Don't Poke the Bear!

Chapter 31

"YOU MUST BE crazy if you think I'm gonna help Bose Rennick escape from my jail. Why, I'd be the laughin' stock of the town. After all that time I put in, and all that talk I done about it? There's no way!"

"You will let him escape. We just have to figure out how."

"Give me one good reason why I should."

"Gentry. Because you'll die three days after he does."

"First of all, I don't believe a word of this destiny thing. Him gettin' lynched can't cause my death. That's just mumbo-jumbo. Not only that, you might be off on your three days."

"Just...pretend it's true for a minute, and pretend I'm trying to save your life."

I take a deep breath while rememberin' Rose has saved my life several times in the past.

"Okay."

"How can you help him escape?" she asks.

"Guess I'd just open the hatch and let him run off."

"He aims to kill you, Emmett. He's not going to rest until he does."

"What if you told him the same thing you told me? That we're linked by destiny."

"You know Bose pretty well, don't you?"

"I know him some."

"Do you think he'd believe that?"

"I don't know. He was there when you spooked his horse last fall. He was here today when his gun didn't work."

"Trust me. He'll kill you in a heartbeat, now that he knows where you live."

I pause a minute. Then say, "Supposin' you're right about Bose and me. How long are you gonna protect us from each other?"

"Until the big event."

"The big event."

"That's right."

"And what's that?"

"I can't tell you."

"Of course you can't. But since you're the only one who had a vision, and since you won't share it, you're gonna have to come up with the plan for how to keep him from killin' me after we let him go."

She nods. "Fair enough."

"You got a plan?"

"Not yet, but I'll work on it."

"Well, you better be quick, 'cause that bunch downstairs wants blood."

"I know."

I turn to leave the room. She stops me by sayin', "Emmett?"

"Yeah?"

"That was a brilliant piece of shooting you did today."

I search her face to see if she's makin' fun of me. She don't appear to be.

"At first I thought it was me doin' the shootin'. Then I figured it must a' been you."

"It was you, Emmett. You're the most amazing gunman who's ever lived."

"That you know of."

"Trust me, Emmett. You're the best."

"What about Bad Vlad?"

"Not even close."

"And Bose Rennick?"

"Very close."

"He's that good?"

She nods.

"I never seen him draw and shoot."

"He drew and shot today, after coming in the back of the saloon."

I think about how I heard his voice and then six clicks. He must a' drawn and shot after speakin', which was a split second later.

"How come he's got such a beautiful speakin' voice?"

She shrugs. "It's his other gift. Everyone gets at least two, in my experience."

"What's Gentry's? Besides beauty?"

"Her other gift is you."

"Really?"

She nods.

"What's my other gift? Besides bein' a good shooter?"

"It'll sound silly to you."

"Tell me anyway."

She fixes her eyes on mine. Then, without crackin' a smile, says, "A heart that's true."