Lucinda by Paige Mallory Page A

and then Mac’s.  “Excuse me, Flo, while I speak to the Sheriff.”
    “Is Flo okay, Mrs. Z?” Gracie asked in a frightened tone.
    “She’s in pain; I hope Henry comes back soon.”
    “I wouldn’t be so anxious for that if I was you, little lady.  He’s going to scorch your backside proper,” Mac announced as he knelt beside Jasper.  “You can’t seem to keep yourself out of trouble for five minutes, now can you?”
    “I hardly asked for this trouble, Sheriff!”  Lucinda’s tone was frosty and she was insulted when he pushed his had back on his head and just looked up at her in disbelief.
    “You shouldn’t have let Jasper inside when he was drinkin’.”
    “I did not open the door for him; he kicked it open!” she answered tartly.  “I insist you do your job and haul him to jail.  He beat Flo.”
    “Yeah, Gracie said he did.  How bad is she hurt?” Mac wanted to know.
    “I’m not sure; I’m not a Doctor, and I’ve done all I can do until Henry gets back.”
    “Is Jasper going to wake up?” he demanded impatiently.
    “He’s drunk; I didn’t kill him, just gave him some bruises he’ll feel as long as Flo feels hers!” Lucinda turned up her chin and answered.  “He deserves to stay in jail for a long time, Mac.  Flo has cuts and bruises all over her body, and I think she has bruised, if not broken, ribs.”
    “You just let me do my job, little girl,” Mac scolded.
    “What the…  Lucy, are you all right?” Henry demanded as he walked inside and saw Jasper lying on the floor of the waiting room unconscious.
    “I’m fine, Henry, but Flo needs your help.  Jasper beat her and she’s in a lot of pain.  I didn’t know if I should give her some laudanum, or if I should wait until you examined her… so I waited.  I cleaned her cuts, and before you find out from anyone else, the Sergeant got out of bed to try and protect me from Jasper, which was totally unnecessary.  And, I did not let Jasper inside, either.  He kicked in the door and broke the lock!”  She said everything in one breath, speaking as quickly as possible.   “He didn’t hurt me,” she insisted and then added, “The Sergeant seems okay, but after you look at Flo, you should check on him, too.”  She paused to catch her breath.
    “Is he just drunk?” Henry hung onto his temper with difficulty, looking at Mac for answers.
    “No, your little wife clobbered him with that fancy fighting of hers.”  Mac didn’t even try to protect Lucy!  “I’ve been ordered to lock him up for a long time for beating Flo,” he added in exasperation.  “Lucy loves giving orders, doesn’t she?” he stated.
    “Lucy loves disobeying her husband,” Henry replied, looking at his wife as he knelt beside Jasper and checked to make sure he was only sleeping off a drunk and not seriously injured.  After a few minutes, he said, “I’ll help you get him over to the jail, Mac.”
    “I can manage.  You need to check on Flo and the soldier,” Mac stated forcefully, and then looked at Lucinda.  “Does that meet with your approval, young lady?”
    “Flo needs attention; she is in terrible pain,” Lucy said, not about to let the Sheriff know he was upsetting her.
    “Your wife needs her butt spanked hard, Doc, and I sure hope you tend to the matter soon,” Mac commented as he pulled the drunken man over his shoulder and left the office.  “Better get a new lock put on your door, too.”
    “Mrs. Zabarski, you are in big trouble,” Henry started scolding the minute they were alone.  “For two cents I would bare you here and now!”
    “What for?  I haven’t done anything wrong!” she argued.
    “You opened this door, didn’t you?” he demanded.
    “For Gracie and Flo, and Flo is hurt.  You need to see to her, Henry, and we can talk about this later.  Now just isn’t the time,” she pointed out.
    “You can be assured that we are going to talk about this, and you will be across my knee when we have that