“He’s the new deputy we’ve heard tell of,” Betsy answered. “Come to help Sheriff Taney.”
Katie Ellen’s face fell. Betsy hoped Katie Ellen would behave. If the Bald Knobbers had a parade on Main Street, Katie Ellen would deck herself in bunting and cheer them on. They were the only chance she had for getting justice for her father’s murderer, and she wouldn’t be partial to anyone getting in the gang’s way.
“Name’s Deputy Puckett,” he said. “I guess you’re kin of Miss Huckabee’s?”
Betsy nodded when Katie Ellen failed to answer. “Uncle Fred told you about Mr. Watson. That was Katie Ellen’s pa.”
The deputy’s jaw tensed. “My condolences.”
Katie Ellen bristled. “Thank you for saving Douglas’s kitten. We’re mighty appreciative.”
Yet from the way she herded her kids toward the barn, her thanks had come to an end. She called farewell to Betsy, then waddled inside with a second glance over her shoulder before disappearing into the giant entryway. Betsy didn’t even have to hear the squawking of the hinges to know the doors were being pulled closed.
Eduardo tugged his gun belt through the buckle, then settled it on his hips. Putting his hands in front of him, he stood absolutely still, then quick as a hummingbird’s wings, he had his guns in his hands. Betsy’s eyebrows shot up. How’d he do that? It was like the guns leapt into his hands of their own accord. Pretty handy if someone was standing in front of you. ’Course, in the mountains he’d never see the bad guys coming.
His test seemed to satisfy him, because he returned the guns to their holsters and then with a sidelong glance noticed her watching him. He twisted at his ear and cleared his throat. Had he disremembered her so easily?
“Didn’t peg you for an animal lover,” she said. “That was right nice of you, going down that well to save a cat.”
“I didn’t do it to save a cat; I did it to save the well. Do you know how long it’d be before they could get water out of it if it had a carcass at the bottom? Dead cat hair floating in every bucket of water?”
Yeah, that statement definitely wouldn’t make it into her story. And Betsy wouldn’t bother telling him that they had a pump. The well hadn’t been relied on for years.
They started down the hill toward town with the pony trailing behind.
“Still, it could go a long ways toward growing some friendly feelings for you,” Betsy said. “On sale day, if you’d like, I could throw various animals in there for you to rescue. Then everyone would be beholden.”
He stopped at a wide place on the road, the water running off his boots and making two dark spots on the ground. “Are you going to keep following me?” His eyes dropped as he rubbed his jaw with the back of his hand. “Traveling with a single young lady isn’t proper. Surely you understand.”
No, she didn’t. “I’m not a young lady, and nobody around here worries about what I’m up to. As far as my reputation, there’s not a man anywhere around here who’s ever turned my head. I’m impervious, as my uncle says.”
“I’m not worried about protecting your reputation, ma’am. It’s my own I’m trying to protect.”
Betsy frowned. When would this ornery man behave like a proper hero? He was forever saying the wrong things.
“I don’t know what you have to gain from my company,” he continued. “I’m not enticed by your beauty. I’m not charmed by your manners, and personally I’d rather fall off a cliff and land on a cactus than have to listen to a woman talk. You stand to gain nothing by being in my company, and I surely don’t expect to profit from yours.”
She realized her mouth was hanging open in surprise. No one had ever talked to her like that before. And for good reason. Everyone around these parts knew she could give back in equal measure.
“I’m so glad you explained yourself, Deputy. So considerate of you to protect me from wasting my time pining over you, but allow me to explain something. I am twenty-four years old. I see you grimace”—she waited for him to protest, which he didn’t—“because you know that I’m well past marrying age. I had to work hard to get to this age without being shackled with a husband. I had to be rude at times, unfriendly, and withdrawn to keep the potential suitors at bay. None of those qualities come naturally for me. Since I’ve sailed those waters and have now arrived safely at port, I will revert to being the cheerful, friendly, gregarious woman I was born to be and will not pretend to be otherwise for you.”