27. Shiloh #2
“Based on the look on my brother’s face, I’d say he has other plans for you. But thank you.”
I nod and Ledger jerks his chin in the direction of the door. He goes down the hall and grabs his boots from the rug.
“Are we leaving? I should go tell Mrs. Hayes thank you.”
“No, not yet, but there’s something I want to show you. And did you bring your revolver?” he asks.
“Um, okay, and it’s in my purse. Why?” I ask him.
“Grab it and come on.”
After I get my boots on, I holster my pistol in the waist of my jeans and follow Ledger out the door.
Before I can ask him where we’re going, he captures my hand and leads me away from the house through tall grass.“Why did I need to bring my gun? Expecting any bears?” I ask him.
“I wanted to make sure you knew how to shoot it properly,” he says, pulling me to his side and draping an arm across my shoulders. “And that little pea shooter won’t do much to a bear.”
“Is that supposed to be funny?” I snap.
He rubs a hand over his mustache to hide his smile, and I roll my eyes. I know I’m lucky that I didn’t actually kill Grey, but I still feel bad about what I did. So maybe the practice is smart.
I slip my hand into his back pocket as we walk up a hill and across a large field.
“For the record, I wouldn’t have bought it if I didn’t know how to shoot it, and my father made sure of that. But that one time was…” I trail off.
“Hey, it all worked out. I wanted to check, is all,” he says and kisses my temple again.
“What’s up with you?” I ask him. He’s softer. Maybe it’s his family that makes him this way. Whatever it is, I like it a lot.
We come to a stop, and there’s a concrete foundation with some pipes sticking out of it and building materials off to the side.
“I wanted to show you this,” he says.
I nod. “Looks like it’s going to be a big barn.”
Ledger chuckles and shakes his head. “No, honey, this is going to be a house. That’s always been the plan, but I needed to save for it, so I got the place in town for a bit and then when this is done. I’ll sell it.”
The food in my stomach turns sour as I look at the foundation. I can see the picture now. But I keep my lips sealed. He’s building a future. He has plans.
And I have … what? A husband I had to marry to cover my ass, a life-threatening secret, and money for rent for a couple of months.
What am I doing with a man like him?
Better question: what is he doing with a woman like me?
“What do you think?” he asks.
I hum. “Looks like it’s going to be a nice size house.”
He smiles and nods. “Yeah. I wanted it to have at least four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Do you think that’s enough?” he asks.
I shrug. “I would think so. Why are you asking me?”
He huffs and looks into my eyes. “Because I want your opinion.”
“Oh, then yes, I think that would be enough.”
He nods. “I’m glad to hear it. So will you let me show you some pointers with the gun?” he asks.
“Fine.” I sigh.
He laughs and holds his hand out for the pistol. I hand it to him, and he inspects it, checking the bullets in the chamber.
He leads me to a copse of trees in a dip in the land.
“Why do you want to do this with me?” I ask him.
Ledger walks around me and slides his hand around my hip while his other holds the gun out for me to take.
Once I do, he drops his hand on the open hip. He nuzzles his nose in the crook of my neck and says, “I want to ensure you’re prepared because as much as I wish I could protect you every second of the day I’m aware of my limitations, and I want to make sure you can fight back.”
I huff and hold my arms out, widening my legs a bit. “I already knew how to do that, baby.”
He huffs into my neck. Then stands up straight and clears his throat.
“Aim for that tree limb there,” he says.
I do as he says, hitting it.
“Okay, now right above the hole in the trunk.”
I do it again and miss by a few inches.
“You’re tensing a little too much before you squeeze the trigger, which will reduce your response time.”
“Fair enough,” I mumble.
He grunts. “My only concern is that you only have six bullets,” he says.
“It was all I could afford, and I figured six was better than zero.”
“It is, and it looks like the gun feels right in your hands.”
“It does.” I holster the gun.
He stares at me with that serious scowl, and my skin feels all prickly.
“Ledger?”
He hums and pushes a curl from my face.
“Why are you showing me all this?”
He looks out over the land, and my heart twinges in my chest. Things are getting more serious than I thought they were.
“I wanted to. Is that okay?” he asks.
I nod. Though it feels like he’s holding something back.
“Yeah. I guess it is.”
“Alright, let’s get back to the house,” he says.
“Hey,” I mumble.
He turns his large body to face mine, and I have to crane my neck to look up at him. I grab the collar of his shirt and tug him down to me, planting my mouth on his.
He groans absently, tapping a knuckle to the brim of his hat to give us more space, before sliding his hands around my back and lifting me up around the thighs.