“I’m not going to work the whole day. I’ll come home for lunch. Will you make sandwiches for us?”
Millie actually smiled at this and made the hand gesture that meant yes.
“Dakota will probably be joining us, so make enough for her too, all right?”
Millie didn’t reply that time, but it was okay. Maybe Dakota was right about her being stronger than he thought.
With that, Blade headed off to work. Fortunately, the town was quiet after the previous day’s events, and before it was even time for lunch, Blade was already making his way home. He stopped at Dakota’s house on his way, but she wasn’t there. Sometimes during the day, Dakota worked at the carpenter’s shop, but Blade had gone past there before he left, and there was no sign of her. That only meant one thing: she was already at his house, waiting for him.
As expected, Dakota was sitting at the kitchen table with Millie when he arrived. In front of them was a tray with sandwiches and three empty cups. The moment Millie saw him, she got up and started making coffee.
They ate in comfortable silence for the most part, and then all three headed to the ranch. Millie immediately went to work in the vegetable garden, while Blade and Dakota headed to the other side of the ranch to do some target practice. They set up some empty cans and bottles to shoot at and then marked out their distance. It was always a competition between the two of them. Today, they were going to work on accuracy.
“My aunt and I had a fight again last night,” Dakota said as she loaded her pistol.
Blade snorted. He couldn’t stand the woman. “I’m guessing it was about your clothes.”
Dakota got into position and aimed her pistol. “You’re guessing right. You’d think she’d at least try to find something new to complain about.”
“Honestly, I wish she would just stop complaining altogether.”
“Me too,” Dakota agreed before she took a shot. The bullet sent one of the cans flying.
“Nice,” Blade complimented as he readied himself to take a shot.
Blade took one shot after another until his chamber was empty. It felt good watching the cans fly off the fence. He was running out of patience. He was physically and mentally ready to go after Austin and his gang. He didn’t want to wait any longer.
“It’s time,” he said, turning toward Dakota. He thought she would be surprised, but instead, it looked like she had expected it.
“I know,” she replied.
Blade tilted his head to the side, his brows furrowing. “How?”
“I can’t explain it. I just had a feeling that you would want to leave soon.”
“It’s like you know me better than I know myself.”
“I think I might,” Dakota agreed. “When are you planning to go?”
“I don’t know. With the way I’ve been feeling lately, I’d leave right now if I could.”
Dakota focused her attention back on their targets. “Why can’t you?” She shot off a round, the slug hitting a rock she had balanced on top of an old glass bottle.
“I’m worried about leaving Millie, especially now that Margaret is gone.”
“Some independence will be good for her. If you keep taking care of her and babying her, she’s never going to be able to take care of herself. She needs to see that she can be self-sufficient.”
Dakota always said things exactly the way she saw them. She didn’t lie or sweeten her words to protect people. The only person Blade had ever seen get under her skin was her aunt.
“I know you’re right, but I can’t help but worry,” Blade admitted. “If anything happened to her while I was gone...”
Dakota took another shot before replying . Frowning, she turned to look at him. “Firstly, nothing is going to happento her, and secondly, even if something happened to her, it wouldn’t be your fault.”
Blade considered her words as he reloaded his Colt.
“If you’re really that worried, why don’t you talk to Dr. Masterson about it? He’s her doctor and understands her condition better than anybody else.”
That wasn’t a bad idea. “Okay,” Blade agreed. “I’ll go see him when we’re done here.”
