Over the Barrel (18 page)

The bound men cringed as Blair pulled the trigger
and the tip of the whiskey bottle blew clean off.

"She is becoming quite a shot, isn't
she?" Sloan said, with pride.
 
"I would hate to see what she would do to your balls if you make
her angry.
 
Particularly in her
frame of mind right now."

The men began to spill the information quickly
after Blair's bullet hit the base of the bottle's neck.
 
Content, Sloan stood up and pulled Blair
to him once again.

"Be careful, love.
 
And do not let them talk you into
releasing them, got it?"

"Return quickly.
 
And be safe," Blair requested,
gazing at him with a hint of demureness.

"I will.
 
I'll take one of their horses.
 
Release Skinwalker from his
bridle."

"Won't he run away?"

"I doubt it.
 
He watches you carefully.
 
But if he does, allow him his
freedom.
 
He has earned it."

Blair nodded and fought back tears as Sloan
trotted away on one the outlaw's horses.
 
She approached Skinwalker, aware of the hate-filled eyes following her
every move.

"Please, stay close to me," she
whispered into his ear, and she slipped the bridle from his head.
 
She repeated a phrase that Sloan had
taught her about the Cherokee's beliefs in the afterlife.
 
"Thank you for protecting me.
 
The curse is broken and no debt is
owed.
 
Your spirit is clean of guilt
now and may rest with your ancestors.
 
Be free, my friend."

The horse whinnied, shaking his head and stomping
the ground.
 
He trotted out of the
campsite before Blair had a moment to say her goodbye.

One man spit on the ground."
 
Guess your little pony didn't like you
anymore than we do."

"Just because you can't see him does not
mean he is gone.
 
The Cherokee
believe him to be a skinwalker.
 
That means he is able to take on any form, including that of a
rattlesnake."

The men turned to the sound of shallow, hollow
clatters coming from a large diamondback just three feet from where they were
tied.

"Shoot it!
 
For God's sake, shoot it!" the men
begged as the snake slithered closer to them.
 

Blair leaned back against the rocks,
unbothered.
 
"If that is the
skinwalker, why would I want to kill it?
 
Maybe he is still protecting me after all."

Tears ran from the men's eyes as the snake
crawled across their boots, seeking warmth in the slowly departing day.
 
Movement in the corner of her eye caught
Blair's attention, and her heart leapt with joy.
 
Skinwalker!

"I will take pity on you," she said,
calmly lifting a long, dry branch and using it to hook the snake's body and
lift it away from her captives.
 
She
dispatched the rattler after putting it down in a clearing.
 
"I am only doing this because I
don't care to have a reptile in my bedroll.
 
I hope you're hungry.
 
We are having snake for dinner."

Sloan stood, satisfied, as the two men were
hauled away, hands tied behind their backs.
 
He turned to Blair.
 
"I am sorry I was gone so long.
 
Did they give you any trouble?"

"Not a bit.
 
Skinwalker always managed to show up
when they started becoming particularly nasty.
 
Where did you find the sheriff?"

"I was heading down towards some outcrops
when I saw the posse coming.
 
The
sheriff and I go back to when I was in Texas."

"You don't sound surprised.
 
Is that unusual to know another
lawman?"

"Not really.
 
Bounty hunters move around quite a bit
in these parts.
 
Money is better
when you are on the trail for criminals.
 
They had been looking for those three for about a week.
 
Apparently, they robbed the general
store and left the proprietor tied up in the back while they liquored up.
 
You were lucky, Miss Farbor.
 
Very lucky.
 
They could have easily harmed you, but
for some reason, they were hesitant to take advantage."

"I was uncertain of their intentions when
they first captured me.
 
They had been
watching our, uh, activities from downwind, using a spyglass.
 
That was why Skinwalker never reacted to
them; he never heard or smelled them.
 
As for taking advantage of me, it was not difficult to discourage
them."

Sloan rolled his eyes, "Outlaw voyeurs?
 
What is this world coming to?
 
Enlighten me, girl.
 
Beside your endless chattering and
annoying habits of nagging, what kept them from violating you?"

"I informed them that I was experiencing my
monthlies."

Sloan's eyes lit up.
 
"You are?
 
Then we can …"

"I would say not!" Blair
shuddered.
 
"That is even more
distasteful than the thought of you penetrating my bum.
 
Are all men so disgusting?"

"There is nothing disgusting here.
 
It is part of life.
 
I will defer your punishment, however,
until you are completed."

"You have no right to punish me.
 
You provoked me to leave your sight, and
you certainly were not concerned enough to come after me."

"I have every right to protect you as I see
fit."

"You did not protect me.
 
You ignored me.
 
I am very angry with you," Blair
declared.
 
"Why did you not
come after me?"

"Because I am a stubborn fool.
 
I love you, Blair Lorraine Farbor.
 
I want you to be my wife." Sloan
announced.
 
He pulled a ring out of
his vest and kneeled before her.
 
"I got this in the last town we went through, in hopes that this
moment would come.
 
I know it has
been a rocky trail for us, but I want you as mine.
 
Forever.
 
Please do me the honor of marrying
me."

Blair trembled as he slid the tiny silver band
upon her finger and kissed her knuckles.

"It isn't much but I don't make a lot of
money in my work.
 
I promise that I
will …" Sloan began.

"It is beautiful!
 
Thank you, and yes.
 
I give my consent for you to marry
me," Blair interrupted, flinging her arms around his neck.
 

Sloan placed his finger on her lips to silence
her.
 
"I will make you happy,
Blair.
 
I promise to provide for you
as best as I know how.
 
I promise to
be a better listener and find cause to praise you, rather than be quick to
reprimand.
 
I also promise to redden
your backside each and every time you deserve it, and even sometimes for
fun," he grinned.

"I do enjoy the fun times," Blair
blushed prettily.
 
"May I ask a
favor of you?"

"Anything."

"Clean up that horrendous stench before we
bed down for the night," she held her nose and waved in the direction of
where the two men had been bound.
 
"I am going to go clean up in the river."

"Take the horse with you.
 
And don't wander off!"

Blair giggled.
 
"Or what?"

Sloan winked.
 
"Don't worry, darling.
 
I won't forget these little moments of
mischief.
 
They will give me
something to look forward to very shortly."

"Blair?
 
Come look at this," Sloan called out, four days later.
 
"Manitou Springs."

Blair stared at the tiny town from on top of a
rock edge.
 
The sun had started to
sink into the horizon, and on the moonless night, the distant gas lights looked
like they were nothing more than fireflies flickering in the far distance.

"How much longer?" she asked, wrapping
her arm around his.

"We will be there by nightfall
tomorrow.
 
I am hoping the word got
around about your grandfather's operation.
 
I sent a wire to the Rangers station in Texas and warned them of the
possible deception.
 
They should notify
the local officers."

"But those men said Grandfather Malcolm
owned the law here.
 
Everyone will
know and make their escape!"

"Not if my boys step in.
 
I have a strong feeling that those
cowards just exposed the hide-out that we have been looking for."

"Sloan?
 
Could we stay out here for just one more day before going into
town?" Blair asked, stroking his arm while leaning against him.
 
"There is a lovely little waterfall
and a swimming hole around the bend that calls out to be enjoyed.
 
It is only a few yards from the campsite
and the path is clear of any rocks or thorns.
 
We could camp there."

"Miss Blair," Sloan looked down at her
and lifted her knuckles to his lips, "that sounds like a wonderful
idea."

The fire
crackled happily, throwing light against the red wall of the overhang that
housed the pair.
 
The buckskin Sloan
had 'appropriated' from the outlaw was tethered to drink and graze quietly
while Skinwalker roamed freely around the camp.
 
He wandered to Blair, shoving her gently
with his muzzle.

"There
is something significantly wrong about that horse," Sloan commented,
turning the spit of sizzling meat over the flames.
 
"He refuses to leave you."

"He
loves me," Blair cooed, rubbing the velvety hide.
 
She kissed the bridge of the horse's
nose, "He knows a good thing when he finds it."