A Temporary Family. Sherri Shackelford

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СКАЧАТЬ Red has us trapped. He’s right, we won’t get very far without the horses.”

      “Then we’ll help them. Once they have the gold, they’ll leave us be.”

      Pity shimmered in his hazel eyes. “Sure.”

      Her heart sank. “They’re going to kill us either way, aren’t they?”

      “Let’s just get through tonight, we’ll worry about the rest later.”

      He was backtracking on his words to keep her fears at bay, but she’d seen the truth in his expression. Once the outlaws had the money, their lives were forfeit. She glanced at the two long braids hanging down Caroline’s back. For the first time in her life she was entirely free of Eleanor’s authority and her father’s disapproval, and all she wanted was to crawl back home. She’d been angry with her sister for treating her as though she was still a child, and here she was behaving like one.

      Eleanor had always been stronger, but something had changed since Walter’s passing. The facade of perfection had slipped, and her sister’s fragility had unleashed a desperate terror in Tilly. It was a truth she’d been unwilling to face. If Eleanor wasn’t the strong one anymore, where did that leave Tilly? As much as she chafed against her role in the family, at least she understood her place.

      Victoria giggled and flicked water at her younger sisters. The juxtaposition of their innocence against the outlaw prowling the house was too much to bear.

      Tilly’s chest pounded like a kettledrum. “Where are those blackberry bushes, Mr. West? Are they close?”

      “Out the back door, and straight ahead.” He pitched his voice low. “You can call me Nolan when we’re around the outlaws.”

      Her cheeks heated. “Of course. I keep forgetting.”

      She squinted through the window. The three girls would be away from the house, but still within sight. Nolan was correct, they needed distance between her nieces and the outlaws at all times.

      She grasped a bowl from the counter and approached Caroline. “Gather as many berries as you can. Take as long as you need.”

      Once again Caroline shot her a speculative glance, but didn’t question the orders. Tilly made a note to watch herself around the middle child. All of the girls were intelligent, but Caroline was the most like Eleanor, and Eleanor had always known when Tilly was up to something.

      Once the girls were gone, Tilly and Nolan began the meal. Snyder skulked about the station, poking his nose in all the cupboards and stomping on the floorboards. He emerged from the first bedroom empty-handed, and she and Nolan exchanged an uneasy glance. The barren rooms gave little clue as to who occupied them.

      Nolan started for the door, but Snyder blocked his path.

      “You stay where I can see you,” the outlaw ordered.

      Nolan’s concentration remained focused, and Tilly sensed he was weighing his options, deciding if he could challenge the man alone. She studied the scattergun clutched in Snyder’s hands, then stared at her fingers. Nolan was the best hope for the girls. He was the only one who could truly protect them. He was the one the outlaws needed in order for their plan to succeed. Since she couldn’t let him put himself in harm’s way, she’d have to do this herself.

      She wiped her hands on her skirts and straightened. “I can’t work with my hair unbound like this.”

      She brushed past Snyder and marched toward the last bedroom. Nolan’s room. The room the outlaw hadn’t yet searched.

      Snyder grasped her upper arm in a viselike grip. “I like your hair just fine the way it is.”

      Tilly shot him a quelling glance. “I prefer my hair bound.”

      The painful hold on her arm eased. Snyder let her go and swiped at his mouth with his sleeve.

      “Be quick about it, girlie. I’m hungry.”

      “I’ll be quick as gunfire,” she said over her shoulder.

      If she wanted to live her life as a brave woman who wanted to live a purposeful life, then she’d better start acting like one.

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