that didn't put it down. It howled something awful and lit out down the mine tunnel. I tried to run it down, but it gave me the slip on account of the darkness."
"My heart," Annabelle whispered. She gazed at him in disbelief for a moment, then a thought came to her. "You best not be pulling my leg, or so help me, I will end you right here."
He could see that she was impressed, and for the first time that night, a smile spread beneath his mustache. "On my word," he said, then tried out a new word, "darling."
"So you really faced down a monster?" She curled a long white leg around both of his and leaned in to him. "They should make you the marshal and run out that old drunkard Duggan."
Jack swallowed, uneasy. "You think so, do you?"
"Why, sure," she replied. "Ain't much of a feat to toss drunk miners in jail for a night, but running off a mankilling monster? That ain't nothing to sneeze at."
"I reckon so," Jack replied. His thoughts jumped back to that morning, when Mart Duggan had whipped over a hundred miners without firing a single shot. Jack himself had been scared spitless, sure that the mob would tear the entire station apart and him with it. He'd been making his peace with the Lord when the marshal marched past his desk and into the morning sun. In the space of a few minutes, Duggan had called every mother's son of them a coward and watched them slink away in shame. Jack Evans had never seen anything like it, and Annabelle's casual scorn for the marshal didn't sit right with him.
He could feel the heat from her body as she pressed into his side. Maybe she was right, though. Sure, Duggan could whip a crowd of miners, but he hadn't done much by way of whipping that thing in the forest. Now that Jack thought on it, the marshal had seemed downright scared that morning in the clearing, looking over his shoulder like the trees themselves were going to grow teeth and eat him. Jack had felt the same chill but stayed calm. He'd been the marshal's eyes that day, and if he hadn't kept a sharp eye, they could've both been eaten. That was almost the same as saving Mart Duggan's life, yet the marshal never said a word of thanks. If Jack was marshal, he'd be sure to give his deputies a hearty thank-you if they did something as thoughtful as saving his own life. He'd also make sure no man-killing creatures were welcome in his town, even if that meant chasing them up a mountain and into an old mine. If that crazy Cora Oglesby could do it, there wasn't any reason why he couldn't, either.
Jack's grin returned. He could make a fine marshal if given the chance. The first thing he'd do would be to take this beautiful woman as his bride and move her out of the brothel. He looked into her deep-blue eyes, eyes that reminded him of the sky, and she smiled back. Maybe she really could come to love him if he became marshal.
Jack pulled Annabelle closer. She came willingly, lowering her lips to his. The soft skin of her back felt warm on his cold hand. Her fingers combed through his hair, sending thrills skittering down his spine. Waves of goosebumps rolled over his skin, and he shivered.
A scream echoed from the street outside. Startled, the lovers turned toward the window. Annabelle pulled the bedsheets over her body as a second scream rattled the glass. Jack scrambled to his feet and ran into the other room. He fumbled with his pants, nearly falling over as he pulled them on. He threaded his arms through his shirt sleeves, grabbed the pistol from his belt, and ran to the window. All he could see was a steamy outline of his reflection. Several gunshots cracked in the darkness, followed by another scream.
The deputy pulled on his boots, gave Annabelle a quick nod, and ran downstairs. He crashed through the Purdy's front door into the night. The cold air hit him like a slap in the face. Blinded by the darkness, he could hear shouts and shots coming from somewhere on his left. A few heartbeats later, his vision cleared, and he could make out several figures down the street, outlined by the Pioneer's glowing windows. Imagining Annabelle's big blue eyes watching him from her window, he ran