Page 36 of Mail-Order Lady

The gelding kicked out hard with both hind feet, throwing the creature off. It landed in a heap on the ground.

And didn’t move.

Robert grabbed a new round from his bag and pressed it into the breech as he crept forward. The mass on the ground didn’t so much as twitch.

The horses had sidled as far from it as their tethers would allow, but they seemed to be settling a little.

He stood over the body for a moment, letting his eyes adjust to the dark beyond the reach of the dying fire.

Mountain lion. A big one—male, by the size of him. With blood seeping from the bullet wound at his haunches.

He turned to the gelding who’d been attacked. “Hey, boy, you hurt?”

The animal’s neck had dampened with sweat, but the animal let out a breath as Robert stroked him. He moved backward to the hindquarters. Two long marks had scraped hair off the hide, but didn’t seem to have even penetrated the thick skin. His shot must have killed the creature before it landed.

Thank You, God.

“Robert?” Clara’s voice called from the wagon.

“It’s all right.” He kept his voice even. “Mountain lion. It’s down.”

Mrs. Wang said something in Chinese, short and quiet, and then Clara again. “Are the horses hurt?”

“Scratched. Nothing serious.”

A pause. “Are you hurt?”

He straightened and glanced back at the wagon. Clara had climbed down and stood at the edge of the firelight, her shawl pulled tight around her. So beautiful, and so very fragile.

His throat burned, and he moved toward her. “No. I’m not hurt.” Everything in him wanted to take her in his arms and hold her until any hint of fear melted away.

But he stopped himself at the last minute, shifting instead toward the fire. He added two logs. He needed a minute to get his head straight.

At last he straightened. She still stood there. Watching him. Waiting for his response.

He dropped his voice and added all the certainty he could muster. “The danger’s gone now. See if you can get back to sleep.”

She studied him another moment, then finally nodded and turned back to the wagon.

He reached for the lantern and dropped to his knees by the fire, even as part of him watched Clara climb the back of the rig and settle in under her covers.

After lighting the lantern, he carried it and his rifle back to the cat. He dragged the body farther from camp, away from the horses so they could fully settle. But he didn’t dare go too far. That gunshot could have brought whoever was following them close.

In fact, he’d better get back to the wagon now.

He flashed the lantern over the carcass for one final look at the animal. Blood had begun to dry around the haunches where his bullet had struck. And also…at the shoulder? Had his shot gone all the way through?

Robert crouched, shifting the lantern to better light the spot.

Two wounds, no doubt about it. Yet they couldn’t possibly be an entry and an exit. Not with their angles and on the same side of the body. That could only mean…

His mind struggled to wrap around the thought. It couldn’t mean…

Why would…?

Why would whoever had been following them come close enough to shoot an attacking wildcat? And still not show himself.

Tingles shot through his body, and he surged to his feet. He gripped the lantern and his rifle as he charged back toward the fire. And the wagon.