Promises Reveal (35 page)

“Good job, Betsy.”

Betsy snorted and picked up her pace. That could only mean one thing: a barn ahead. Betsy was notoriously lazy except when in pursuit of grain. At the top of the next rise, she whinnied a greeting. Evie couldn’t blame her. The Rocking C was quite a spread with two barns, four corals, and what looked like two bunkhouses. To her, it screamed success. To Betsy it had to scream comfort.

Nestled at the foot of the mountains, the ranch bustled with activity, even at this early hour. In her heart of hearts, Evie had always wondered what could have driven Elizabeth to propose to the hard-eyed Asa two years ago. A ruthless gunslinger, whom she knew only by his reputation. A stranger to her. She now had her answer. The Rocking C wasn’t just a home. This was a dream, a future in the making. The kind of thing a woman fought for the same way Evie had fought for her freedom. Elizabeth’s path had been clearer to her goal, while Evie’s had taken an unexpected turn, but both goals were good. Clucking her tongue, she sent the eager Betsy down the hill. She just hadn’t achieved hers yet.

As soon as she got to the edge of the ranch buildings, Old Sam limped out of the barn and waved, his smile, beneath the low brim of his hat, putting more creases in his face than were in his faded blue-checked shirt.

“Morning, Evie. Asa says you’re to go on up to the back door. Breakfast will be waiting.”

She set the brake. “Asa told you . . . ?”

Sam came up alongside and offered her his hand. “Said you’d be along in a bit.”

Asa had known she was following. Taking Sam’s gnarled hand, she stepped down. “Thank you.”

“You go on up now.” Sam moved up toward the mare’s head, patting her softly as he did. “I’ll take care of this sweet girl.”

“Her name’s Betsy,” she called after him.

Taking a breath, inhaling the scents of horses, hay, summer, and hope, she headed toward the house. Since the MacIntyres were expecting her, she opted for the kitchen door. At her knock, Asa called, “Come in.”

Elizabeth smiled over her shoulder from where she stood at the stove as Evie entered. “Breakfast will be ready in a minute.”

From the wonderful aroma, they were having bacon and eggs. “Thank you.”

Evie glared at Asa, who held Tempest in his lap. The little girl was alternately standing and sitting, chortling every time she stood, grunting every time she sat. Asa was laughing with her, obviously enthralled by his daughter’s enthusiasm for the simple game.

“If you knew I was following you, why didn’t you stop?”

Asa didn’t spare her a glance. “You seemed to be having so much fun with your sneaking, it didn’t seem worth spoiling your game.”

“I almost got lost.”

That did have him looking at her. “Almost doesn’t count for much.”

“It scared me.”

“Good.”

“Asa,” Elizabeth sighed, taking Tempest from him. Tempest fussed but then shoved her fist in her mouth and started chomping. “You didn’t stop?”

He shrugged, making a face at his daughter that had her staring. With her blonde hair wisping all over her head, she looked like a startled elf. “The woman’s so bound and determined to be foolish, I figured she needed the excitement.”

Evie wanted to smack him. “I just wanted privacy to talk to you.”

“What about?” Elizabeth asked, settling Tempest in her high chair before heading back to the stove.

Evie took the gun out of her pocket and placed it on the table before Asa. Giving it a little shove, she said, “I want your husband to teach me to shoot.”

“He can certainly do that.”

Asa wasn’t so accommodating. He stared at her with those too discerning eyes, only the barest shift in his smile indicating the change in his mood. “Brad that irritating?”

She blinked, gathered her thoughts, and found her sense of humor. “My last nerve is feeling the strain.”

“I’ve always found the Reverend to be very easygoing.”

Asa glanced over at his wife. “The eggs are burning, Elizabeth.”

Her hands came down on her hips. “If you don’t want my input, just say so.”

“I want your opinion, but considering my stomach is gnawing on my backbone, I’m interested in breakfast.”

“Well, shoot.” She turned back to the stove. “Then talk louder, so I don’t miss out.”

Reaching for his coffee, he winked. “Remember to speak up.”

A little of Evie’s tension slipped. It was getting easier and easier to see why Elizabeth adored the man. He might have lived a hard life, and killed more than his share of outlaws, but he had an easy way about him with the people he liked, and he clearly adored his family. “I’ll do my best.”

“Now . . .” He took a sip of his coffee. “Any particular reason you chose me?”

“You’re the best there is with a gun.”

“That’s flattering.”

“It was meant to be practical.”

Asa glanced toward Elizabeth, his smile soft. “Well, now. I’m right fond of practical.”

The frying pan clattered as Elizabeth moved it aside, a small grin on her lips.

“What does Brad say?”

“He’s too busy keeping secrets to be sensible. Besides, he can’t get out of bed, let alone teach me to shoot.”

“It’s not my nature to step between a husband and wife.”

Elizabeth snorted as she set plates of food before Asa and Evie, keeping a third for herself. “Since when?”

That hint of a smile grew as he drew the gun toward him. “Since about the time you taught me how much trouble women can get into.”

Elizabeth shook her head and spooned a bit of egg into Tempest’s mouth. “We’re not the ones who cause the trouble, are we, Evie?”

“In my experience, it’s always the male of the species with the propensity to complicate things.”

Asa picked up the gun. “On that, I’m going to disagree. As the preacher says, ‘Women are the root of all evil.’ ”

“Brad doesn’t say that!”

Sighting down the barrel, Asa smiled. “I don’t recall saying he did.” Sunlight flashed off the revolver as he bounced it in his grip. “This isn’t one of Brad’s.”

How did he know that? “Cougar gave it to me.”

“Hmm.” He put it back on the table. Motioning with his fork, he ordered, “Eat.”

Forcing down her impatience, she took a bite of the eggs. They were light and fluffy and seasoned with a sweet spice. Nothing like the disaster she’d created for Brad. “These are very good, Elizabeth.”

“Thank you, but they’re just scrambled eggs.”

“You wouldn’t say ‘just’ if you’d tasted the ones I made. I think even Dan’s pigs turned up their noses.”

Tempest, gumming the tiny nibble of egg Elizabeth had given her, reached for the plate. Elizabeth pulled it out of her reach. “Greedy girl. Finish what’s in your mouth first.”

Tempest grinned from ear to ear, showing everyone her pink gums, the egg in her mouth, and the natural charm that was hers. A charm for which Asa had obviously fallen, because he smiled right back, his whole expression softening to the point that it was hard to remember she had come here for lessons because he was the most notorious gunslinger in the state.

“She’s not greedy, darling, she just knows what she wants and goes after it. Like you.”

A fact of which her father clearly approved. Elizabeth pulled the plate farther out of reach when Tempest half climbed on the table, her brow creased with determination. “You won’t be saying that when she sets her sights on her first beau.”

“She can set her sights all she wants,” Asa drawled. “No overeager boy is getting near my daughter.”

Brows arched, Elizabeth exchanged a look with Evie and returned Tempest to her seat. “The same way no woman was getting near you?”

Still smiling, Asa trailed his fingertips down Elizabeth’s arm, lingering at the pulse on the inside of her wrist before curling around and tucking her hand into his. “No woman did. Only my wife.”

The look the couple shared burned jealousy deep into Evie’s heart. She wanted Brad to look at her like that. Most of all, she wanted to be comfortable enough with him to give him the same in return.

Asa picked up his coffee cup and turned his attention back to her. With a lift of his cup he indicated the gun. “So how’d you and your friend get out of the house?”

“Cougar and Clint are keeping Brad distracted.”

“Meaning you slipped out.”

“Pretty much.”

He leaned back in his chair. “So you’re here on borrowed time?”

She nodded. “Which is why I don’t have time to chat.”

Scooping up more of the egg, Elizabeth fed it to Tempest. “I’ll send one of the boys into town with word of where you are, that way you can take all the time you need.”

“I haven’t said I’ll do it, Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth stood. “Of course you will. There’s no reasonable benefit to anyone for Evie to remain helpless.”

“I’m not exactly helpless.”

No one paid her any attention.

“Brad won’t thank me for her jumping into a gunfight.”

“She’s not going to jump into anything, are you?” Elizabeth didn’t even wait for Evie to finish her “no.” “She just doesn’t want to be a sitting duck.”

“She might be better off as a protected one.”

Evie’s “No, I won’t” coincided with Elizabeth’s “You know better than that.”

Asa sighed and sat forward. “I’ll think on it over breakfast.”

Impatience bit at Evie’s control. Elizabeth shook her head when she opened her mouth. Grabbing the coffeepot by its towel-wrapped handle, she topped off Evie’s cup murmuring, “He’ll teach you to shoot.”

“How do you know?”

“Because he let you follow him out here. Asa never does anything without a purpose.”

Asa looked up, catching Evie’s gaze, laughter in the depths of his. “There was a time when people feared me.”

Remembering her initial reaction to the assessment when he’d turned his attention on her, she shook her head. “They still do.”

The laughter in Asa’s gaze spread to his lips. “Good to know. When do you want to get started?”

She grabbed the bacon off her plate. She could eat it on the run. “Now would be good.”

“Then now it is.” His chair scraped across the wood floor. “I’ve got a little place set up where I’m teaching Gray.”

 
THE LITTLE PLACE was about a half mile from the house, back in the woods. A series of stumps and rocks poked up in front of a grass-covered hill. Broken glass and cans littered the area around the stumps and rocks. Asa grabbed a few bottles and put them on the nearest stump. Then he walked back twenty feet waving her closer. “Come on up.”

“Shouldn’t I shoot from here? That’s too close to be challenging.”

He pushed his hat back. “Once you start hitting them from here, we’ll back it up.”

Though it seemed a waste of time to walk up there, take one shot, and then walk back, she could tell from the set of Asa’s jaw that he wasn’t budging from his plan.

“There’s no way I can miss from here.”

He took the gun from her. “It’s always a mystery how that happens.” He checked the chambers and shook his head. “You came all this way with the gun in your pocket like this?”

“It won’t do me any good empty.”

“It’s not much good to you if it puts a hole in you accidentally either.” Handing her the gun, he advised, “Always leave the first chamber empty. That way if the gun misfires you’re still in one piece.”

She swallowed, taking it gingerly. “They misfire?”

“All the time.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Now, you do.” He adjusted her grip on the handle. “Now, this here’s a nice little gun. A little big for a lady but it rarely misfires, loads easily, and doesn’t have much of a kick.” He looked at her. “The thing about revolvers is, they’re not real accurate far away. You don’t want to be taking potshots at people from over the ridge. The bullet’s going to just fly off aimlessly somewhere in between, and you’ll have given away your position. Not good.”

She nodded. “Got it. Distance isn’t good.”

“Neither is giving away your position.”

She nodded again because he seemed to expect it.

“Now let’s go over some safety rules.”

He went over them twice, making her repeat them before he was satisfied, then loaded and unloaded the gun properly. She thought she’d scream when he emptied the bullets out of the gun one last time.

“I understand the rules.”

That earned her another shake of his head. “You’re as bad as Gray, always wanting to cut to the chase with little regard to how you’re going to get there.”

“I just don’t have much time.”

“Elizabeth sent word.”

“Brad won’t care.”

“Doesn’t like you out of his sight, huh?”

“No.” And she didn’t him like being out of hers. Though she knew he was fine, that Jackson was watching the house, and Cougar and Clint were keeping him busy, she worried he’d insist on following her, reopen his wound, and generally undo all her hard work. “And if he gets too impatient, he could decide to fetch me back and undo all my hard work.”

“And then you’ll have to shoot him?”

There couldn’t be a woman alive who was immune to Asa’s smile when he turned on the charm. Even married, she felt its impact. “Probably.” She took back the gun. “He’s a lousy patient.”

“All right then, show me how you load it and we’ll get started.”

She did.

“Remember to leave the first chamber empty.”

“Even now?”

“Good habits can be learned just as well as bad.”

“Good to know.”

“There are a lot of things that are good to know.”

She put the last bullet in the chamber. “Including the truth about my husband?”

It was a shot in the dark. Not by a flicker of an eyelash did Asa let on that it had hit its mark.

“The Rev’s a good man. What do you need to know beyond that?”