THE OUTLAW GROOM
By: Pat Pritchard

ISBN: 0-8217-7791-2
Pub Date : Jan-05
Publisher: Kensington Books
Imprint : Zebra
Format : Paperback

Seems like every female in Lee's Mill, Missouri, is married or about to be--but Cora Lawford doesn't even have a beau. Not for long . . . the young schoolteacher's pretty face and figure--and her independent spirit--are much admired by Luke Gibson, a new man in town who has all the women whispering. Luke is dogged by rumors, and it's said that he went to prison for a crime he won't explain. His troubled past--and a good-for-nothing brother--are about to catch up with him. But Cora is certain Luke is innocent.

No matter what the gossips say, they belong together, come hell or high water . . . and her heart will be his forever...

CHAPTER ONE

Luke's world had narrowed down to one small room with no windows and a single door. His companions were nothing to brag about, but the sound of them scuttling along in the corners and crevices kept him from feeling completely alone.

Sitting with his back against the wall, he pulled a threadbare blanket up around his shoulders to ward off the cold and the ever-present stench of men living in fear and despair. His feet itched to be pacing the short distance from one wall to the other and back again, but tonight he refused to give those outside the satisfaction. That didn't mean he could sleep or that the minutes weren't passing slowly enough to drive him mad.

Over and over, he reminded himself that eventually morning would come. The warden might control every aspect of his prisoners' lives, but not even he could hold back the dawn. Luke glared at the door knowing in an hour or two at the most, someone would walk through it to freedom. It had happened before, but this time it was supposed to be his turn.

If there was a god in heaven . . .

If they weren't lying to him . . .

Damn it to hell, would the minutes never end?

He swiped at his face with the back of his hand, the need for sleep and maybe a few tears burning in his eyes. For the hundredth time since the lights went out, he let his plans for the next few days play out in his mind, each time adding more details. With the few dollars they'd give him on the way out, he'd get a room at a cheap hotel and then pay whatever it cost to take a bath hot enough to scald the smell of prison and despair off his skin.

If there was enough money left, he'd buy a hot meal, a good cigar, some cheap whiskey, and maybe find a pretty woman to look at. He didn't know what such things cost anymore, but he was sure that he didn't have enough money to buy a night's pleasure in a whore's arms. But he could look for free, so that would have to be enough.

His brother Jack had promised to meet up with him in the next day or so. The two of them would briefly celebrate their reunion and Luke's freedom before riding away from Kansas, never to look back. They'd head directly for Missouri and the small farm that had been home to them both. Clinching his fists, he swore once he was back in the Ozarks, he'd never leave again.

The shriek of rusty metal door hinges cut through the silence. Luke cocked his head, listening for the telltale sound of rattling keys and the shuffle of a guard's approaching footsteps. At first the sounds were so faint that he thought his feverish mind had imagined them. But no, someone—make that several someones were coming his way. He sat up straighter, throwing the blanket to the side.

He couldn't help how he looked or how he smelled, but damned if he would let them see how scared he was that this was all a dream and tomorrow he'd wake up back in his cell again. The footsteps stopped right outside his cell door. "Well, Johnny Reb, seems like this is your lucky day."

The sound of the key turning in the lock was the sweetest thing Luke had ever heard. He waited for the door to swing open before standing up. He hated the weakness that had him reaching for the bars in the cell wall for support, but he'd make it out on his own two feet or die trying. To his surprise, as soon as he staggered through the door, new energy flowed through his veins.

It hadn't been a dream after all. For the first time in almost five years, he was going to smell fresh air and walk free in the sunshine.

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"...Pritchard returns to the town of Lee's Mill, Missouri, the setting for two of her previous post-Civil War western historicals, and her beautifully spare writing nicely compliments this richly poignant tale of love and redemption."
- John Charles, Copyright © American Library Association.

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