“You had such wonderful smugness in your tone, Hal,” Abby said. “I almost believed you were rich.”
“The regret in your tone that I’m not wounds me, Abby,” Hal said.
“That was perfect, Hal. Thank you.” Sadie leaned over to give him a sideways hug and a cheek kiss, and Luke began battling his jealousy once more. He and Sadie had only recently patched things up. Maybe his true concern was that Hal would replace him as her friend. He resented his jealousy, resented Sadie for making him jealous, resented Hal for reasons he didn’t understand. What he wanted most was a break from everyone.
“I’m off to study for the night. Be careful with the guns,” he said.
“Yes, Pa,” Sadie said. Hal laughed. Luke turned away and left the room before he could follow through on his temptation to wipe the smile off his best friend’s face.
Hal was as anxious to learn to shoot as Luke had said he would be. Unlike some men, he wasn’t threatened over the fact that Sadie knew how and would be his teacher. In fact, he was fascinated by her ability.
“It’s like I’m friends with a secret agent,” he said. “This is so awesome. Hold still.” He pulled out his phone and took a picture of him and Sadie with the gun as a prop between them. “Okay, teach me, Obi Wan.”
Sadie hadn’t picked up a gun in a long time. She wondered how much she would remember, but as soon as she put her hand on the barrel, it all came rushing back—Gideon’s careful instruction, the many hours spent in practice. Shooting had been one of the father/daughter bonding things she enjoyed the most. What was probably an odd hobby for some had seemed perfectly normal to her. Her dad had dealt with guns every day on the job; he had wanted Sadie to learn the proper care and respect for them so she didn’t have an accident. He was wise to include her instead of making them off limits. Sadie had always been a curious and rebellious kid. If he had kept them on a shelf and told her to stay away, she would no doubt have investigated them on her own. As it was, he showed her what they could do and how to use them safely. She had never lost her respect for the weapon’s power, and she tried to instill that same respect in Hal.
They started with a shotgun because it was easier to hit targets and because it seemed safer than a rifle. She had never taught anyone to shoot before, and she felt the full weight of the responsibility as she loaded the gun and settled it in Hal’s grasp. He listened attentively, hanging on every word as she told him what to do. Finally she took a step back and told him to shoot. He took a breath, shot, and set the gun down to see what he had hit.
Sadie had set up a line of tin cans on the fence row at the back of Abby’s property. “I think you hit the fence. Not too shabby for a first time, Doctor.”
“Now if business gets slow I can wound some people to round up clients. Brilliant,” Hal said. He handed the gun to Sadie. “Show me how it’s done, Annie Oakley.”
“What makes you think I’m any good?” she asked.
“I haven’t seen anything so far that you don’t do perfectly. Something tells me shooting is no exception.”
“When you’re right, you’re right, Hal,” she said. She took the gun, reloaded, and knocked one of the cans off the fence. The kickback hurt her shoulder. She would no doubt have a bruise in the morning, but it was worth it. She had forgotten how much she loved target practice.
“That was awesome,” Hal said. “Do it again.”
Sadie smiled as she reloaded and complied. She wasn’t used to men who encouraged her abilities. She was used to men who preferred her incompetent, dumb blond act, men who felt threatened by intelligence and capability. Being with Hal made her feel almost giddy for her ability to be herself. Not putting on a show was such a relief that she put on a show and knocked down a few more cans before passing the gun to Abby.
“That was a very tough act to follow, my dear,” Abby said. “But never let it be said that an Atwood takes a back seat. Watch this trick shot I learned from my father.” She turned around and held the gun behind her back. Sadie and Hal exchanged a glance. Sadie had never been good at confronting Abby, but what she was doing was clearly unsafe.
“Abby,” she began, but it was too late. Abby took the shot. Hal pushed Sadie to the ground. Glass shattered, and someone bellowed. Sadie knew that howl. She dashed to her feet and sprinted to Gideon’s house, her mind blank with panic.
She found her dad bent over the couch. He was conscious; he was breathing. Coherent thought began to filter in, and her heart started to beat again. “Dad, are you okay?”
“I have glass and bird shot in my butt, Sadie. Do I look okay? What were you thinking giving that woman a gun?”
Abby and Hal joined the scene. “Look on the bright side, Gideon,” Abby said. “Now you can say I’ve literally become a pain in your backside.”
“Make her stop talking,” Gideon commanded. His face was red, his fists were clenched, and his temper off the charts—all signs that he was in a significant amount of pain.
“Don’t worry, Dad, I’ll take you to the hospital and get you squared away.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not going to the hospital for this.” He squeezed his eyes closed.
“Dad, you were shot. I think you can go to the hospital and still keep your he-man card,” Sadie said.
“I’m not going to the hospital, and that’s that,” he said. “I just need to get to the bathroom so I can get this cleaned up. And you are paying for my window, old woman.”
“These windows should have been replaced years ago,” Abby said. “New ones probably don’t break so easily. This house is woefully outdated, Gideon. It’s a menace.”
“Go home, you old bat,” Gideon said. Sadie didn’t know if he was clenching his teeth from annoyance or pain.
“Dad, don’t talk to Abby that way,” she said.
“She shoots me, and you still take her side. Figures,” Gideon said.
“Let’s go to the hospital, or do you want me to call an ambulance?”
His eyes popped open to glare at her. “An ambulance? So I can become can laughingstock? No, thank you.”
Sadie wasn’t sure what to do with him. She had never been able to make him do something he didn’t want to do, but he had been shot. He had to go to the hospital, didn’t he? Like a ray of light, Mary appeared at the front door.
“What’s going on? I could hear the shouting from my car,” she said.
“Ah, Mary. Finally, a sensible female enters the scene,” Gideon said. Sadie thought it was typical that her dad hadn’t seen the woman in three years, and yet that was his opening greeting.
“What’s the problem, Gideon? Why are you standing like that?” Mary asked.
“She shot me,” he said.
Mary’s eyes rested on Sadie. Sadie pointed to Abby. “He’s had it coming for years,” Abby said.
“What are you waiting for? Let’s go to the hospital,” Mary said.
“Not you, too,” Gideon said. “I’m not going to the hospital; I just need to get to the bathroom and get this cleaned up.”
Mary crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine, Gideon. Walk to the bathroom.”
He stood upright, sucked in a breath, and bent over again, his face draining of color. “I can’t get there alone,” he muttered.
“Well, none of us is going to help you because we all think you need to go to the hospital,” Mary said. “So it seems to me that you have two choices: you can either ride in my car or we’ll call an ambulance. What’s it going to be?”
“I’ll ride in your car,” he said between gritted teeth. “Is anyone going to help me get there, or are you all going to stand around and laugh while I bleed out?”
“Of course we’ll help you,” Mary said. She came forward and took one side of him while Hal took the other.
“I’m going to go with them,” Hal said. “We get extra points for rounding up our own patients.”
“Who is this man?” Gideon asked, glaring at Hal.
“He’s a doctor,” Sadie explained.
“He’s a child.”
“He’s my age,” Sadie argued.
“Exactly. If he’s a doctor, then why are we going to the hospital?” Gideon asked. He balked again and stared hard at Hal.
“I just ate and you have to wait thirty minutes before doctoring,” Hal said. “I don’t make the rules, sir.”
“He’s not allowed to practice medicine outside the hospital, Dad,” Sadie said. “He’s a resident. Now go to the hospital before sepsis sets in and you have to have a glutectomy.”
“That’s not a real thing, is it?” Gideon asked Hal.
“I never argue with Sadie’s judgment,” Hal said.
“Great,” Gideon said. “Just great. House full of freaks. Mary, your front tire is low,” he groused as they stepped onto the porch.
“That’s certainly foremost on my mind right now, Gideon,” Mary said. Her voice faded away as the trio walked to the car. Abby and Sadie stood in the living room staring at the front door until the car started and drove away.
“Is it safe to laugh now?” Abby asked.
“Did you see his face?” Sadie said.
“He could do a commercial for constipation with that face,” Abby said, and that was the catalyst to release their laughter.
It took a long time for their hilarity to die down, and then Sadie had to nail a board over the broken window. When they were finally able to drive to the hospital, Sadie’s eyes were watery from laughing, and there was an officer waiting to question them.
“Which one of you shot the chief?” he asked.
“Me, I did it,” Sadie said. “It was an accident. I’m so sorry.” She pressed her hand to her eyes and summoned the tears that were always her ready helpmates.
Abby pulled her into a tight hug and glared at the officer. “Is this really necessary, young man? Can’t you see how upset she is? The gun went off, nothing she could do about it.”
“It was so heavy,” Sadie sobbed. “I didn’t think it was pointing at the window. Dad is never going to forgive me for this, never.” She wept harder, tamping down her laughter when she pictured her father’s face.
The officer shifted, stared at his pad, made some notations, and cleared his throat. “Clearly there was no intent here. I’ll put in my report as an accidental discharge. You really shouldn’t touch guns, Miss. They require a lot of skill.”
Sadie nodded and sniffled, not removing her face from Abby’s shoulder. The officer ambled away, looking glad to get a reprieve from her tears. Sadie stood upright and wiped her eyes. “Sadie, why did you do that?” Abby asked.
“Because I didn’t know how much trouble we were in. I figured I had a better chance of getting off than you,” Sadie said.
“But now you’re going to get all the credit,” Abby complained.
“The people who really matter will know that you’re the one who shot him,” Sadie said.
“I suppose,” Abby said. They sat in the waiting room. Mary was nowhere in sight, and neither was Hal. By now Sadie knew him well enough to know that he was probably cutting in on the action, but where was Mary? Had she gone home? Probably. Sadie couldn’t see Gideon letting anyone go back with him and hold his hand while he had his backside polished. She was wrong, however. A few minutes after their arrival, Mary emerged from the double swinging doors.
“How is he?” Sadie asked.
“Surly,” Mary replied. “You can go back; they’re done cleaning him up, and he’s waiting to be released.”
“Oh, that’s okay. I can stay out here.”
“Sadie, he didn’t think you would come. I told him you would.”
“He’s going to yell at me.”
“He’s not, and even if he does, it’s what families do: they support each other when the chips are down.”
“The chips are always down in our family,” Sadie said. Mary gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Abby stayed quiet. Sadie had the feeling she disagreed with Mary, but Mary was seeing Gideon through rose-colored glasses. She hadn’t been privy to Gideon’s treatment over the years. Still, the squirm of guilt and responsibility in her chest couldn’t be ignored. Taking a deep, bracing breath, she stood and pushed through the swinging doors.
Gideon was lying face down on a gurney. “Shadie!” he blurted as soon as she walked into his line of vision. “My little girl.”
“I guess they gave you something for the pain, huh, Dad?”
“I dunno, but I can’t feel anything.” He reached around and began jabbing the bandage on his backside.
“Don’t do that, Dad.”
“Why? Doesn’t hurt.”
“It will later. Stop.” She took his hand and made it stop poking.
He squeezed her hand and gave her a drool-laced smile. “M’kay. You’re so pretty, Sadie. You look just like your mom.”
“I know, Dad,” Sadie said.
“It hurts to look at you.”
Sadie winced. “I know, Dad.”
“I miss her.”