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“Well,” Butch gave him a sly grin, hidden beneath his hat. “I’ll have you know, I didn’t come alone, partner.”

Keaton, also dressed in the same thing, stepped out from behind Butch, his spurs clanging as he stopped beside his brother and let a hand hover over his own fake weapon.

Cassidy grinned. “Well, friend. I never go anywhere alone either.” And I nearly fell off of the fence as little Millie, with bright red hair tucked beneath a hat slightly too big for her, stepped around the back of Cassidy. He’d let her borrow a pair of his chinks that were still way too big for her, and the spurs they’d somehow managed to hook to the back of her boots dragged against the dirt, swamping her feet.

Another red-tail hawk cry ricocheted through the air as everything turned stiff. Tensions slithered through the thick atmosphere, and not a single soul dared to move as they stood, locked and ready for battle. I swear I could hear a band playing the old standoff music from the shows I grew up watching in the background.

Cassidy raised a single brow.

Sweat trickled down the side of Keaton’s forehead.

Butch narrowed his eyes.

Millie stuck her chin out and widened her shoulders.

The sun dipped below the peak of the mountains, draping the scene in a hazy orange glow.

My heart raced in my chest as the four of them remained absolutely still.

And then Butch’s fingers grazed his pistol.

Cassidy ripped his airsoft gun from the holster, and Butch was running for his life as Millie drew on Keaton. She suddenly dove behind the grown man beside her. Pellets flew through the air, slamming into chaps and dirt.

Dust kicked up behind Keaton and Butch as they barreled straight toward Cassidy and Millie. My cowboy snatched the little girl up, tossed her over his shoulders, and started gangly running away from the other two.

“The lady must choose! The lady must choose!” Cassidy shouted, begging for surrender as Butch drilled him in the butt, and Millie giggled wildly in her uncle’s arms.

“We are the fair winners of this duel! Surrender. Briar is now on our side, and you get to do chores all alone,” Butch commanded, then blew across the tip of his pistol as if cooling off the chamber.

The two boys stopped giving chase, and Cassidy paused, his back still to the boys. He slid Millie down from his shoulder, and they had a private conversation. One that Keaton and Butch both strained to hear, but their words were so quiet there was not a sound that reached my ears.

Then Cassidy whipped around with the gaze of a wild ghost rider, and Millie jumped from his arms, holding both pistols. She cackled into the air and began rapidly firing at the two boys. Cassidy took off, sprinting directly toward me, his eyes roaring with hot flames. The orange from the sunset glowed in his hazel irises that were locked on the very person that they’d been fake dueling over: me.

“Cassidy!” I squealed as he scooped me off the fence, hopped the railing, guided my legs around his waist, and continued sprinting away without missing a step.

“KEEP GOING! WE MUST HAVE HER ON OUR SIDE!” Millie shouted, the sounds of her airsoft gun still clicking as he carried me farther and farther away.

As I wrapped my arms around his broad neck, he glanced over his shoulder, his grin as wide and carefree as ever. There was something so pure about this man in this moment. A gentleness behind whatever rough exterior that he typically exuded that had me melting in his arms.

He raced farther away, catching my eyes from his peripherals, and he grinned even wider. Playful. A word that seemed to accurately describe this moment with this man. The worries were still there, the maturity that came from a life full of burdens was still hanging onto our coattails, but for just this tiny space in time, they were a problem for tomorrow.

Until his feet came to a screeching halt and the serenity slipped from his face.

Cassidy’s fingers dug into my body. The sound of distant laughter was muffled by the crunch of tires on gravel, ebbing closer and closer toward our solitude. Sweat dripped down my back as Cassidy slowly lowered my boots to the dirt below. An arm remained around my waist, and the moment I was steady, I glanced over my shoulder, refusing to put space between Cassidy and me.

“Who’s that?” I whispered, my veins prickling hot with the too familiar nauseating stab of fear. A black escalade creeped up the road, heading straight toward the main house off to the side.

“I have no idea,” he answered slowly.

“It’s too soon,” I replied, my lip trembling as his hold around my waist tightened. “Cassidy…” I begged as the chains that were dragging us to the bottom of a river arrived. The devil had arrived to carry me home.

“Go. Take the kids to the house,” he commanded.

I shook my head. “I won’t leave you here alone.”

“Wayde wants you. You can’t be here.”

“This was never supposed to happen like this. He’s already sent a dozen men; who’s to say he’s alone now?” I whispered as the black escalade lugged to a stop. The windows were tinted so dark you couldn’t see the passengers.