“Get in, then, before I change my mind.”
She clapped her hands softly. “I can’t wait to show you what a good shot I am.”
***
The old truck bounced and jounced over every rut in the crushed-shell road, jarring Millie so thoroughly she was sure she could hear her bones rattling. The headlights illuminated a narrow tunnel through the lush greenery.
“Where are we headed?” she asked.
“One of the colored boys showed me Gardiner’s tree stand just up the road here,” Russell said. He had one hand on the steering wheel, and the other arm was slung carelessly across her shoulders. “There’s a big buck—the fellows call him Zeus—an eight-pointer. I was out here early Friday morning and saw him, but before I could get a shot, something spooked him.”
“I’m sure you’ll get him this morning,” Millie said. His fingertips massaged her shoulder, and she cringed inwardly.
“Damn right I will. And I can’t wait to see the look on Bettendorf’s face when I show up with the carcass of his buck strapped across the hood of his truck.”
He whistled tunelessly as they rode through the inky darkness. “How can you tell where we’re going?” she asked, peering through the windshield. “There are no road signs, and it’s so dark, I’m hopelessly lost.”
“It’s just up here, where the road forks,” Russell said. “If you go to the left,that’s the road to the dock; to the right is where we’re going.” A hundred yards later, he turned the steering wheel sharply to the right, and several hundred yards later, he pulled the truck off the road. The headlights illuminated a path cutting through the tree line.
He cut the engine and jumped out of the cab. Millie joined him as he pulled the first rifle from the truck bed.
“Where—”
He clamped a hand hard across her mouth. “Quiet, goddamn it,” he whispered. “You’ll spook the damn deer.”
She nodded her understanding, and he removed his hand. “Now listen, because I’m not going to explain it again.” His voice was a harsh whisper. He pointed at a towering live oak across the meadow. “The stand is in that pine tree just up there by the oak. You can come with me, but you don’t say a word, don’t move, don’t breathe until I give you the nod. Okay?”
“Okay,” she whispered.
He sat down on the tailgate and pulled a flask from the inside pocket of his jacket and took a swig.
Picking up the rifle, he jammed three cartridges into the magazine before turning it right-side up again. He yanked the lever down and propped it beside him before taking another swig of bourbon. “See how I did that?”
He demonstrated the aiming process and blabbed endlessly about the trigger and firing. Finally, he handed her the rifle. “Got that?”
Millie took the rifle and cocked it. “Like this?”
“Don’t point it at me, goddamn it!” He nearly knocked the rifle from her hands. “Didn’t that useless father of yours teach you anything? Never point a loaded weapon at somebody unless you mean to fire it.”
She took exactly five steps backward, her heart pounding. The words she heard in her head weren’t Russell’s but instead, her dear, sweet papa’s.
“That’s the girl, Millie,” he’d said. “Plant your feet wide to absorb the shock of the recoil. Sight it. Hold your breath. Pull down steadily on the trigger.”
Russell was tipping the flask up to his lips. His eyes widened in disbelief. Millie held her breath and pulled.
The blast echoed across the field and knocked her onto the ground. Slumbering birds rose up, squawking from the treetops, but Millie was momentarily deafened. She stood up, her ears ringing, knees shaking badly, her hands still trembling.
The minutes ticked away slowly. Finally, she forced herself to walk back to the truck. The single shot knocked Russell onto his back in the bed of the truck. The silver flask, her engagement gift to him, was still clutched in his hands. She picked it up and tucked it into the waistband of her slacks. Somehow, she managed to push his body backward far enough to close the tailgate.
Millie slid behind the wheel of the truck and clutched the steering wheel with both hands, trying to still the waves of nausea and panic.
The first few purplish-pink streaks of sunlight broke over the distant treetops. It was nearly dawn. She had to get back to the house. Finally, when her hands quit shaking, she pulled out the flask and drank the last few swallows of bourbon.
She was searching for the cap when out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement. As she watched, wide-eyed, a buck emerged from the tree line. His rack was so magnificent it seemed like he might topple over from the weight of it. He walked slowly into the emerging daylight, swung his head in the direction of the truck and, for just a moment, seemed to be staring directly at her. Two seconds passed. The buck turned his muzzle upward, alerted to something. Finally, with a swish of his white tail, he bounded back into the tree line, back to safety.
“Goodbye, Zeus,” Millie whispered.
Swallowing her fears, Millie gripped the steering wheel to head back to the mansion. Just as she was about to pull onto the main road, she heard a car coming and stopped, just short of the intersection. It was the roadster! She dove for the floor, praying she wouldn’t be noticed, and by the time she pulled herself back to a seated position, she saw Josephine’s dark hair whipping in the breeze, and Gardiner, upright in the passenger seat, beside his sister.
