People dived out of the way as Mrs. Simmons' driving team came up on the sidewalk. She almost ran into a post on the sidewalk before the horses plunged back into the street.
Kid jumped on his horse and rode toward the out-of-control vehicle. He reached out with one hand and wrestled the reins from her. A sharp jerk brought the horses to a stop without injury.
He sighed with relief. When he'd taken the job, he didn't realize this would be part of the job description.
"Thank you, Sheriff. You naughty, naughty boys. Do you hear the trouble you've caused? You won't be getting any carrots or sugar lumps from me for a while."
"It's not the first time this has happened, Mrs. Simmons."
"No, siree, it's not," she said continuing to chastise the horses.
He rolled his eyes. It was hard to be mad at the woman; she was just that old and sweet, but she was putting people's lives and health at risk by her terrible driving. A woman who was half blind and didn't have the physical strength to rein in the horse should not be driving, and he'd told her that repeatedly.
"It's also against the law for your horses to be on the sidewalk. It comes with a five dollar fine or five to ten days in jail."
"If you have to take them, I understand."
"I don't think you do, ma'am. It's you I'm going to have to lock up like I told you the last time."
She looked stunned like a deer caught under the barrel of a gun.
"I really am sorry I have to do this," he said, getting down from his horse and offering her a hand to help her down from the wagon.
"You're arresting me?"
"Well, I'm not going to handcuff you. I'm just taking you to my office where you can pay your fine or-"
At this point, her eyes were watery. She couldn't pay the fine. Goodness, he hated this job, but he'd promised to uphold the law. "Five days is nothing. You get regular meals, and I'll ensure your privacy. You'll even be out in time for church this Sunday. I hope it'll encourage you to find someone who can drive you into town."
She have a little hiccup. "It's not your fault. You're just doing your job. I'll go along quietly." There was another little hiccup.
He took off his hat to run his fingers through his hair in frustration and followed after her.
He made sure the jail cell was as comfortable as a jail cell could be before he locked her in there. Then he went outside to take care of the horses.
Ruth came walking toward him. Any other time he'd be happy to see his wife, but this was lousy timing.
"Mercy needs some new dress material. That girl outgrows dresses faster than I can sew them. Some of the town kids invited them to join their game of whip."
"And you left them alone. Isaiah included?" He wasn't really concerned for their well-being or even about Isaiah's outbursts. He was just hoping to distract her.
"Mercy's thirteen. She can handle it. Sometimes she's better with Isaiah than I am. Is that Mrs. Simmons' wagon?"
"Uh, yeah," he answered as he started unharnessing the horses.
"Where's Mrs. Simmons?"
There was a heartbeat of hesitation. "Inside."
There was a loud, audible gasp. "You're going to put that sweet, old lady in jail?"
"Sweet old lady, my eye. You should have seen her. She tried to run over half the town."
She chewed her lip in thought before suggesting, "What if she just served her time at our house?"
Kid shook his head. It was hard being a sheriff when your wife had love and sympathy for your prisoners. But it's not like she was inviting a violent person into their home, and it would keep Mrs. Simmons off the street while she served her five days. "Fine with me, I guess. Have it your way." Secretly he was a little relieved by the idea.
She threw her arms around him and kissed him squarely on the lips.
He couldn't help the smile that crept through while he was kissing her. When she released him, he said teasingly, "I guess I should bring more criminals by the house to serve their sentence. Maybe I'll bring Oliver next time."
She laughed. "Don't you dare."