Page 13

SADIE

Sadie lowered the shotgun a smidge.

She glanced at Teddy, silently swearing and wishing she could shoot Otto in his big fat mouth. Then she caught sight of Wally’s face and swallowed hard. He had no right to look so dang disappointed in her. Was it because he figured she’d been less than truthful about her marriage status? She had every reason to lie to protect her life.

“Well, I don’t think James would take to kindly to that. Maybe he killed Eli before he got the chance to propose.” Sadie let out a harsh laugh to cover the waiver in her voice. She’d kept the secret for two years, and now, in one crazy day, it had all threatened to unravel because of three men.

Fucking men.

“How long you think you can keep up lying to everyone?” Otto asked, taking another hulking step forward.

Sadie raised the shotgun again, hands steady on the trigger.

“Get off my property before I call the sheriff.”

Hands up like he dealt with a wild animal, Otto hesitated. Hell yeah, he should be scared. She’d buried his brother hours earlier. She could do the same to him and everyone else that threatened her. But one look at Teddy, and she knew she couldn’t kill a man in front of him. Maybe not at all. But that didn’t matter, she just had to convince Otto she could.

Wally looked plenty convinced, and that bolstered her confidence.

“Eli was working for the sheriff,” Otto said, regaining her attention.

“Come again?” Sadie lowered the weapon a half inch. She’d almost forgotten Eli’d mentioned that.

“He agreed to volunteer for the sheriff. He came here to tell you that and ask you to marry him since he’d gone respectable.”

The picture of Eli’s tongue in her mouth forced her to press her eyes closed for a moment. Not exactly respectable material.

“Badge or not, I am already a married woman. So go look elsewhere because you ain’t gonna find him here.” Unless you dig him up.

Sadie struggled not to glance at the spot not one hundred yards beyond the barn, not terribly far from where they stood, yet out of the sightline from the backyard and in an area only she had reason to go. Eli’s final resting place wasn’t glamorous, but he’d had a somewhat proper burial, and that’s where he was staying.

“All right, Sadie. If that’s the case, then you won’t have to worry about me no more. But if I find out you’re a lying bitch like I think you are, you’re gonna pay. And if you had anything to do with Eli going missing, you’re a dead woman.”

“Watch your language in front of the kid,” Doyle said, drawing everyone’s attention. Sadie suspected Otto’d forgotten he was there, same as her.

“Thank you, Mr. Doyle, but I think Otto here’s just upset about his brother Eli taking off. When he finds him curled up in a drunken stupor in the brothel, I’m sure he’ll feel plenty ashamed of threatening us.”

Otto’s face colored such a deep shade of red, she thought his head might pop off like his brother’s had. But without another word, he turned and marched away toward the hitching post where his horse waited patiently.

No one moved until he’d cleared the hill, the sound of hooves beating dirt dissipating into the distance. Sadie’s muscles screamed as she lowered the gun, realizing the tension she’d held in her neck and shoulders. She rolled her head and released some of it with a pop.

Teddy sped past her into the house, letting the door slam behind him. What the devil’s gotten into him? She was about to go find out when Doyle caught her elbow, demanding her attention.

“You should let him be for a bit.”

“Did you honestly just tell me how to deal with my own child?” she snapped.

Doyle held on to her. “I’ve been where he is. I think you should give him time to cool down. That’s all I’m saying.”

Something in his soft, dark eyes told her he genuinely cared. And that scared her worse than Otto’s threats. She looked away.

“And where exactly do you think he is?” she asked, softer, but not without accusation.

“My parents lied to me, too, at his age. They didn’t want me to know they were separating.”

Sadie gasped as she met his gaze again, becoming locked inside the sympathy there. “I never split up with his father.” It was true. She stayed with him until his dying breath.

“Teddy told me his father was dead,” Wally said, softly. “I don’t blame you for trying so hard to protect him, or for lying to me.”