“I don’t expect you to. You can put it under your pillow when you’re sleepin’.”
“That’s not funny.”
“Wasn’t meant to be.” He opened a box of bullets. “Let’s get it loaded so you can practice doin’ it yourself and then we’ll target shoot.”
There was no arguing with him. Nor had he given her a chance to sneak inside for a sip to dull the pain that would accompany all this movement.
After she’d shot and reloaded five or six times, she understood why Silas had picked this model for her. It fit her hand. Dropping it in her pocket didn’t weight it down any more than a large apple would. Because she had a better grip on the smaller gun, her accuracy was higher than with the Colt. Within an hour she could blow a pinecone off the top of the fencepost nearly every time.
Silas had seemed pleased.
And she’d understood his seriousness about her learning how to use it when he’d foregone pie in order to teach her.
Later that night, after they’d read from The Red Badge of Courage, and they lay cuddled together in the darkness, Silas spoke. “I didn’t break my promise to you today. I didn’t go off half-cocked until after Zeke threatened you.”
“What?”
“After I knocked him down, he promised he’d take you away from me. He wanted to prove how easy it’d be and how much he looked forward to seein’ me fall apart.”
She shivered and he tightened his hold on her. “Did you tell Jonas what he said?”
“Yeah. But it don’t matter. No one heard that exchange but me’n Zeke. Zeke made sure no one heard it.”
“Is Jonas going to tell the sheriff?”
“Says he plans to, but he warned me it won’t change anything. It’s my word against West’s. And if he got to the sheriff first…”
She tipped her head back to try and read his eyes, but the darkness was absolute. “Where did you and Jonas go today?”
“I showed him where I’m hidin’ my money. In case something happens to me.”
“Hiding your money,” she repeated. “You don’t keep your money in the bank?”
Silas snorted. “I don’t trust banks.”
“But you ‘trust’ your money is safer…buried?”
“Yep.”
How hadn’t she known this about him? “Handy that you have your own bank. What do you call it? The Stinky Old Boot Savings and Loan?”
“Not funny. Bankers are crooks. Plus, banks get robbed all the damn time. The money is safer with me. I just needed Jonas to see where I’d stashed it.”
“Why didn’t you show me where you keep it?”
“Because we agreed not to talk about money. At least not until we’re married. Remember?”
Was he really throwing that in her face now?
“Jonas needs to know where stuff is because he’ll take care of everything for me.”
“Am I one of those things, Silas?”
“Now, don’t go getting all het up about this. My brother has a better understanding of what needs done. And I did it because I don’t want you to worry.”
“About some ‘man’ stuff I can’t understand? Piss off, McKay.” Dinah tossed back the covers and limped out of the cabin into the cool night air.
Silas barreled out, right behind her, not giving a fig that the only thing he wore on his bared flesh was moonlight. And she was so mad she forced herself not to look at his manhood, since he’d chosen now as the first time he’d displayed it to her.
“Hey now. That ain’t fair.”
“You’re right. It’s not.” She propped her left hand on her left hip. “What else did you and Jonas talk about?” Then, as if the wind whispered it to her, she knew. “You asked him to take care of me if Zeke does the unthinkable to you. No, you asked him to marry me.”
“Dinah—”
“Tell me I’m wrong.”
He sighed. “You’re not.”
“Goddammit McKay, you can’t demand that of your brother! He has a life and his own love story to live. Not to mention I am not some…prized heifer to be passed on to the next big bull that comes along. I can take care of myself.”
“Jesus, woman. Settle down.”
She shrugged off his touch and stepped away.
He followed and tried to put his hands on her shoulders.
“Don’t touch me.”
“Sugar pie, you don’t mean that,” he said softly and attempted to circle his arms around her waist.
Dinah spun around and her new little derringer was in her hand, pointed at his chest. “I said back off, McKay.”
His hands went up. “Okay. Let’s just take a moment here. And please lower that loaded pistol, darlin’.” He paused. “Please.”