Preacher's Justice by William W. Johnstone Page B

is it you said Carla works?”
    â€œLittle Man’s.”
    â€œYes. Let’s eat at Little Man’s,” Preacher said.
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    â€œPreacher!” Carla squealed in joy when Preacher and Ashley stepped into Little Man’s Café. She was carrying a pitcher of water and she put it down, hurrying over to give Preacher a big hug.
    Preacher returned her hug, and she hung onto him for a long time. After a moment, he felt a wetness on his cheek and realized that she was crying. He didn’t force her away from him, but let her hold him for as long as she wished. Finally, she drew away and, raising the end of her apron, dabbed at her tear-filled eyes.
    â€œYou know about Jennie?” she asked.
    Preacher nodded. “Mr. Ashley sent me a letter. I just visited her grave. That was really nice, Carla, what you had put on her tombstone.”
    â€œJennie was like a big sister to me,” Carla said. “I’ve never loved any person like I loved her. She loved me too.” She smiled through her tears. “But of course, she didn’t love me the way she loved you. She was really in love with you, Preacher, did you know that?”
    Preacher nodded. “Yes,” he said. “I knew it.”
    â€œIt wasn’t all one-sided, was it? You did love her too, didn’t you? I mean, I know you did.”
    â€œIt wasn’t one-sided,” Preacher said. “I did love her, perhaps even more than I thought I did. But nothing would have ever worked out between us.”
    â€œI guess not. Oh, if you visited her grave, then you saw Dog there. He won’t leave it, you know.”
    â€œHe won’t?” Ashley asked with a broad smile. He nodded toward the front door. “Who do you think that is?”
    Looking in the direction Ashley indicated, Carla saw Dog curled up on the front porch. She gasped and put her hand to her mouth. “Oh, my,” she said. “There he is, on the front porch.”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œBut I don’t understand. Ever since Jennie died, day or night, rain or shine, cold weather or hot, Dog has been right down there, lying on Jennie’s grave. He never leaves the cemetery, never. Yet there he is, right outside on the front porch.”
    â€œI released him,” Preacher said.
    â€œYou released him? What do you mean?”
    â€œI had charged Dog with looking out for Jennie. He thought he had failed.”
    â€œPreacher told him he did all he could do to protect Miss Jennie,” Ashley said.
    â€œBut I told him that,” Carla said. “We’ve all told him that.”
    â€œYes, but you weren’t the one who charged him with that responsibility,” Preacher said. “Only I did that, and in Dog’s mind, only I could release him from that charge.”
    â€œBless his heart,” Carla said. “Maybe he can find peace now.”
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    Lying out on the porch, Dog looked through the door at Bear Killer and the friend of Bear Killer’s woman. Dog had believed that Bear Killer would be angry with him because he had not done his job.
    He had tried as hard as he could, and even now, he could recall the warm rush of blood as he ripped open the neck of one of the two men who had attacked Jennie. Even as he was engaged with that one, the one Bear Killer’s woman called Caviness was attacking him with a knife, stabbing him repeatedly.
    When Dog felt the life drain from the one he had attacked, he turned on Caviness, despite the pain and the weakness he was feeling. He went for Caviness’s neck, but Caviness covered it with his arm, and turned his head to one side. Dog ripped off his ear, and heard Caviness scream in pain.
    Then Dog saw a flash of light and heard a loud noise. He felt a blow to his side, followed by a darkness. When he came to, he saw that Bear Killer’s woman was dead, lying in a pool of blood from a wound in her neck.
    Dog felt an intense shame for having failed