up from the railing, the marshal's hand suddenly shot up from his side, encircling her wrist. Then, before she could break free or even cry out, he jerked her back down onto the edge of the bed.
    His green eyes frantic with uncertainty, he said, "What do you think you're doing?"
    Mariah opened her mouth, but all she could manage at first was a tiny gasp of surprise. She'd been aggravated by this man since she'd first laid eyes on him, but now she knew a little fear—and it was mind-chilling. She gulped and then said, "Why Cain, honey, it's just me... Cousin Mariah. Now let go of my arm. You're hurting me."
    Although he continued to hold her, something rang familiar in her words. Cain. Yes, now he remembered. That was his name: Cain Law. Yes. And this was his... cousin ? "Did you say we're related?"
    Mariah offered a sweet, innocent grin along with a coquettish nod. "First cousins on my mama's side. Now be a good boy and turn me loose." Her confidence growing as his faded, she jerked out of his grasp. "I swear if you aren't acting like a madman, Cousin Cain. That wagon must have plum rolled over your fool head instead of up against it."
    He chuckled a little, but he wasn't really listening to her prattle. Cain was studying this woman who claimed to be his kin, trying to understand why she didn't look the least bit familiar to him. "First cousins, huh? Then you're Mariah Law?"
    "Mariah Penny. I told you, we're related on my mother's side. You belong to her brother, Thomas Law. Well," she said, amending the story with a dollop of truth. "That is, you belonged to him until he was killed at the battle of Vicksburg some twenty or so years ago."
    The War Between the States. Yes, he'd heard of that. He knew the battle had pitted Confederate soldier against Union soldier, brother against brother in some cases, but that was all he knew. He had no recollection of his father, or the name Thomas Law. Where had his mind gone?
    "I—I'm so confused," he said, closing his eyes. "I don't know who I am or what I'm saying. I hope you're not offended, but to tell the truth... I don't even remember you."
    Mariah smiled. "No offense taken. I'm here to help you in any way that I can. Just ask me anything, and if I know the answers, I'll fill in the blanks."
    Overwhelmed with gratitude and the first sense of hope he'd had since the accident, Cain reached out blindly and patted his cousin's knee. "Where are we?"
    "In New Mexico Territory. We'll be heading for the Colorado border as soon as the weather clears." She removed his hand from her knee, surprised by the burst of warmth it had generated there. "Maybe you ought to go back to sleep now and ask your questions later. You've had quite a blow to the head, you know."
    But Cain didn't want to sleep. At least, not until he could make a little better sense of his surroundings—of himself. If all this was true, and he really had no cause to doubt any of Mariah's claims, why couldn't he remember any of it? Why couldn't he remember her?
    Or... did he? Cain peered into her unusual eyes, knowing instantly that, yes, he had gazed into them before. They were beautiful, exotic eyes, but the name Mariah didn't sound the least bit familiar.
    He glanced around the inside of the wagon, his attention snagging on the rows of medicine bottles. These he recognized for what they were in an instant, and something about them disturbed him. But that was all they told him.
    His stomach rumbled, and Cain suddenly realized he had no idea how long it had been since he'd last eaten. What had he eaten, and why couldn't he remember even that much? Panic