She lifted the gun, looked down the length of her arm, and pulled the trigger. The weapon seemed to jump in her hand, pointing upward as if it had a mind of its own. Texas yelled from the cliff, “I’m trying to sleep up here!” And Morgan started laughing.
But then he was standing behind her again, his chest pressed to her back, and he rasped by her ear, “You forgot the support.” He raised her left hand and placed it under her forearm. “Grip firmly the way you did with the rifle barrel to hold your arm steady. Try now.”
His breath crossed her cheek this time. He was doing it again, trying to see for himself if her aim was accurate. Did he really think she could concentrate when it felt like she was utterly surrounded by him and all she could think about was kissing him?
“What are you waiting for?” he asked.
She lowered the gun, pointing it at the ground, and turned about in his arms. He’d already straightened, so she had to glance up to meet his eyes. She was going to make it clear that he was far too distracting for this to work and suggest that his friend teach her instead. The words didn’t happen.
The kiss began softly. As she’d guessed, his mustache tickled her upper lip, and she couldn’t help the giggle that started, but it was cut off almost instantly when his hand at the back of her neck pressed her closer to him and his lips spread hers apart, or her gasp did; in either case, the kiss was now deep and amazing and so very stirring, with so many wonderful sensations showing up all at once. There was a fluttering in her belly, her pulse racing, a tingling up her back, and a shocking urge to put her arms around him when his tongue slid next to hers.
She moaned in delight. Unfortunately, he didn’t recognize it as a sound of pleasure and stepped back. And for once, she could tell that he was frowning. But for once, she didn’t want him to.
“That was—” she began.
He cut in, “Necessary to clear your head. You were getting distracted. Now, concentrate and keep practicing. I’ll check on your progress in a few hours.” He walked away, but tossed back, “And no cheating by getting closer to the sign.”
She would have admitted the kiss was nice, but maybe it was better that she didn’t let him know that she’d liked it quite so much. That might bring him back for more when she supposed they ought not to be doing that, considering they didn’t even like each other. But without the insult preceding it this time, she couldn’t deny being kissed by the bear had been thrilling.
Feeling a bit full of herself because of it, she raised the weapon she was still holding, supported her arm, and fired off several shots. She stared incredulously at the sign she’d just damaged, then yelled to Morgan before he disappeared inside his mine, “I’ve mastered this!”
“The hell you have.”
“Three shots, three holes in the sign. It would appear shooting is my forte.”
He snorted and continued on, yelling back, “Return before dinner or you go without.”
She wasn’t displeased with his sour reaction. She smiled, guessing that his anger wasn’t directed at her. He was mad at himself because he’d wanted to kiss her, and he had.
Chapter Twenty-One
VIOLET RETURNED TO THEcamp at precisely five o’clock. She’d dug her pocket watch out of her valise before she left to make sure she would return long before the sun set. But spending most of the day walking over uneven terrain had left her tired and thinking about taking a short nap before dinner.
She forgot about the nap when she found Morgan in the yard pouring large rocks from a wheelbarrow into some kind of device. He turned a handle to raise a large square of metal covered in netting, then let it drop into the container below. When she saw him pouring small stones from the container into crates, which were stacked nearby, she realized the device was a rock crusher.
“You’re saving rocks?” she asked as she approached.
“That’s silver ore,” he corrected. “I’m getting it ready for smelting.”
Since he nodded toward the big brick dome, she guessed, “So that’s what you call a smelter?”
“I light it about every four days, and only at night, since it makes a lot of smoke, which could be seen from far off during the day. The wind usually comes up the gully or over the lower slope and blows the smoke away from the cabin. Stinks like hell and can even make you sick if you inhale too much of it, so I don’t smelt unless there’s a good breeze.”
“You built that?”
He nodded. “It’s just made of clay bricks. Couldn’t very well get a ready-made metal one up this hill, those things are huge. So are rock crushers, so I made one of those, too, just had to order a block of steel and the nets to hold it. You’ll need to go into the cabin when I do the burn, just in case the smoke drifts into the yard.”
“It seems like a lot of extra work. Wouldn’t it be simpler to sell the ore as it is?”
“Simpler, but not as convenient. I did that the first few months I was here, which is why I bought so many mules to carry it to town. It’s easier to transport silver bricks than bulky raw ore.”
“Do you make more money if you smelt it first?”
“A lot more. It’s still not pure silver, but it averages eighty percent, which is considered high, and if the silversmiths back east want sterling, then they can process it further. That requires a lot more chemicals than I have here and huge machines that generate more heat than a small smelter like mine.” He finally glanced around at her. “I didn’t hear any shots while you were gone. No animals today?”
“Only small ones, but Bo chased them off before I got near them.”
“I don’t like you going off like that.”
