Page 39 of Love’s Silver Bullet

Libby’s mouth compressed as she shook her head. “I will admit Finn has come a long way, but we can never let our guard down, ladies, in our fight for equality and independence.” She reached to pat Maggie’s hand. “I am so proud of you for standing up for yourself with Blaze, Maggie. The first lesson that man needs to learn is that ‘marriage is a partnership, not a dictatorship.’”

Sheridan and Maggie exchanged a grin.

“And you, young lady,” Libby continued with a thrust of her chin in Sheridan’s direction, “are a woman of eighteen now—almost nineteen—so you also have to learn how to stand up for yourself with men. Which means you cannot let your brother—or your uncle—infringe on your God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Sheridan nodded, so very grateful for the strength and support of both her aunt and sister-in-law after growing up without any female influence.

“Which is exactly why I battled so hard with your uncle to let you go away to Vassar instead of attending the Normal School for teachers here in Virginia City,” Aunt Libby said with a pat of Sheridan’s hand. “Because as Maggie will discover tonight and you, at Vassar in the fall, when it comes to convincing our men”—she winked—“sometimes distance can be a very good thing.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“Uh, Aunt Libby?” Scraping her lip with her teeth, Sheridan peeked up at her aunt who sat Indian-style in front of her on Sheridan’s bed, just like Kathy Jean and Sophia would always do. “I know you’re the one responsible for me going away to Vassar, and I can’t thank you enough. But … well … the truth is—I’m reluctant to go.”

Aunt Libby stared, mouth parted in surprise. “Why, whatever for, sweetheart? Vassar is a wonderful school, and you’ll finally have your freedom from your brothers and uncle for the very first time.”

“I know.” Sheridan lowered her gaze as she picked at her nails. “But … but … ”

“She’s in love with Jake,” Maggie said quietly, reminding Sheridan just how little time she had to win Jake’s heart. “And she’s been hoping for Jake to return that love before she leaves for school—”

“To put my mind and heart at rest,” Sheridan interjected, “so I can focus on my studies without worry—”

“Which is why we invited Clay to the ranch in the first place.” Maggie gently rubbed Sheridan’s back. “To hopefully make Jake jealous.”

“Ohhhhhhh ...” Libby’s eyes flared wide as she put a hand to her mouth. “Oh my, now I see …” She ducked to peer up into Sheridan’s face. “Does Jake know how you feel, Sheridan? And does he feel the same?”

Sheridan shot a quick glance at Maggie. “Uh … yes, Jake knows how I feel, and he’s given me some indication he might feel the same, but he doesn’t seem inclined to follow through.” Moisture burned beneath her lids. “In fact, he came right out and said it was something he neither wants nor will ever allow.”

“Some Indication?” Libby glanced from Sheridan to Maggie and back. “Like what, sweetheart?”

Sheridan hesitated as heat roared to her cheeks, unwilling to admit to her aunt how brazen she’d been. But, then, what choice did she have? “Well, he … he …”—eyes tightly closed, she picked at a hangnail, not even wincing when she pulled it clean off—“k-kissed me.”

Silence.

Sheridan’s lashes lifted, rib cage constricting when she saw the gape of her aunt’s mouth. She rushed to explain. “It’s a long story, Aunt Libby,” she said, words tumbling faster than her stomach, “but the gist of it is that Jake fell over a rock while he was teaching me to shoot, knocking him clean out, and I was so worried he was dead that I … I …”

She squeezed her eyes closed once again, unable to look her aunt in the face while she took in a deep gulp of air. “I … um … well, I kissed him first …” The last phrase came out as a whisper of shame while she covered her face with her hands, convinced her aunt would be appalled at her unseemly behavior. And sweet mother of mercy, if Aunt Libby ever told Uncle Finn …

“Oh, I see …” Aunt Libby said in a hush. “So, you kissed him first, and then he kissed you back?”

Sheridan gulped and opened her eyes. “Well, not exactly. You see, I kissed him to see if he was faking or really knocked out, and he pushed me away, claiming he wasn’t attracted to me. But I heard him moan, Aunt Libby, I swear, when I kissed him that first time, so I … I …” A knot ducked in her throat as she gave a tiny shrug. “Kissed him again, hoping to prove the attraction, and that’s when he groaned and kissed me back so thoroughly, my bones felt like mush. But please, Aunt Libby, you have to promise never to tell Uncle Finn because I would absolutely die if he ever found out!”

Libby blinked several times. “Uh … I’m sure it’s safe to say he would, too, sweetheart, as protective as he is of Shaylee and you.” She swiped the handkerchief from Maggie’s hand, fanning herself furiously while she loosened the top button of her nightgown. “Great balls of fire, Sheridan, it reminds me of my first kiss with your uncle when I wasn’t much older than you.”

“So, you, you …”—Sheridan swallowed hard—“understand?”

The handkerchief flapped to a stop mid-air as Libby’s brows rose. “Understand? More than you know, young lady, because your uncle weakened me at the knees more times than I can count before we were courting, but I sure don’t understand Jake.”

Her mouth pursed in thought as her gaze drifted into a pensive stare. “It certainly seems from what you said that he’s attracted to you, although I can almost hear Finn saying that any man would respond if a woman threw herself at him—”

Sheridan caught a harsh breath as heat toasted her cheeks. “Please, Aunt Libby, that’s why you can’t ever tell him because I would be mortified!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, sweetheart!” Libby gave Sheridan a quick hug. “Of course, I will never tell him, I promise. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded, of course, but we do have to look at this from every angle, right?”

Sheridan’s weak nod wobbled as Jake’s words came back to haunt.

“Yeah, well that tends to happen, Half-Pint, when a girl looks and acts more like a painted gal at The Silver Pistol than the proper daughter of the mayor.”

Libby ducked to pin Sheridan with a probing gaze. “Do you really believe in your heart that Jake cares for you that way, sweetheart?”