I make a noncommittal sound, hoping my seeming lack of interest will be enough of a deterrent to halt this conversation. Idon’t want to hear about this from Maddock. Whatever Aiden’s history, I want to hear it from him. Because hewantsme to know it.
“A real misstep on his part that he won’t,” Maddock is still saying before he pauses to take a pull of the flask he keeps in his vest, evidently planning to celebrate last night’s winning streak right up until he sits at the table again tonight. “As it happens, I’m more than a fair hand with a gun myself. Fastest in my county.”
“Impressive,” I say, wondering how fair the competition can be when you actuallyownthe county. “I would ask you to demonstrate but I’m afraid my ego could not tolerate letting you outdraw me in more than one arena.”
He laughs. So do I. Though I really hadn’t meant it as a joke.
Maddock steps closer, leaning in enough to make us look like co-conspirators. “He’s dirt poor, you know,” he murmurs. “Barely has a cent to his name. God knows how he must have wasted his earnings. You’d think it would make it easier to get him to fall in line.”
“To fall in line?”
There’s a humming starting at the back of my skull, a white-hot rage flaring back to life in my spine. And however much I was planning to take from Maddock before, I decide it’s not nearly enough.
“Talks back. Doesn’t follow orders. Keeps to himself. He’s hiding something if you ask me.” Maddock makes an effort to shift his expression to one of sadness and regret, as if truly aggrieved at what he’s about to say. “It’s a shame, really. He’s so intent on squandering his future when I could help him make a name for himself again. Only needs to see the potential. But, in his current state…let’s simply say, he’s not what I paid for. And I’m not in the charity business.”
“No,” I say, my restraint growing increasingly thin as he clapsme on the back. “You wouldn’t be.”
He goes back to smiling as if I’ve paid him a compliment, then turns as the men he’s been keeping at the poker table with him appear from the dining room.
“You ready to head out, boss?” asks the one named Arty, easily the greenest of the bunch and by far the most eager to belong. A combination that I can only hope doesn’t bode nearly as ill for him as it once did for me. “Figure we should get going if—”
“Do Iseemas if I’m ready?” Maddock replies coolly, not bothering to actually look at the young man. “Or do I seem as if I’m in the middle of a conversation?”
“Sorry, boss.” Arty winces, immediately hanging his head as the others exchange amused glances. Similarly, Maddock sighs before giving me a small shake of his head.
“I apologize,” he tells me. “Afraid there’s not much sense in that one.”
I wave him off, looking out the window once more to confirm Aiden’s still headed in the same direction far down the road before I start heading for the door myself. “Ishouldget going. Afraid I might lose sight of my priorities if I stand here much longer.” I nod first at Maddock and then his men, and at the smallest bit of attention, Arty brightens again. “Until later.”
“Wait now, where are you rushing off to?” Maddock asks, reaching out to grab my arm a little too forcefully to pass as casual. “Why don’t you come into town with us? We’re after seeing what trouble we can find.”
“Afraid I’ve business elsewhere,” I tell him, rolling my shoulder and moving to pull on the coat I had draped over my arm so he has no choice but to let go. “But I have every intention of continuing ours this evening. Rest assured.”
“This evening,” Maddock repeats, glancing out the window as I had just done before looking back in my direction. He takes another drink from his flask as he considers me. “Guess youprobably do havesomemoney left.” He laughs, the tension of the moment slipping away but still hovering at the edges. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”
“That makes two of us,” I say, mirroring his enthusiastic expression before again heading for the exit.
He pivots to face me as I go, laughing once more as I reach my hand out for the doorknob. “Never met a man so happy at the prospect of losing.”
I shrug, giving the cool metal in my palm a twist. “Perhaps we’re playing for different things.” I tip my hat, smiling honestly now at the uncertainty on his face. Then I leave them to go find their fortunes while I go find mine.
I take off for another ride not long after I get back to the stable, telling myself it’s because someone should check the herd and on the men left behind, but I know I really just need to get some distance. In either case, at least the mustang gets in a good stretch of his legs, too.
I wasn’t always as fond of riding or of horses as I am now. When I was young, tending to them was probably one of my least favorite chores. But years of necessity and close proximity can go a long way in helping two creatures understand each other, and I can safely say now that I prefer their company more than most people.
They’re less confusing, for one. No hidden motives. No lies. A horse has something it’s after? You’ll know it. Likewise, a horse wants to kill you? You’ll know that, too. Which is more than I can say for everyone I’ve encountered recently…
Why would Cypress give me that watch? Why would he think Ideservedit? No matter how far I’ve gone today and no matterhow many hours I’ve spent thinking about it, I still can’t figure out the answer.
Sure, he’d said he was sorry for taking my busted one. That he knew it was wrong, but in my experience, that rarely means much. People know things are wrong and do them anyway all the time. Rarely do the apologies they offer afterward actually mean anything.Neverdo they actually result in some sort of atonement that is worth more money than I’d ever see otherwise.
Even for a necessity, I simply cannot wrap my mind around the idea of spending that much in one go, and I consider once again that it has to reflect some level of imbalance on his part. Unless…
Maybe this is all an attempt at bribery, and I’ve been overthinking what is merely a way for him to continue pursuing whatever it is that brought him to Soldana by removing me as a potential risk.
That seems the most plausible explanation.
Or itwould, except based on the prior evening alone, the likelihood of anyone turning on him before he gives them a personal reason to do so is extremely narrow. After all, even if I were to say what he’d done, there’s no guarantee that their respect for my gun would translate to their respect for my word.