The Soldier's Promise. Patricia Potter

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      Also a mistake. Lord, but his eyes were mesmerizing. Particularly when they seemed to look inside her and see her errand for the sham it was.

      “Mayor Douglas.” His expression was grim.

      “I received a copy of your deed and I have your building permit. I made copies of both for you.”

      “My attorney is sending me a copy of the deed,” he said curtly. “He also told me that the sheriff had questions about me.”

      Eve felt her face flush. She hated that. “I’m sorry. It seemed a way to dispel rumors. But I shouldn’t have authorized it. The questions should never have been asked.”

      “Discovered I’m not an ax murderer, did you?”

      “Not as far as Tom could discover,” she said. “He’s our police chief. He was supposed to do this surreptitiously. He apparently didn’t succeed.” She tried a small smile. She almost gave him the other reason, namely that one of the deputies had needed stopping, but that would probably be insulting, as well. To both of them.

      His grim expression didn’t ease. His thick hair was combed, but he hadn’t shaved. His eyes were just as cool as they had been during their first meeting. Cool and enigmatic.

      There was pain in the hard lines around his eyes and mouth, reflecting experiences she couldn’t even imagine.

      There was definitely nothing easy about the man. Especially the raw sexuality that he exuded...and it slammed into her.

      He moved to the door and stood aside, an invitation to enter. Frissons rocketed along her spine as she brushed by him and moved inside. She tried to concentrate on the cabin interior and not her sudden proximity to a man who sent all her senses spiraling out of control.

      “I can’t stay. My son is in the truck,” she said. She handed the documents to him. Her hand shook slightly. Stop it. You’re not sixteen. The smell of wet paint permeated the room. Newspapers covered the floor and two walls were painted a sand color, while another was half-done. The only furniture was a well-worn sofa that sagged in the middle.

      “I would invite you to sit but, as you can see, I’m not exactly ready for the visitors who seem to keep coming.”

      “Will you ever be ready?”

      “I doubt it,” he said grimly, but she thought she caught the barest hint of humor in his eyes.

      She saw a dog toy in the middle of the room. “My son loves dogs,” she said. “Would it be okay if he met yours briefly? Then we’ll have to go to baseball practice.”

      “He was out with me, hiding under the porch,” he said, “and he was only there because I insisted. I can tell you he’s even less tolerant of strangers than I am, so maybe it’s not a good...”

      A yell came from outside. The kind of yell that screamed fear and pain. Then there was loud barking.

      Eve’s blood turned cold as she turned and ran out the door. Nick, holding his right arm, stood next to the small porch. His face was white. “Don’t come near,” he said in a trembling voice.

      A dog resembling a German shepherd growled next to him and moved around in attack mode.

      “Amos!” Joshua Manning’s voice was sharp and commanding, as he moved even faster than she had. “Stand down. Amos.”

      “No!” Nick said. “Not the dog. Rattlesnake bit me. The dog’s trying to protect me.”

      Terror thrust through Eve like a spear. She knew from first-aid classes that the first rule after a bite was to stay still. She also knew how fast a snakebite could kill, and that the snake could strike again. There had been several bites in the area in the past two years. Of three victims, one had died and the others had lingering effects. All those facts raced through her head as she saw the coiled rattler and made a move toward Nick.

      “No! Stay still, damn it. You’ll make things worse. You can’t help him by getting bit yourself.” A strong hand shot out and grabbed her arm, stopping her. She fought to get loose.

      Eve wanted to grab her son and run to the car. She started to move again. But he tightened his hold. “You want to do something, get my gun. It’s on the top shelf of the closet in the back bedroom. Ammunition is next to it.”

      He paused. “You know how to load a gun?” Before getting an answer, he turned to Nick. “You’re doing good, boy. Real good. Stay totally still.”

      Reason fought against instinct. His eyes and voice made her listen. They came from someone used to being obeyed. Confident and competent. Still, the fear inside her was overwhelming. She couldn’t lose Nick. She couldn’t.

      Her legs didn’t want to move away from the one person in the world she loved with everything inside her. Nick looked so brave standing absolutely still, just as he was told. How could she be any less brave?

      “Of course I can load,” she said as she ran into the house, frantically searching for the room, then the closet, then the gun and bullets.

      She lived on a ranch with snakes and coyotes and other unfriendly creatures. Her father had made sure she knew how to use a rifle and revolver. She loaded the gun and ran back out just in time to see Manning toss the snake with one of the slats he’d obviously torn from the porch. It landed six feet away from her son and the dog.

      She aimed at the snake and fired. Once, twice. Again and again until the bullets were gone.

      “I think you’ve killed it several times over,” Josh Manning said. “Not bad shooting.”

      He took the gun from her hand with a gentleness she hadn’t expected. “You’ve got one hell of a kid there. Kept his head. But I think Amos has been bit, too. He put himself between your boy and the snake.”

      Eve hugged Nick as hard as she could without squeezing his arm. “I told you to stay in the car,” she said in shaking voice.

      “I saw the dog’s head poking from under the porch. I just wanted to see him,” Nick said. “He tried to protect me.”

      Amos was still standing at Nick’s side. But blood was coming from one of his paws, just as it was coming from small punctures in Nick’s arm.

      “Stand down, Amos,” Josh said softly. “Well done.” His voice was more gentle than Eve could ever have imagined as he ran his hands over the dog, seemingly looking for injury.

      “We have to get your son to a doctor as soon as possible.” He picked up Nick. “Try to keep that arm still,” he said to him. “And a little below your heart.” Then he turned to Eve. “The keys to my Wrangler are on a hook just inside. It has more room than your pickup. Get them. And soap up a washcloth and bring it out. I’ll put the boy in the back of the Jeep.” He paused. “Better take the gun inside, too.”

      He carried Nick to the backseat of the Jeep parked at the side of the cabin. Eve didn’t want to leave Nick, not for a second, but Joshua Manning seemed to know what to do. She knew all the rules about snakebites as well, and he was doing exactly what she’d learned. Get safely away from the snake. Wash the bite to kill bacteria. Keep the patient calm. The less the victim moves, the less damage will incur.

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