Abby took her first look at the shooter. It was Collier. At his feet lay the mother dog that the boys had played with earlier.
Collier’s crystal-blue eyes possessed a wild, dangerous look that made her skin itch. She remembered his sweaty hands on her body and how he had pulled her against him so that she could feel his arousal. She shuddered.
Holden, who’d been at the livery, ran toward the crowd, his hand on his gun. He pushed through the people to stand beside Mr. Barrington. All traces of the friendly man she’d known had vanished. He looked almost as savage as Mr. Barrington.
She glanced up at Mr. Barrington, but he wasn’t looking at her or the boys. His gaze was trained on Collier.
“Best you leave,” Mr. Barrington ordered.
“Miss Smyth owes me another dance.”
“She’s not dancing with you,” Mr. Barrington growled.
Laughter cackled in Collier’s throat as he stared at Mr. Barrington. “What claim do you have to her? None. But I’m willing to marry her here and now.” To emphasize his point he fired into the air twice.
Mr. Barrington and Holden drew their guns so quickly Abby only saw the flash of sunlight glint off their barrels. Mr. Barrington fired. The bullet struck Collier’s gun, knocking it from his hand.
A woman screamed. The crowd scooted back.
Abby flinched.
Collier’s gaze darted between the two men. He inspected his shooting hand before he flexed his fingers slowly.
“Ain’t I entitled to have a good time like the next guy?” Collier said. He snatched up a cookie from the table and took a bite out of it. Crumbs peppered the thick black stubble on his chin.
“Leave,” Mr. Barrington said in an icy tone.
Abby sensed if there weren’t women and children around, Mr. Barrington would have shot Collier.
Collier tossed the cookie on the ground. Instead of leaving, he leveled his gaze on Abby. “She owes me a dance.”
Abby could feel her knees shaking even as she squared her shoulders. “I’ll never dance with you, Mr. Collier.”
Mr. Barrington stiffened, a sure sign he didn’t want her speaking.
“Ain’t I good enough for you, Miss High and Mighty?”
Abby opened her mouth to tell him just what she thought of him, but Mr. Barrington shot her a look that told her to be quiet.
Chuckling, Collier dropped his gaze to the boys. “Is those your boys, Barrington? They sure are growing like weeds.”
“Leave,” Barrington growled.
Abby tugged the boys behind her skirts. “They are my boys and I’d thank you to look away from them. You’re scaring them.”
Quinn peeked around Abby’s skirts. Collier scrunched up his face. He shouted, “Boo!”
The boy squeaked and buried his face in Abby’s skirt.
Mr. Barrington cocked his gun. “Five more seconds and you die, Collier.”
Collier held up his hands as if surrendering. “I was just making conversation.” Carefully, he backed away and moved toward his horse, a black gelding with whip marks on his haunch. Collier swung his body up into the saddle. “They is your boys, isn’t they Barrington. They got their ma’s blue eyes. Elise was her name, wasn’t it? My, but she was a pretty little thing.” He let his gaze roam the length of Abby’s body. “She ain’t as pretty, but I wouldn’t toss her out of my bed if she climbed into it.”
Mr. Barrington fired his gun through the center of Collier’s hat. The hat fell off his head. A murmur of excitement rippled through the crowd.
Collier seemed unfazed. “You always was a good shot. But I’m better.” He glanced down at his hat, poking his finger in the hole. “Maybe next time we’ll get a chance to figure out who’s best.”
Mr. Barrington cocked his gun and this time aimed it at Collier’s head.
Collier jabbed his spurs into his mount’s side and rode off, kicking up dust on the food table as he left.
Only after Collier had cleared the end of town did the others begin to talk. Nervous laughter rippled over the crowd, but Mr. Barrington remained rigid. There was a feral edge about him that was both frightening and alluring. The beast barely reined in for society.
Mr. Barrington didn’t relax his stance until Collier was out of sight.
Abby felt a ripple of excitement as she stared at Mr. Barrington’s back. She’d never seen anyone so brave. Just the sight of him excited her beyond reason.
She let out a sigh. He didn’t love her, likely never would. But she’d never wanted a man more than she wanted him.
Rage pumped through Matthias’s veins as the crowd of townspeople smacked him on the back and thanked him. He’d worked hard these last six years to restrain the savage side of himself, but today it had nearly wrestled free of its chains.
When Collier had looked at Abby, he’d wanted to murder the bastard. And he’d have done just that if there’d not been so many children around to witness the violence.
Now that Collier had left, the homesteaders and townspeople started to talk. Their nervous chatter buzzed around his head. Several congratulated him but he was in no mood for niceties. Everyone quickly got the hint and started to back away from him.
Which suited him just fine.
Abby moved toward him with Tommy on her hip, Quinn holding her hand. Tommy had his head on her shoulder and was sucking his thumb. He noted how comfortably the boy fit on her very sumptuous hips. Her full lips were curved into a frown.
Need coursed in his veins and if he had his way he’d have dragged her to the first bed he could find and have her. They’d not see daylight for days.
What the hell was wrong with him? He was acting like an animal.
Matthias shoved a shaky hand through his hair. Life had taught him patience, and he desperately clung to each and every lesson he’d learned the hard way.
“I thought I told you to stay back. Stay out of sight.” A portion of his pent-up rage tumbled out with the words.
Abby didn’t flinch. “That man made me so angry I couldn’t stay quiet.”
His hand still on his gun, he fingered the smooth wood of the handle. “A woman out here needs to be careful. The polite rules of society don’t apply here. His kind would think nothing of dragging you behind a building and—” He stopped when she cupped her hand over Tommy’s ear. “You need to understand the dangers.”
“I’ve an idea.”
“You’ve no idea.”
Fire flashed in her eyes and for a moment he thought she’d argue. “I’m not a schoolgirl, and I can assure you that even the city has its share of evil men.”
A part of him hoped she would fight with him. He wanted to fight. Wanted to dispel the excess energy.
“Hey, Matthias,” Holden said. “I’m going to take the dog out behind the barn.”
Matthias tore his gaze from Abby. He looked down at the dog that lay in the dirt. What a waste.
“I’ll take her,” he said.
Just then the dog whimpered and Quinn squirmed his ha
nd out of Abby’s. “Abby, the dog isn’t dead.”
Tommy wiggled out of her arms and followed his brother.
Abby followed the boys. “Boys, stay back. The dog is injured and will bite if you get close.”
Holden knelt next to the animal. “She’s not doing too well.”
“We don’t want to hurt her,” Quinn said.
Abby knelt next to the dog. Gently, she rubbed its head. The dog opened its eyes for a moment then closed them again. “But she doesn’t know that. She only knows that she hurts and that she’s scared.”
“I’ll take her away,” Holden said, his voice grave. “No sense in letting it suffer.”
Matthias nodded.
For the boys’ sake, both men were careful not to say that they planned to shoot the animal to take it out of its misery.
Abby read the intent in his eyes. “Can’t we try and save it?” she whispered.
Quinn looked up at his father, his eyes filled with tears. “Can’t we save her?”
Matthias rubbed his hand on the dog’s head. The dog lifted her head and licked his hand. Damn, but he felt helpless. “I don’t know what to do for her, son.”
Abby smoothed her hands over the dog’s body. She lay still until Abby touched her back haunch. “Let me have a look at her.”
Matthias would have argued if not for the look of hope in his sons’ eyes. Feeling like he owed it to the boys to try, he gingerly lifted the dog and rolled it over. The dog yelped and growled but didn’t snap.
Abby studied the dog’s leg. “Her leg is broken. There’s no doubt about that. But I don’t see any other injuries. Collier shot at the dog but he may not have hit it.”
“A broken leg is fixable.”
Matthias tapped his finger against his knee. “I’ve set broken legs before.”
“The dog will have to take it easy for a couple of months,” Abby said. “Mrs. Clements has been feeding her and her pups scraps for weeks. She’ll look after her.”
Matthias nodded. He still had his doubts. This was a hard land and the weak didn’t survive, but for now he was willing to give it a try. “Let’s get her over to the livery. We can set the leg there and then find a quiet spot where she could rest.”