The Whippoorwill Trilogy - Sharon Sala Page 0,287

at him as if he’d lost his mind and pushed his hands away.

“Hell yes, he’s dead, Robert Lee. I oughta know. I put a hole right through the middle of his forehead before I set him on fire.”

The hair crawled on the back of Robert Lee’s neck. He hadn’t known this. In fact, now that he thought about, it, he’d been so worried about her safety that he hadn’t taken time to think about how George Mellin came to be burning. Just the fact that it wasn’t Letty who’d been on fire had been all he’d cared about. But this bit of information set his teeth on edge.

“You shot him,” he said.

She frowned at him.

“That’s what I said, didn’t I?”

“Did he shoot at you?”

“No. I took his rifle away while he was still asleep.”

Robert Lee took a couple of steps backward, and sat down on a stump before he made a fool of himself and fainted.

“You walked up on him in the dark? You took his rifle?”

“What would you have done? Waited until he woke up and then had a shoot-out? I’m sorry, but I didn’t have the luxury.”

“What do you mean?” Robert Lee asked.

“There’s only one shot in this rifle when it’s loaded.”

Robert Lee knew he was missing something, but he still didn’t know what.

“Well, yes, ma’am, I know that.”

Letty picked up another stick and threw it on the fire. Sparks rose toward the heavens like smoke up a chimney.

“So I didn’t want him shooting back at me if I missed. I don’t know how to reload.”

Robert Lee grunted as if he’d been kicked in the gut.

“You took off after a killer with one shot. You rode all day and most of the night, not knowing where the hell you were going, or who you were after?”

Letty nodded.

“What if you’d missed?” he asked.

A muscle jerked in her jaw as she licked her fire-burned lips.

“But, I didn’t.”

Then she turned away from him to stare into the fire.

Robert Lee put his hands on his knees and then took a slow, deep breath. He’d seen some things in his life, but this woman beat them all. When he thought he could stand without stumbling, he got up and walked into the woods.

Letty knew he was gone, but his whereabouts were of no concern to her. When he finally reappeared, he was carrying an armload of deadwood. He dropped it at her feet, and went back for more.

It wasn’t until daylight when Letty could finally see, that she let the fire go out.

She was sitting on the ground with her knees against her chest and her hands over her face. T-Bone was lying beside her. To Robert Lee’s knowledge, the dog hadn’t taken its eyes off of her since she sat down, and she hadn’t moved in over an hour. He wanted her to talk, but was scared of what might come out of her mouth.

The morning sun shone down on the harsh reality of last night. The fire was nothing but a pile of warm ashes. From where Robert Lee was sitting, he could see what appeared to be a charred skull and some bones. The scent of smoke had dissipated drastically, but Robert Lee knew he would never forget the scent of burning wood and flesh, or the flash of fire in a grieving woman’s eyes.

Across the creek, a doe slipped out of the trees, then lifted her head, tentatively sniffing the air. Finally, the need for water overcame her caution, and she moved down to the creek to drink. A small spotted fawn followed, taking short, tentative steps.

He watched until they’d drunk their fill and moved back into the woods. At that point, his belly growled. Except for the piece of jerky Letty had given him, he hadn’t eaten in more than thirty-six hours, but he’d gone far longer without food, and in far worse situations. An empty belly now and then was good for the soul.

Letty was numb. Her rage had burned out with George Mellin’s fire. She didn’t want to move. She didn’t want to ride all the way back to Denver City. She didn’t know why in God’s name George Mellin hadn’t killed her, too. It wasn’t fair that she’d been left behind.

Sensing her turmoil, T-Bone stood up and licked her ear.

She raised her head to shoo him away, and instead, found herself staring into the half-grown pup’s brown eyes. For the space of one heartbeat, she felt the pup’s distress as sharply as she felt her