Whirlwind Groom

The keen interest sharpening his blue gaze made her suddenly nervous and she blurted out, “What about your parents? Did the McDougals…?”

She fervently hoped not.

“No, they passed away without any help from those polecats.”

Josie nodded.

“The rest of my family is in Whirlwind. You met my brother yesterday. And my sister-in-law and niece.”

“Lorelai. What an angel,” she said with a soft smile.

“Yes. And Jericho plans to put down roots here with Catherine after their wedding.” Davis Lee walked through the short prairie grass and stopped several yards away. As he lifted, moved and stacked a few flat rocks, the tin cans in his burlap bag clanged. “What about your family? Who did you leave behind in Galveston?”

“No one. Have you always lived here?”

“Except for a couple of years I spent up in the Panhandle.” Curiosity darkened his eyes as he approached with the now-empty bag. “I was the sheriff in Rock River.”

Just because he blabbed on about his past didn’t mean she would. Her hair was pulled back with a ribbon and she brought a thick skein over her shoulder to twist around her finger. “Did you always want to be a sheriff?”

His eyes narrowed at her nervous gesture. “As far back as I can remember.”

“Your brother didn’t?”

He shrugged. “Riley would rather be with the horses. And, as our pa used to say, I’d rather be with the horses’ ass—back ends.”

She smiled, her gaze going to the six tin cans perched on mounds of rocks.

“My grandpa was Whirlwind’s first sheriff. I wanted to continue the tradition.”

“Have the sheriffs of Whirlwind always been Holts?”

“No. For a dozen or so years there was another man here, a good man. When he decided to move farther west, I applied for the job.”

Davis Lee had to have noticed her reluctance to talk about her family and the less-than-graceful way she changed the subject. He said nothing yet Josie felt uneasily as if she were being sized up.

Dropping the empty bag to the ground, Davis Lee slid a revolver from the small of his back. His own remained in the holster strapped low on his hips. Keeping the barrel pointed at the ground, he handed her the gun. “This Colt may be a little heavy for you. It’s a .45 caliber. What do you think?”

She awkwardly balanced the weapon on her hand, surprised at its weight. “I guess I’ll get used to it.”

“If you decide to buy one, I can help you. Smith & Wesson makes a .32 caliber that might fit your hand better. They call it a pocket revolver.”

She nodded, clasping the butt in both hands and raising it to eye level.

Davis Lee reached out and gently pushed the barrel down so that it was directed at the ground. “Don’t point that thing unless you’re ready to use it. That’s rule number one.”

“All right.” She was going to learn to shoot really well. Ian McDougal would never have her at a disadvantage again.

Davis Lee moved up beside her, his shoulder barely brushing hers. “Stand with your feet a comfortable distance apart and aim at one of those cans.”

“Don’t I need to learn how to load it?”

“I want you to get the feel of it first. I don’t fancy losing a toe or something more vital if you squeeze that trigger before either one of us is ready.”

She glanced at him, noting that the level at which she held the weapon was about the same as his private parts. The realization had heat burning her cheeks. For Davis Lee to lose any part of his lean muscled anatomy would be a real shame. He was one handsome man.

Josie forced her attention back to what he was saying.

“Just practice aiming for a bit.”

She lifted the gun, her gaze following the line of the barrel.

He tapped the small piece of raised metal at the barrel’s tip. “You can use the sight if you want, but that one is a little off. I learned how to shoot by aiming the gun as if it were my finger. You try it.”

She did. “That feels more natural than trying to line up the sight. Can you shoot faster using this method, too?”

He flicked his gaze over her. “How fast do you need to shoot?”

“Just asking.” If she were forced to shoot McDougal rather than cut him, she meant to fire as many times as necessary.

The thought of cold-bloodedly killing the outlaw just as he had killed her parents and William bothered her, but she refused to be swayed.

“I’ll show you how to load it now.” Davis Lee reached over and put his hand on top of hers.

She stiffened, her hand twitching beneath his. Her gaze flew to his face and she saw that his attention wasn’t on the gun, but on her breasts.

“Pardon me, Sheriff,” she said archly.

“Davis Lee.” A wicked grin spread slowly across his face as he held up his hands in mock surrender, his gaze dipping again to her chest. “You’re not gonna pull that blade on me, are you?”

“Are you going to give me a reason?” Her heartbeat kicked wildly against her ribs and she found she couldn’t look away from the heat of his blue gaze.

“I plan to tell you what I’m doing every step of the way. Don’t want to spook you and end up begging for mercy.”

She didn’t want to find his grin so charming. Or him either for that matter. She turned her attention back to the weapon. “Bullets?”

“Yessirree.” He slid six from his gun belt and dropped them into her waiting hand.

Again he covered her hand with his, this time pushing against a rounded part of the gun right above the trigger. A cylinder popped out, revealing six empty slots.

“Those chambers are for your bullets.” He plucked one from her hand and slid it in, indicating she should finish.

After she did, he clicked the cylinder back into place. “All right, you’re ready. Be smart. Until you’re going to use it, keep the gun pointed toward the ground or away from people. Now go ahead and see if you can hit one of those cans.”

Knowing that she stood in the same place where the McDougal gang had killed yet another person affected Josie’s concentration, but she tried to focus on the targets in front of her.

“When you’re ready, squeeze the trigger steadily.”

She did and the gun kicked, causing her to flinch. The bullet flew off into who-knew-where. “Oh, fiddle.”