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“Oh, you know what? I need to take care of some personal business,” Zeke lied. “But thanks for the offer, Blaze. You four go on ahead and eat. I’ll get something after things settle down.”

Yes, he realized his words were crude, but he’d learned long ago that people left you alone if you needed time at an outhouse, even if it was a bush in the great outdoors.

Blaze knew what a wounded animal looked like, and that was the exact image Zeke had presented as he’d walked off to the bushes.

All through the night, it bothered him that Zeke had felt like he couldn’t have supper with the rest of the group.

He had been tempted to go after Zeke. Zeke didn’t want the others to know he felt rejected.

He wanted to put on a brave front. Considering his poor performance at the canyon, Blaze thought it best to let Zeke preserve what little pride he had left.

Zeke wanted so much to be an alpha wolf but didn’t have what it took to do it.

And Blaze couldn’t accomplish the feat for him.

If Zeke was going to be the sheriff he wanted to be, he was going to have to do it on his own merits.

Blaze, himself, hadn’t been born a fighter.

He’d been forced to develop the skill through long years of hardship and loss.

Blaze had no way of knowing what Zeke’s life had been like, but Zeke had definitely been sheltered from harsher realities.

In some ways, Blaze envied him that. In fact, he envied Bernadette, Lucas, and Gail their sheltered experiences.

They had all been frightened of Bower and his gang because, to them, that was the worst thing that they’d ever faced.

How Blaze wished he could say the same thing.

But what could one do about their past? It wasn’t like Blaze could snap his fingers and make all the terrible things go away.

For better or worse, they were a part of him.

But there were times when being the only one in the group who’d been forced to confront the harsher realities of life made him feel alone.

Despite Zeke’s inadequacies, he had more in common with the others than Blaze did. Blaze decided he would do his part to make things better for Zeke. But not too much better. He didn’t like the wistful glances Zeke sent Bernadette’s way when he thought no one was looking.

Before anyone else was awake the next morning, Blaze heard Zeke head off to the stream. There wouldn’t be many more of those left as they went into the desert. Blaze slipped out of his bedroll and retrieved his canteen. Then he followed Zeke and started to fill his canteen with water.

Zeke, who was doing the same to his canteen, glanced Blaze’s way. “I wasn’t staring at Bernadette last night while you four ate.”

Blaze arched an eyebrow. “Yes, you were.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“Zeke, the very fact that you started off this conversation by telling me you were not staring at her means that you were staring at her. There’s no other reason why you’d think I was going to bring it up.”

He could tell that he’d made his point by the way Zeke’s shoulders slumped.

“I’m not here to argue with you,” Blaze began. “You and I have a bigger problem to deal with. We need to get Lee and Wilson. If we don’t, they’ll continue killing and stealing all through Arizona. Neither one of us wants that.”

Zeke offered a determined nod. “Right. They have to face the hangman’s noose for all they’ve done.”

Good. Blaze was glad to see that Zeke could be sensible. “I want to help you learn to shoot a gun.”

“I already know how to shoot a gun.”

“You could have fooled me because you didn’t do it back at the canyon when it would have been a good time to do so.”

Zeke bristled. “I wanted to make sure Bernadette was safe. It wouldn’t have been wise to start shooting while she was still in the cave.”

Blaze gave him a pointed look. “You are either scared when faced with a fight, or you are inept with a gun. Which is it?”

Zeke winced, and Blaze knew he had hit a nerve.

“Which one is it?” Blaze pressed.

Zeke pulled the canteen out of the stream and sealed it with the lid. He waited for a long moment then said, “I know how to shoot a gun.”

“So you’re scared to do so when the moment comes.”

Zeke blinked as if Blaze had whacked him hard across the head. So that was the problem. Zeke wanted to uphold the law, but he lacked the confidence to do it.

After a moment, Zeke said, “I went after Cooper when he started shooting at me, Gail, and Lucas. That was before you made it to the canyon.”

“Alright, so you acted on instinct because Cooper shot first.” When Zeke frowned, he said, “That’s not a bad thing, Zeke. It’s a lot better than if you were unable to act at all. It’s just that when you have a moment to think about the confrontation, you hesitate. We need to work on that.”

“What do you mean?”

“What do you mean by asking me ‘what do I mean’?”

Zeke pulled his canteen out of the water and screwed the lid on it. “Are you planning to drop me off at the next town? Do you think I’m so bad at this job that your only recourse is to get rid of me?”

Blaze’s eyes grew wide. So this wasn’t the first time someone had told Zeke he was scared to do the job of a deputy.

And for all Blaze knew, more than one person had expressed their concerns to him, but instead of taking it as a genuine concern, he took it as criticism.

Or, perhaps, the person—or people—meant it as a criticism, rather than a concern.

“No, Zeke, I’m not going to drop you off in the next town,” Blaze assured him as he put the cap on his own canteen.

“Lee and Wilson are dangerous. They make Bower and his gang look like girls going to a tea party. I need help. I don’t have time to train Lucas on how to use a gun, and I’m sure even if I did, Gail wouldn’t appreciate me risking the life of the man she just married. That makes you the better choice.”

Zeke gave a roll of his eyes. “Thanks for the compliment.”

“Believe it or not, it is a compliment.” Blaze set the canteen on the ground beside him and directed his full attention to the deputy.

“Fear is nothing more than a lack of confidence, and when I’m done with you, you’re going to have enough confidence to help me apprehend Lee and Wilson.

” Zeke didn’t seem to know whether to accept Blaze’s words as encouragement or criticism, so Blaze gave his arm a reassuring pat and added, “You have potential. It’s time someone came along and drew that potential out of you.

Let’s put our canteens away and get started. ”

“You want to do this now?”

“There’s no time like the present.” Blaze rose to his feet. “Don’t make me wait. I’m not patient. Once I set my mind to something, I want to do it right away.”

Blaze wasn’t sure if the firm tone would work on someone timid like Zeke, but to his satisfaction, Zeke nodded and went to drop his canteen off with his belongings.