"Soft?" Mathew yelled over the din of the crunching grasses. "Some of us future men prefer to use brains over brawn. Nothing wrong with that. This is suicidal!"
An angry man's roar shook the trees up ahead. Their feet ate up the frozen ground. Mathew took care to land his feet to prevent a sprained ankle while they dashed across a field of waist-high dead grasses and into the woods. Sam followed the whimpers. He skidded to a stop, and Mathew cautiously walked up behind him. Both their chests heaved to catch their breath, and white clouds puffed in front of their faces.
"No!" Sam's outburst thundered across the fields. He dropped to his knees, and Mathew saw a mutt lying on its side with a clear bullet wound in its shoulder. A rustling ahead warned Mathew of the shooter's presence.
"He's here, Sam. The gunman. Straight ahead." He pointed and Sam stood. Mathew continued, "Go. I'll take care of the dog. You get the guy."
Sam dropped a hand on Mathew's shoulder. "I'm trusting ye with my dog. He means a lot to me. Dinnae worry about the shooter. I'll rip his arms off."
"I've got him." Mathew smiled and Sam dashed off farther into the woods. Mathew knelt and scooped the poor filthy dog into his arms. Its tail wagged, and it tried to lick his face. Mathew's heart broke for him. He pressed the dog's wound to his chest to stifle the bleeding and ran back to the house as fast as he could without doing further tissue damage. A glance over his shoulder was all he afforded his brother-in-law on his pursuit of the bad guy. He saw and heard no one.
Mathew entered the back door. "April! I need help."
"I've got clean water here, scissors and tongs." Mathew's head spun at the woman's voice.
"Verity? How did you...? Where did you...?"
"Stop babbling and help the poor dog. Your sister gave me this bag full of supplies. She's secured in her room with the baby."
"Why?" Mathew set the dog down on the kitchen table. Verity closed the back door and latched it locked.
"There's a gunman on the loose. April has enemies. Makes sense to me."
"I meant, why are you here? But Sam's very worried about this little guy. Give me a hand?" Verity brought over a gas lamp, and Mathew inspected the red mangled patch of flesh. "Clippers?"
She handed him scissors. No electricity. Mathew pinched hunks of matted fur and cut them away. She passed him a clean towel, and he patted the wound. The dog whimpered. Mathew had no anesthesia.
"Any chloroform in there?" Although not exactly safe for pets, it was better than nothing.
"I don't think so."
How was he going to dig all the fragments out? Mathew waved the light closer, and Verity held the pooch down. His tail still wagged, and Mathew's heart broke for the tough little guy. Mathew palpated the skin around the opening and felt the round lodged in the shoulder blade. One lucky pup.
"Any Betadine or something with iodine on the label?"
"No."
Mathew sighed.
"Tongs." Verity handed the tool to him and he went in quick and retrieved the steel ball. The dog yelped and struggled. Blood poured out of the wound. "Hold him tight." He threaded a needle and poked and pulled the thread through, making a clean line of stitches. The dog whimpered and thrashed, and Mathew was equal parts frustrated and sorry. "Gauze."
He accepted the proffered white roll and wrapped it around the dog with Verity helping to lift him. Satisfied, he cut the end and secured it with tape. "Any alcohol in the bag?"
"I don't see any."
"Well, if he doesn't succumb to infection, he'll be all right."
Mathew released the dog, and he squirmed up to a seated position on the table, holding the paw of the affected shoulder in the air. Mathew picked him up and set him on the floor. He and Verity cleaned up together.
"So, what are you doing here?" he asked her again.
"I was going to ask you the same."
Their eyes met and Verity's cheeks pinked. Mathew said, "Well, I wanted to explain what happened at the restaurant. You?"
"Came to buy a dagger."
"What? Why do you need a dagger?" Mathew set the soiled towels in the empty wash basin.
"What kind of man carries no arms?" She spit Jonathan's line at him while packing the unused supplies back into April's backpack.
"Ouch. Listen, can we talk?"
"I thought that's what we're doing." Verity carried the soiled instruments to the kitchen and set them in the wash basin with the towel. She dipped a bowl into April's clean water supply and set it on the floor. The injured pup hobbled over and slobbered it all up.
Sam pounded on the back door and shouted to be let inside. Mathew opened it. His brother-in-law burst through the door, panting. "April?" he called.
Mathew's sister came out from the bedroom holding little Mathew. "Is everyone all right?"
"We're fine," Mathew answered.
"And Doug?"
April gasped. "Doug was hurt? What happened?"
Mathew pointed to the drinking mutt. "This little guy is Doug? He'll be fine. Could use a neuter though."
April passed the baby to Sam and ran to Doug, giving him scratches on the head. Sam passed the baby to Verity and followed likewise. April had tears in her eyes.
Verity cooed at the baby. She rocked him and tickled his nose and made silly faces. Verity looked stunning holding an infant, a glowing radiance of maternal warmth. She was perfect with children, and Mathew knew at that moment there was no other woman for him. How could he convince her to give him more time and prove he was worthy of her?
Sam stood up, satisfied with Mathew's care, and said, "Thank ye, kindly."
"That's what I do."
"So, no hard feelings about the soft comment?"
"I think we're even."
"No. I owe ye. Doug is family. But now we've got a problem." Sam continued, "I couldna catch the gunman, but I saw him. Rob Bertrand, one of Jaime's men. I'm guessing Jaime put a hit on Verity."
"I was told there was a bounty," Verity confirmed.
"Is that true?" Mathew asked.
"It's not us," Sam added. "Jaime hasn't poked his arse around these parts in over a year. You two walk in the door and now his men are sniffing around. If it's no' her, it's ye, Matt."
Mathew gulped. "He may have mentioned something about me being on his list."
All the eyes in the room turned to him.
Chapter Twenty
VERITY COVERED HER shoulders with her cloak, thankful for the chance to thaw out inside the Hartley's home and still in awe of meeting the woman she admired so much, but she still needed to buy what she came for so she could set out toward her destination.
"Is your shop open today, Sam? I need to make a purchase."
"Uh, sure. Just give me a minute, and I'll get the door unlocked for ye." Sam stepped to the bedroom and came back out tucking a shirt into his trousers. She followed him out back to the shop and after he unlocked the door, she followed him into the front office.
"What can I get for ye, Verity?"
"I need a dagger."