guns to start a war. If it wasn't Indians or rattlesnakes or raging steers, it was gallows bait like this one that tested a man's endurance. Tyler clicked the hammer back and started forward, only to hesitate at the sight of a second shadow approaching from the rear.
He didn't have to stretch his imagination to figure out who that slender silhouette was. It would be a repeat of this afternoon if he didn't snatch that skillet away from her. He really wasn't in the mood for tangling with a man that size again if he could avoid it.
"Evie, get your rear end back in that house before I paddle it. You, sir, better move away from those windows before she brings that skillet down over your bald pate, and I have to shoot you for getting between us." Tyler stepped from the shadows of the hotel into the alley, brandishing his gun.
The giant growled and swung around to stop the skillet he remembered altogether too well. He wasn't quick enough. It swung down and smashed the hand he reached with, and he howled.
Evie stepped in and removed his gun before stepping back out of his grasp again. She threw Tyler a look of unconcern as he approached. "I want to talk to the man, Tyler. Just hold that gun on him awhile longer."
"You've got a gun, now. Why don't you hold it on him?" Tyler asked derisively, irritation overcoming his usual even temper. She had a way of doing that to him that wasn't healthy for either of them.
Evie shot him a look that didn't bode well for later, but turned her attention back to her captor. "What's your name, sir?"
The giant gauged the distance between himself and a woman with a gun, and answered cautiously, "Logan."
"And what is your interest in a man named Peyton?"
That made the bullheaded man look up. "He owes me money."
Evie was dressed only in a nightgown and a robe that was little more than gauze, and her feet were bare. She held the gun steady. "Who is Peyton?"
The man glared at her. "You're the one with his name. Where is he?"
Tyler watched Evie's lips clench in a formidable frown and knew they weren't getting anywhere soon at this pace. He had seen Evie in a rage before. He returned the pistol hammer to its seat and let the click bring Logan's attention back to him. "Just tell the lady everything you know about Peyton and why you're looking for him."
Logan looked as if he were ready to bite someone's head off, but faced with two guns he had little choice other than to reply. "I haven't seen the man in over twenty years. He borrowed all I had and took off for California, promising to come back in a year, a wealthy man. Ain't seen him since. I trusted that scum, thought he was a gentleman. I've learned better since then. Now I don't loan nobody nothing, and I keep what's mine. That money is mine, and I want it."
"Was he from around here?" Evie asked.
Logan glared at her. "You ought to know." As she lifted the gun menacingly, he scowled. "Yes, he was from around here. I worked out at the Double H, and his folks owned a piece of land back east of here. His mother was a 'breed, and folks don't cotton much to them 'round here."
Evie prodded him further. "How old was he when you knew him? What did he do for a living?"
Tyler gave her an odd look but remained silent.
"How in hell should I know how old he was? Twenties, I reckon. He was old enough to get drunk at the saloon and start fights. He used to draw pictures of people in the bar and they'd pay him for them, but he drank and someone always said something about his mother, and then the fun would start. All I want is my money back, lady. If you don't know where he is, I'll be on my way."
"Have you checked to see if his parents are still alive? Did he have any other relatives?"
Logan looked annoyed. "I ain't exactly a fool. I tried to get my money back out of them the first time I came through here. The second time, they was dead. He had a kid sister, but she married and went away. You living here and having the last name and all, I figure you got to be his. Just tell me where to find