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“Good for you!” Albert pulled her to him and just held her. “I’m sorry your day was so difficult.”
“Yours was too!”
*****
It was several weeks before they saw more trouble. Every day Alice and Albert grew closer. No one had seen Sarah or Jason since the day of the shooting, and most of the community felt they were better off without the couple. Felicity, Sarah’s mother, cried often that her daughter was mistreated and misunderstood, but she was the only one who seemed to care about their disappearance.
Before leaving every morning, Albert made sure that Alice had her pistol in her apron, and that she was spending the day with Susan. She learned to just take her laundry to her sister’s house and do it there. They ate their meals with Albert’s family and only slept at their own home.
Alice forgot to take her laundry to Susan’s one morning, so she walked back alone, her pistol in her apron pocket where it belonged.
She walked into the house and found the basket she’d gathered everything into and picked it up. A sound behind her had her turning, only to see Sarah and Jason standing there. Jason had a gun to Sarah’s head.
Alice’s eyes widened. She hadn’t prepared for anything like this. Slowly she put the basket on the floor, her hand going toward the pocket of her apron.
“You go for your pistol, and I’ll kill her.”
Alice’s hand stopped moving. “Why do you think I’d be worried about you killing her? She’s never been anything but unkind to me.” Her words were true, but Alice had no desire to see the other woman dead.
“Is that so? She told me you two were friends, and you’d shoot me again if I was mean to her.”
Alice shook her head. “That’s not true at all. Why would you be unkind to your wife?”
“She’s lazy, and she tells me all the time that I’m not good enough for her.”
“Well, that’s rude. I’d want to shoot her as well.” Alice shrugged. “I’d rather you didn’t do it in my house because I don’t want to have to clean up the mess, but if you need to, then I guess you will. I’m heading back to my sister’s house. We need to do the laundry.”
Alice leaned over and picked up the basket again, putting it on her left hip and turning so he couldn’t see her reaching for her pistol with her right hand. When she had it firmly in her grip, she started toward the door. She had to get in touch with the sheriff.
“Wait!” Jason called out.
“Why? What do you want from me?”
“I want you to watch while I kill my wife.”
“I’m not going to do that,” she told him. She was surprised at how quiet Sarah had been through the whole thing. Instead of turning around, she kept walking toward the door.
“I want a wife who cooks and cleans like you do. I’m done with this one. You’re going to leave with me.”
“No, I’m not.” Alice knew Susan was expecting her back and the longer she took, the more likely it was that her sister would get help. She just had to keep stalling the man. If she kept moving, it should all be fine.
Opening the front door, she stepped outside, Jason still yelling at her to stop, but he never fired a shot. He wanted her alive. He wouldn’t hurt her. She was convinced of it.
When she stepped outside, her pistol still in hand, she saw David and Albert on either side of the door, both with their own guns drawn. She refused to stay there and be in the middle of things. The men would handle it.
Albert motioned for her to move away with his head, and she was happy to do as she was told. She’d rather hide behind a tree or the corner of the house and keep her pistol trained on the idiot with a gun to his wife’s head.
She moved behind the barn, setting down her basket, and turning to watch everything. As soon as Albert was in sight, Jason stopped aiming at Sarah and turned the pistol to Albert. She couldn’t hear what he said, but she didn’t care.
She carefully took aim and pulled the trigger, shooting for his shoulder again. As usual, her aim was true, and not only did her bullet lodge in his shoulder, but it made him drop his own pistol.
David went in and kicked the gun away from Jason while Albert ran toward her. “I told you to get out of the way!”
“I did! I just helped a little.”
“We didn’t need your help! We needed you out of danger!”
“I wasn’t about to let him shoot you. I love you too much for that, you fool!”
