“Oh, you bet.”
“And we didn’t do too badly for a pair of mutants.” I could laugh at the term now. “But I’m tired. Caleb, can you take us both home? Teagun’s a little busy, Clive has the Weatherby, and, in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m not bleeding.” I felt humble, both in asking for his help and in acknowledging the superiority of his magic. After all, it was I who had started him on the path of wizardry.
“I had noticed, sugar,” he said, “and I’m taking that for a good sign.” And with that, he gathered me close, and with a word, swept us home in a maelstrom of unleashed power.
CHAPTER 24
Scott and Sonja’s wedding went off without a hitch. Dad dressed up in a tux, proud enough to bust his cummerbund, and I managed not to fall off my high heels. The rose-colored bridesmaid dress I wore sagged a bit in the bust and gaped around the waist. It hadn’t done the last time I’d tried it on, two weeks previously. This was about the only tangible thing there was to remind me of the time I’d spent in 2120. That and the pieces from the broken Bausch & Lomb scope Teagun had left behind on his second trip.
I kept those parts, putting them away in a box and storing it in my room, though no last vestige of power remained in them. Caleb had used it all when he came to find me.
Anyway, on the ninth day of Scott’s ten-day honeymoon, I was alone in the shop when the heavily fortified plate-glass door swung open on its hinges. I was at my smithing bench, working on an 1873 single-action army Colt, when a tall, dark-haired man entered. Without looking my way, he headed right on over to the sales counter.
“Hello,” I said, coming up behind him. “May I help you?”
He spun around, as though I’d startled him, but if I had, then he must have startled me equally as much. In taking good look at him, my heart nearly ran away with me.
“I’m looking for Scott,” he said, his dark eyes shifting from me as if he were shy, or like maybe I made him nervous. He spoke in a quiet voice with an Hispanic accent.
“Scott isn’t in right now, but I’m his sister and can probably help you. Are you looking for a gun?” My mouth had gone dry.
“I already ordered a pistol. Scott said it would be here by now. Look. I got a receipt.”
I took the paper from him and examined it as if I were memorizing the number. His first name, I noted, was Ty. “We got in a couple of shipments yesterday. Hang on and I’ll see if your order is here.”
The gun he was waiting for lay on the middle shelf in the vault. I already knew that. Before I picked up the packing box, I put on my leather gloves.
“Here you are,” I said, trembling a little as I returned to the front. My stomach felt almost queasy. “One Mark V Accumark CFP Weatherby in .223 Remington caliber. Would you like for me to mount a scope on this baby for you? I have a nice little Bausch and Lomb in stock that would do quite well. Unless you have another brand picked out?” I knew he’d take the B & L. Of course I did.
He thought for a moment. “If it’s not too expensive, I’ll go with your recommendation.”
“The Weatherby is a thousand-fifty dollars. Add three-seventy-five for the scope. You decide. But we have a lifetime guarantee, Mr. Dill. And remember, we service what we sell.” I felt laughter fizz to life inside of me, until I was hard put to hold it in.
His eyes bored into mine and his mouth quirked in return. The dimple in his cheek did a dance. He was a young man, well-built and nice looking. Just like his grandson.
A LOOK AT SIX SHOT (GUNSMITH SERIES BOOK IV) BY C.K. CRIGGER
An old LeMat revolver is the catalyst that sends gunsmith Boothenay Irons back in time to 1877, and sets her down in the middle of the Nez Perce war. She is following her lover, Caleb Deane, after he and an Appaloosa horse named Six Shot disappear into the past. But before she can hope to rescue Caleb from his capture by the Indian, Axe, Boothenay must avoid the attentions of a murderous sheriff, save a wounded man from certain death, and find new parents for a pair of orphaned children. Only then is she free to go after Caleb and in the end, lift a curse that has plagued Axe's family for 130 years...
COMING SOON FROM CITY LIGHTS PRESS AND C.K. CRIGGER
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C.K. Crigger
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
C.K. Crigger was born and raised in North Idaho on the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation, and currently lives with her husband, three feisty little dogs and an uppity Persian cat in Spokane Valley, Washington.
Imbued with an abiding love of western traditions and wide-open spaces, Crigger writes of free-spirited people who break from their standard roles.
Her short story, Aldy Neal’s Ghost, was a 2007 Spur finalist. Black Crossing, won the 2008 EPIC Award in the historical/western category. Letter of the Law was a 2009 Spur finalist in the audio category.
Find C.K. Crigger Online At:
citylightspress.com/authors/c-k-crigger/
Table of Contents
Copyright
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
A Look at Six Shot (Gunsmith Series Book IV) by C.K. Crigger
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About the Author
Crossroad (The Gunsmith Book 3) Page 27
