Mark walked Ellie to her horse while Luke had a private word with Micah, staying with her until the marshal came out and took her back to town. He stood on the porch, watching them ride away until his father called, then went back inside to find Luke sitting at the table.

"More coffee, Pa?"

"No, son." The big man smiled. "Sit down. I want to talk to you."

The boy sat next to his father. "About how Miss Palmer could have a baby after her husband died? I guess I shouldn't have asked. I've seen animals in the spring."

"People aren't like animals, Mark. A bull can't do anything with a cow if she doesn't stand for him." Luke chose his next words carefully. "Sometimes a man, a bad man like Earl Bantry, wants a woman and she can't get away from him. Not all children are born of love."

Mark was still confused. "But Pa, if Earl Bantry did that, how could Miss Palmer love the baby? I always thought that you loved me more because of my mother."

"I think that's a question only another women could really answer." Luke smiled fondly at his son. "You look so much like your mother. Everyone who knew her says so. Having you is like keeping a part of your mother with me." He paused, then went on slowly. "I think Ellie Palmer doesn't care where her son came from. He's a part of her too, and she loves him no matter what. Remember 1 Corinthians 13?" His voice dropped. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

Mark said softly, "That's a lot to live up to, Pa."

"Yes, it is." Luke looked very seriously at his son. "Mark, I asked Micah to hold Miss Palmer until I'm better. I'm going to take her home and get her son back."

The boy was alarmed. "Pa, you heard what that man did to the marshal! And nobody in the town even stood up to him. You'll be riding straight into a...a…"

"I can't let her go, son. Not like that, all alone and her boy lost to her. I know how it feels to have the person you love the most taken away. And so do you."

Mark fell silent. Memories flitted across his mind, bandits and Indians who had kidnapped him, men who had beaten Luke and tried to lynch him, that terrible time when his father had been gone for two months and he had been so sure they would never see each other again. His eyes filled with tears. "All I know is every time there's trouble, you're the one who has to take care of it. And I'm the one who has to wait, not knowing if you're coming back."

"Mark!" Luke put out his arms and pulled his son close, holding him tightly. He could think of nothing to say.

The boy finally sat back, wiping his eyes. "I don't want you to go, Pa."

His father sighed. "All right."

"You mean it?" Mark's face brightened.

"I mean it." Luke shrugged. "There's lots of people who lose a child and they manage. Miss Palmer will grieve for a while but then she'll get on with her life."

Mark looked uncomfortable. "Would you get on with your life if something happened to me?"

"That's different. I love you more than anything in the whole world."

The boy snapped, "That's what Miss Palmer said about her boy!" He stood up and took a turn around the room, then sat next to his father again. "Doggone it, Pa, if that whole town is just gonna lay down and let that man take Miss Palmer's boy away from her…" He laid his head on Luke's shoulder. "You have to go, don't you?"

His father leaned his head against Mark's. "Not if you don't want me to. Not this time."

"I don't want you to." The boy closed his eyes. "But I'm mighty proud that you will."