“Before we leave here, you’ll learn to shoot well, Ginny. I’ll give you a pistol, and you can learn to use it as expertly as you do your knife.”
“With practice, I’m sure I can.”
Steve spent three days working with her until he was satisfied that she could at least hit a target. Gunfire sent birds screeching into the air of the small, rocky valley at the bottom of the falls as Ginny aimed at pieces of wood.
One after the other, the chips Steve hung from a tree branch were shattered, bullets smashing them to splinters. The Colt he’d given her was heavy, so that she had to use both hands to hold it steady. Steve, his swift draw so graceful and easy—and deadly—could put two bullets into a wood chip in the time it took her to put one. But she was accurate enough.
“If you don’t kill ’em you’ll sure as hell scare ’em to death,” he said, spinning the chamber of his revolver and loading it with quick efficiency. A black brow cocked, and there was a glint in his dark-blue eyes as he surveyed her. “Just hope you get the drop on a man, because by the time you get the pistol out of the holster, he’d have you so full of lead you could be used as an anchor.”
“Your faith in me is touching.” Disgruntled, she arched a brow and smiled. “But you might keep that in mind the next time you get the notion to intimidate me again.”
“Ginny, your arrogance never disappoints me!”
Too soon, Steve said they were to leave the valley. She met his gaze with a steady stare that refused to yield.
“I still have some unfinished business to attend in San Antonio. Paco should have been able to report Luna’s death as an accident by now—an unexpected fire in his room.”
She remembered the fierce glow on the horizon, a hazy memory of that night, and understood now what it was. She nodded. “Yes. I’m sure any inquiries have been settled by now. Steve, don’t leave me behind. Take me with you.”
“Ginny, you’d be safer at my grandfather’s house.”
“No, Steve. What difference does it make if I go to San Antonio or to Zacatecas? We were together last time, and it didn’t help. I’ll stay with you. Whatever happens to us, at least we’ll be together. Besides, I’m ready for a change. San Antonio sounds very inviting right now.”
When dubious shadows darkened his eyes, she lifted her shoulders in a light shrug. “I won’t interfere with your plans, Steve. I just want to feel safe again.”
“San Antonio is not necessarily a safe town,” he said dryly, but didn’t offer any more arguments.
Relieved, Ginny wondered what he would say if he knew what she planned. He wouldn’t be happy, but she was determined to exorcise all the old ghosts, rid their relationship of any lingering specters from their past.
It’s the only way we’ll ever be able to go on….