Page 7

Chapter Five

T he sun had set a half hour ago, and Blaze and Zeke were a mile outside of town.

Blaze had set up some targets on the nearby trees, some of which were closer than others.

Some were also higher than others. Blaze felt that the more variety Zeke had to work with, the better, and the trees offered Blaze an easier way to stay out of Zeke’s sight.

What Zeke needed most was to be caught off guard.

If he could learn to prepare for the unexpected, he wouldn’t be so intimidated by confrontations when they popped up.

There was no doubt he’d been intimidated by Bower and his gang.

Blaze was determined that Zeke would face Lee and Wilson without any hesitation.

But to get to that point, he needed practice.

Blaze watched as Zeke went around a tree.

Zeke scanned the trees in search of the next target.

Zeke paused and raised his gun to shoot one to his left.

Before he could fire the gun, Blaze shot an arrow so close to Zeke that it came within a couple of inches of hitting his arm.

Zeke let out a yelp, dropped his arm, and backed off from the target.

Blaze stepped out from the tree he’d been hiding behind so Zeke could see him. “You were supposed to shoot this target as soon as you noticed the arrow.” Blaze gestured to the target that was a few inches from his own head.

Zeke let out a disappointed sigh. “This isn’t easy, Blaze.” He paused then added, “Well, alright, it’s easy for you, but it’s not easy for me. Especially out here in the dark. Can’t we do this when it’s light out?”

Blaze approached him. “What if we come across Lee and Wilson at night? They’re not going to wait for daytime to engage in a shootout.”

“I know, I know. But this is practice. It’s not the real thing.” He rubbed the part of his arm where the arrow had zoomed past him. “Where did you get a bow and arrow?”

“I packed it when I went to look for Bernadette.”

“You packed a bow and arrow when you have a gun?”

“I might run out of bullets. It never hurts to have more than one weapon.” He shifted so Zeke could see his holster.

Under the gun was a knife. “I had a sheath sewn into the holster when I was your age. I learned my lesson after I was fighting off a wolf in the mountains of Colorado. I ran out of bullets and would have died if a man hadn’t come up and slit the wolf’s throat. ”

“You came face to face with a wolf?”

Blaze nodded. “I only ran out of bullets because I had to shoot a bear before it could kill me.”

Zeke sighed and looked heavenward. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s no wonder everyone likes you. You can do everything.

I bet Lucas thinks that the time I had to get rid of a scorpion before it could sting me is ridiculous compared to all of your exploits.

” Zeke plopped down on the ground, shoulders slumped.

“Why even take me along? You have the map. You can handle Lee and Wilson by yourself, just like you took care of Bower and his gang.”

Blaze’s eyes widened in surprise. So Zeke had finally come to realize that he had done very little to help him at the canyon?

As difficult as it must be for Zeke to admit it, Blaze was impressed Zeke had the capacity to be humble.

He had thought Zeke was nothing but a braggart, but perhaps all of that bravado was a cover for his insecurities.

Blaze settled on the ground beside him. “Zeke, I know this is difficult. My guess is that you had a good childhood. Am I right?”

“Of course. I have no complaints about my upbringing. I had the best parents a kid could ask for.”

“Your ma is still alive, but your pa isn’t?”

“He died when I was seventeen.”

Blaze nodded. “I bet he took good care of you. Did he teach you how to shoot?”

“Yes. We would set up scraps of tin and make bets to see who was a better shot.” Zeke’s mood brightened, and a smile crossed his face. “When I was fifteen, I won for the first time. He bought me my own horse for that one.”

“Is that the horse you have now?”

“Yes.”

“That horse and that satchel remind you of him, don’t they?” Blaze asked.

“They do, actually. Why? Does your horse remind you of your pa?” Zeke replied.

“I have nothing left from my pa except as many memories as a child can remember,” Blaze admitted in a soft tone.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

Blaze shrugged. “It happened a long time ago. I came to terms with it.”

“What about your ma?” Zeke asked.

“She’s gone, too.”

“Do you have any aunts or uncles?”

“The little family I had died when a group of outlaws raided the town we were living in,” Blaze replied, his mind temporarily going to that fateful night when the world he had been born into had burned to the ground.

“My parents barely got me out of there. We ended up at a remote cabin in the Colorado Mountains. I’ve been pretty much on my own all this time. ”

“What about your ranch? You’re not there right now. Is someone manning it?”

He thought of the three men he had hired once he was assured he could trust them. “I have ranch hands, but they have families of their own.”

Zeke paused for a long moment then said, “You’re going to marry Bernadette. That will give you a wife.”

Blaze pretended he didn’t notice the twinge of envy in Zeke’s voice.

“Yes, it will.” And he had been glad when Lucas agreed to the marriage so that Blaze didn’t have to keep living in an empty house.

Once the ranch hands left for the day, the loneliness could get to a man, even one who’d seen just about everything.

But Blaze hadn’t come out here to talk about himself, nor did he come out here to talk about Bernadette. They had come to work on Zeke’s skills.

Blaze put a hand on Zeke’s shoulder and made eye contact with him.

He hadn’t realized just how young Zeke was.

Zeke was close to Bernadette’s age. Both of them had that sheltered look about them.

It made Blaze want to protect them from the worst life had to offer.

In many ways, it was a terrible thing to have to grow up and face the harsher realities of life.

Once that innocence was gone, there was no getting it back.

But Zeke would have to do some growing up if he was going to survive against men like Lee and Wilson.

“Zeke,” Blaze began, “I wasn’t always the way I am now.

There was a time when I had no experience.

After my pa died, I feared what was lurking outside the cabin that my ma and I lived in.

I was so scared that I couldn’t hold my gun steady.

You don’t wake up one day and feel brave.

You have to work your way up to it. The only way you can become brave is by facing the things that scare you. ”

“Well, I won’t tell the others this, but I am worried about how things will go when we reach Lee and Wilson.”

“There’s nothing wrong with admitting you’re worried, Zeke.”

“Maybe there’s not when a man is as brave as you are, and maybe there’s not if you’re someone like Lucas who doesn’t have any experience with a gun. But I’m a deputy. I signed up for this job. I’m supposed to go out, find the lawbreakers, and bring them before a judge.”

“Is this a job you want?” Blaze asked.

“Yes. I’ve wanted to be a lawman ever since I could remember.”

“Then you need to embrace the job.” Blaze gestured to the nearest target on a tree.

“That is Lee. He is about to shoot a young woman and her child. Wilson is watching you from a building, and he has his gun aimed at you. When an arrow goes by you, it’s Wilson shooting at you.

You need to move faster than he can, and you need to stop Lee before he can kill the woman and her child.

If you can imagine this in your mind now when we’re safe, you won’t hesitate when you come upon them for real. ”

Zeke studied him. “Is that how you practiced to get as good as you are now?”

Blaze nodded. “I imagined the targets as the outlaws who ran through the town and killed as many people as they could while they were stealing from them. Sometimes I even imagine it’s the man who killed my pa.

I used to pretend they were coming for me next because they were the men who scared me most. You can let fear do one of two things.

You can let it make you run and hide, or you can let it make you stronger by confronting it. ”

For a long moment, Zeke was quiet. Blaze could tell Zeke was thinking over everything he had just told him.

At least Zeke took the time to consider what he was being told.

It was better than someone who rushed into something without thinking over the consequences first. When Zeke was satisfied with what he had concluded, a newfound determination came over him.

“Alright.” Zeke rose to his feet. “Go back behind those trees, and try to stop me from hitting these targets.”

Blake felt a smile tug at his lips. Good. He was going to make a man out of Zeke yet.

“I’m surprised Blaze and Zeke aren’t here yet,” Gail told Bernadette the next morning as they were eating at the restaurant. Gail glanced at Lucas. “We are supposed to leave at 7:30, aren’t we?”

Lucas swallowed the last of his waffle. “I remember Blaze saying 7:30.”

A worried expression crossed Gail’s face. “You don’t think something bad happened to them, do you? They said they were going to do some target practice out of town last night.” Gail’s gaze returned to Bernadette. “Did Blaze say anything about wanting to find a preacher before we headed out?”

Bernadette wished Gail hadn’t asked the question because the more Bernadette thought about it, the more it bothered her that he hadn’t at least suggested it. She was beginning to think Blaze was more interested in getting Lee and Wilson than he was in being with her.

“No, Blaze didn’t say anything about finding a preacher.” Bernadette retrieved the napkin from her lap and patted her lips clean.

Gail turned to Lucas. “Did he say something to you?”

Lucas shook his head and drank his coffee.

The little hope Bernadette had been holding on to that Blaze had decided to surprise her evaporated.

He didn’t feel the same way about her that she did about him.

He was kind and tender toward her, but he wasn’t excited about her.

All she had to do was see the way Lucas had taken Gail off to be alone with her yesterday to make the comparison.

Had it not been for that, Bernadette might not have figured out the difference between a polite courtship and a passionate one.

A woman ought to have a husband who was passionate about being with her, shouldn’t she?

It didn’t matter if the marriage was arranged or not.

“Oh, good.” Gail rose to her feet, and Lucas hurried to join her. “Nothing bad happened to them.”

Bernadette followed their gazes and saw Blaze and Zeke at the entrance of the restaurant. They already had their belongings packed and ready to go. Blaze noticed them first and gestured for Zeke to go with him. She placed her napkin on the table and stood up.

“Are you going to get something to eat?” Lucas asked.

Blaze shook his head as he and Zeke approached. “We were up until midnight.” He gave Zeke a firm pat on the back. “We made a lot of progress last night. By the time we get to Lee and Wilson, he’ll be ready.”

Well, Bernadette supposed it made sense that Blaze would want to focus his time on Zeke.

Zeke did need the help. Judging by the way he handled things at the canyon, he was in no position to confront outlaws until he received the right kind of training.

And who better to train him than Blaze? This reasoning made her feel a little better.

“Is there anything else we need to do while we’re here?” Blaze asked, his gaze going over the group—even over to Bernadette.

After a moment, Lucas shrugged. “Gail and I are ready to leave. I believe Bernadette has her things packed, too.” He glanced her way.

Forcing aside her lingering disappointment, Bernadette said, “My things are packed, but they’re still in my room.” Since Lucas and Gail had already brought their things to the restaurant, Bernadette was the only one slowing the group down. “I’ll return with them.”

Zeke frowned. “Shouldn’t someone go with her? I know the hotel is across the road, but it’s probably best if she doesn’t go alone since we don’t know anyone who lives here. I mean, sure the town looks safe, but who knows what can happen?”

Blaze turned to Bernadette. “I was about to go with you when he said that. I’ll take your things to your horse.” He directed his attention to Lucas. “Did you already pay for the meal?”

“I was just about to.” Lucas hurried to put some money on the table. Then he retrieved his and Gail’s things. When he turned to Gail, he gave her a smile that made her blush.

Bernadette’s gaze returned to Blaze. He was talking to Zeke about the path they would take as they went southwest. Bernadette let out a sigh then put on her bonnet so she would be ready to head on out.