The Anonymous Bride Read Free Page A

directions. “Don’t you recognize me, cuz?”
     
    He scowled at Luke for a second; then his brows dashed upward. “Luke? Is it really you?”
     
    Luke nodded, and Garrett let out a war whoop that brought Mark running out from the back room, holding his rifle. Though a good two inches shorter than Luke, Garrett grabbed him in a bear hug and lifted him clear off his feet. Mark obviously didn’t know whether to shoot or join the ruckus.
     
    “Welcome home, cuz.” Garrett dropped him and slapped him on the back. “How come you’re all wet?”
     
    Mark’s eyes widened. He laid the rifle on Garrett’s desk and hurried forward, his hand outstretched. “Welcome home, Luke. It’s great to see you again.”
     
    They shook hands. Luke’s face hurt from grinning more than it had in a decade. Mark, too, gave him a slap on the shoulder but jumped back when he realized the state of Luke’s clothing. Both brothers leaned on Garrett’s desk, arms crossed. They had the same color hair—although Mark’s was curlier than his older brother’s—and the same robin’s egg blue eyes, but that’s where the similarities ended. Garrett had the chiseled jaw of his father, where Mark’s features were more finely etched with the look of his mother’s side of the family. Two tall, muscular men stared at him instead of the lean youths Luke had left behind.
     
    Garrett glanced out the window and back to Luke. “It hasn’t rained all week, so...” He waved his hand at Luke’s clothing.
     
    “Had a run-in with some of the local kids down by the swimming hole. Two adolescent boys and a girl about eight or nine.” Luke chuckled, remembering what a handful Rachel’s daughter was. “Spunky little thing.”
     
    The brothers exchanged a look. Luke figured it had to do with the girl being Rachel’s daughter. Had one of the boys been hers, too? Mentally calculating the years, he decided they were too old. He leaned against the doorjamb, arms crossed. “I can’t tell you how good it is to see you again.”
     
    “Are you home for good? Done with your wanderings?” Garrett always did get right to the point.
     
    Luke shrugged. “I’m here for a while. I’m the new town marshal.”
     
    The brothers blinked in unison, their mouths dropping open. Luke smiled at taking them by surprise again. Twice in one day had to be a record.
     
    “Well, that’s good news.” Garrett rubbed the back of his neck. “We haven’t had a marshal since November, when the last one died of a heart condition.”
     
    “How’d you wrangle that job?” Mark asked.
     
    “When I decided to leave the cavalry, I telegraphed the mayor to see if he knew of any jobs in the area, and he told me about needing a marshal and offered me the position. He figured my years in the cavalry qualified me.”
     
    “Yeah, things have gotten rowdy down at the saloon. I hope you can settle them down so us decent folks can get some sleep.”
     
    Luke bit back another smile and shook his head. “Since when are you two hooligans considered decent folk?”
     
    Garrett stood. “Look around, cuz. We’re upstanding businessmen now. We have to protect our reputation.”
     
    The brothers shared another look. One of Mark’s brows darted upward.
     
    Luke shook his head and chuckled. He couldn’t help wondering how many days had passed since one of them had pulled a prank on the other or on some unsuspecting citizen of Lookout. “I’m starving. How about you two”—he lifted his hand to his mouth and faked a cough—“ upstanding citizens join me for dinner?”
     
    “You buyin’?” Mark asked.
     
    “Sure, why not? I’ve got eleven years of cavalry pay burning a hole in my pocket.”
     
    Both men’s gazes dropped down to Luke’s trousers. He laughed out loud. “You’re so predictable. C’mon, let’s go grab some grub.”
     
    They crossed the street, shoulder to shoulder, like a trio of gunslingers looking for trouble. Luke’s gaze swung toward