Chapter 45

Iunderstand now. Some of it. Wiley thought he was revealing some great secret about how much of a monster he is, but all I heard was a story about a desperate boy searching for himself. Sure, he thinks he liked it, and that should worry me, but it doesn’t disturb me as much as I thought it would. Wiley doesn’t treat me like anything other than a princess. He’s never said a mean word to me, and he certainly hasn’t hurt me. He’s just a man who is so bright and happy to prevent others from feeling the way he did when he’d joined the military. His jokes are a shield. His teasing is a mask. So he’s not as wholesome as I thought he was. It doesn’t seem like there were that many options at the time, and during the war, there was all kinds of terrible shit happening. The news wasn’t exactly forthcoming with what exactly was going on over in Afghanistan.

To me, he’s no monster. In fact, even if he were a monster, I wouldn’t care.

He’s right. I do love him. I love all three of them. Nothing made that clearer than almost dying. Despite everything happening in my life, I want them. I want to be here with them every year for this cattle drive. I wanna be a part of their life, of their family.

I ride with him on his horse for a while before switching back to riding in the side-by-side with Levi. Though I’m bruised and scratched up, I hadn’t thought I was that sore until I rode on Wiley’s horse with him for a few hours. Now my body aches and feels stiffer than a board as I climb back in the side-by-side and settle against the cushions Naomi brought for us. That woman is a godsend.

“You good?” Levi asks.

I wave away his concern. “I’m fine. Just thinking.”

“Wiley tell you his past?” he ask, keeping his eyes straight ahead.

“Some of it,” I admit. “Why? You gonna tell me yours?”

“Not yet,” he murmurs. “Soon.”

I nod. “Okay.” I touch his forearm and smile before settling back with a sigh.

Sunset comes quickly and we get the cattle settled and grazing before the sun fully drops beneath the horizon. Dakota decides it’s as good a night as any to practice shooting again and sets up some bottles against the mountain, far enough away from the cattle that they won’t spook. The sounds of our firing gun attract a few of the ranchers who decided to stay this night, including an older man. His face is weathered from the sun and age, but his eyes are as bright blue as ever. He whistles as I fire and miss the bottle for what seems the millionth time.

“You practicin’ over here, kids?” he asks with crinkled eyes. I decide I like him immediately.

“Tryin’ to, Ned. Kate here is new to guns, so I’ve been tryin’ to teach her,” Dakota admits, switching into what I’d consider a customer service voice when speaking to the older man. Clearly, he respects him.

“New to guns?” Ned repeats, his eyes widening in surprise. “Where you from that they don’t got any guns?”

“The city,” I shrug. “We didn’t exactly have grizzlies to worry about.”

“But you had people,” Ned says with a raise of his brow. “People are the real dangers. Not the wildlife. I imagine the city has crime.”

I hesitate. “It did.”

“Then it’s a good thing to know how to shoot,” he nods, but takes a step closer. “I’m sure Dakota here is a good teacher, but something I noticed. . . if you don’t mind my advice?”

“I don’t,” I answer with a smile as he steps up beside me.

“A clever woman,” he chortles. “That’s not like you, Young Steele.”

Dakota frowns but Wiley snickers. “He ain’t wrong.”

“Now, when you aim and your finger is on the trigger,” he instructs, gesturing for me to get into position. “Take a deep breath as you aim. When you release it, squeeze the trigger at the same time.” He grabs my shoulders and repositions me. “You’re shorter and these mountain cowboys aren’t accountin’ for that. Take notice of the wind, acknowledge the wind may move the trajectory and correct for it.”

“Yes, sir,” I say, taking aim. The wind is low today but it’s blowing so I move my aim just slightly to the right in case it changes it.

“When you’re ready, go ahead and squeeze the trigger,” he instructs.

I take a deep breath and when I let it out, I do as he says. I squeeze the trigger. The sound echoes around us a split second before the sound of shattering glass echoes with it. I gasp and lower the gun.

“I hit it!”

“You did,” Ned gushes. “You did a good job.”

I hand the gun to Dakota and throw my arms around Ned. “That’s the first time,” I tell him. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

He smiles and hugs me back. “You remind me of my daughter,” he murmurs, patting me gently on the back.

“Oh! Is she here?” I ask, looking around. “I thought I was the only woman.”

He shakes his head. “No. She died a few years back.”

My smile falls. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he says with shake of his head. “She would’ve liked you, Miss Kate.” He glances at the guys all watching behind me. “Make sure you take good care of Miss Kate, boys. We need more people like her out here.” But then his eyes meet Levi’s. “Good to see you walkin’, kid. Proud of ya.”

Then he tips his hat and walks back the way he came, rejoining his people up further on the ridge. I turn back to Dakota with a grin.

“I hit it,” I declare.

“You did,” he nods. “Now do it a hundred more times and maybe I’ll think you’re good enough to carry your own gun.”

I scowl. “You could at least be proud of me.”

“I am,” he answers, his expression still the same.

“You don’t look it,” I sigh. “You never look anything less than stoic.”

He blinks. “What would you have me be like, Kate?”

I shake my head. “Nothing,” I say. “Don’t worry about it. I’m gonna go settle down for the night.”

“We should still practice,” he says.

“Tomorrow,” I reply. “I’m tired tonight and my shoulders ache.”

As if it’s a reminder of why my shoulders ache, his eyes widen before he nods. “Of course.”

When I meet Wiley’s eyes, he grins and wiggles his eyebrows. “Look at you, Calamity Jane! Before long you’re gonna be shootin’ the wings off a fly.”

There’s the excitement I was looking for. Even Levi smiles proudly at me. But Dakota? Nothing. Just instructions to do it again and again.

When Levi pulls out a guitar that night, I stare at him with wide eyes at the unexpected reveal. I’ve not seen him play the guitar at all, so when he starts playing it like an expert and starts singing, I nearly lose my mind. The words flicker through the air around us and I find myself enraptured by him. I’ve heard the song play on the stereo, the lyrics of “Neon Moon” wrapping around me like a warm coat, but when Levi sings it, it takes on a whole new meaning. When his eyes meet mine as he sings, I melt, completely awestruck. The man sings like a literal angel, and I could listen to him sing forever.

Apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks so.

I nearly scream when the little creature comes rustling out of the bush near me, drawn in by Levi’s voice.

“What the hell is that?” I gasp, staring at the strange creature. “Is that a rat?”

“It’s a baby opossum,” Wiley laughs. “It won’t hurt you. They’re ugly, but they’re harmless. Kind of like cats, really.”

I look around but don’t see its mom. Only the single little opossum. I lean over and offer my fingers to it. It chortles at me and shows me its teeth before pushing against my hand. Exactly like a cat, apparently.

“Hi there,” I coo. “Are you looking for a home? Did you like Levi’s singing?”

“We don’t need it,” Levi warns as he sets the guitar to the side.

“But he needs our help,” I argue, picking him up. “He’s lost.”

He scowls. “Nature should be left alone, Kate.”

I smile. “And when he can survive on his own, I’ll let him go.” I hold him up. “Look at this face. Can you say no to that?”

“Yes,” Levi grunts. “He’s ugly.”

I narrow my eyes and glance over at Wiley. “Wiley’ll help me. Won’t you, Wiley?”

“Of course, I will,” he says with a grin. “Opossums are easy to take care of. This one looks like he might need milk though before we give him real food.”

“Traitor,” Levi scowls at Wiley. He looks back at me. “You’ll pay for that later.”

I grin. “You know what? I might actually be looking forward to that.”

But then I kiss him on his cheek and he melts just a little. He even reaches forward and pets the tiny opossum.

“You need a name,” I declare, looking down at the opossum. “I’m gonna call you. . .”

“Roadkill,” Levi grumbles.

“No,” I growl in time for him to hiss at Levi. I grin. “Something else.”

Dakota sits off to the side, his eyes on the opossum, and I remember that he’s the one behind all the fun names on the ranch. When I clear my throat, he glances up at me. “What?”

“Any ideas for a name?” I ask, tilting my head toward him.

He glances from me back down to the opossum, and then he sighs. “Fuzz,” he murmurs. “Fuzz Lightyear.”

I blink in surprise. “Why that name?”

He pokes at the fire with a stick. “Because he’s on a big adventure, far from home. . . And he’s fuzzy.”

I grin. “Fuzz, it is!” I nuzzle him against my chest. “Call Star Command, Fuzz. Tell them you found friendly life.”

Wiley and Levi groan, but I swear I see Dakota smiling behind his hand. Just as quickly as it comes though, it’s gone. Still, the steel in his eyes is a little softer the next time I meet them, and that’s enough or me.