Julie Garwood - Come the Spring

one of them kills you, then you won't be able to help him get the

Blackwater gang, and he's said more than once he needs your special

kind of help." Cole didn't have the faintest idea what the sheriff was

talking about.

What special kind of help could he give? He guessed he was about to

find out, though. His suggestion that the sheriff remain inside was

met with resistance.

"Son, I can lend a hand. Granted, it's been a while since I've been in

a shoot-out, but I figure it's like drinking out of a cup.

Once you've learned how, you never forget. I used to be considered

quick with a pistol too." Cole shook his head. "Like I said, they

want me, but thanks for the offer." Norton rushed forward to open the

door for him, and before Cole stepped outside, he heard the older man

whisper, "Good luck to you." ţLuck didn't have anything to do with

it.

Years of hard living had prepared Cole for these annoying nuisances.

Cole took everything in at once. The gunslingers were waiting at

opposite ends of the dirt street but he didn't recognize either one of

them. Gunslingers all looked the same to himţGod, how many had there

been, chasing after the empty dream of being the fastest gun in the

West? Dressed alike in leather chaps, the two men shifted from foot to

foot, letting Cole see their eagerness. They weren't boys, which was

going to make killing them easier, Cole supposed. He had already

figured out exactly how he would do it. The plan called for him to hit

the dirtţbut damn, he really hated diving and rolling around in the

mud, especially today, since his stomach was acting so persnickety.

Still, he would do what he had to do in order to survive.

Marshal Ryan was the fly in his ointment, however. The lawman was

standing stock-still in the center of the street, and that would put

him right in the middle of the gunfire.

Cole was about to call out to him when Ryan motioned for him to come

forward. Keeping his hands down and loose at his sides so he wouldn't

spook the eager-to-die gunslingers, he stepped off the boardwalk and

headed for the marshal. His fingers itched to reach for his gun. He

didn't particularly want to shoot the lawman, just hit him on the back

of his head with the butt of a gun so Ryan would have an inkling of the

pain Cole had endured because of his order to keep him in town.

As he sauntered closer, the gunslingers, like rodents afraid of the

light of day but craving the prize between them, edged forward.

Cole decided to ignore them for the moment. He and Ryan were both safe

. . . until one of the gunslingers went for his gun. The challengers

were there to build their reputations, and the only way they could do

that would be to shoot it out in a draw with witnesses watching. Fair

and square. Otherwise, the kill didn't count.

Sheriff Norton peered through the crack of the doorway, watching. He

smiled at the sight before him, for it was something to behold, and

remember. The two marshals, both as big and mean-looking as Goliath,

were sizing each other up like contenders in a boxing ring. They made

a striking pair, just like Josey said. She'd been afraid of Daniel

Ryan when she'd first met him, and later on she'd had the very same

reaction when she met Cole Clayborne, though she did a decent job of

masking it.

The two marshals spooked her, she'd confessed, and Norton remembered

vividly her exact words when she'd tried to explain why she felt the

way she did. "It's in their eyes. They've both got that cold,

piercing stare, like icicles going right through a body. I get the

feeling they're looking into my head and know what I'm thinking before

I do." She also admitted that, in spite of her timidity, she couldn't

help but notice what handsome men they were . . . as long as they

didn't stare directly at her.

Cole shouted to Ryan, drawing the sheriff's full attention.

"Get the hell out of the street, Ryan. You're going to get killed. "

The marshal didn't budge. His eyes narrowed as Cole moved closer.

Cole stopped when he was a couple of feet away. He stared into Ryan's

eyes.

Ryan stared back. He was the first to break the silence. "Are you

thinking about shooting me? " There was a hint of laughter in his

voice Cole didn't particularly like. "The idea crossed my mind, but

I've got other things to worry about now. Unless you want to catch a

stray bullet, I suggest you move."

"Someone's going to die, but it isn't going to be me, " Ryan announced

in a lazy drawl.

"You think you can take both of them? " Cole asked with a nod toward

the gunslinger on his left, who was slowly creeping closer.

"I'll find out soon enough."

"They want me, not you."

"I'm just as fast, Cole."

"No, you're not." Ryan's smile took Cole by surprise, and he would

have asked Ryan why he was so amused if the gunslinger on his right

hadn't shouted at him.

"My name's Eagle, Clayborne, and I'm here to take you out. Turn and

face me, you lily-livered bastard. I'm gonna draw on you, damn your

hide." The competing gunslinger wasn't about to be left out. "My

name's Riley, Clayborne, and I'm the man who's going to kill you. "

The gunslingers Cole had encountered so far had all been stupid. This

pair, he decided, wasnwt the exception.

"I should probably do something about those two, " Ryan said.

"Like what? Are you thinking about arresting them? " "Maybe." His

casual attitude was irritating. "What kind of a marshal are you? " "A

damned good one." Cole clenched his jaw. "You're sure full of

yourself."

"I know my strengths. I know yours, too." Cole's patience was gone.

"Why don't you go on inside with the sheriff, and you can tell me all

about your strengths after I'm finished here."

"Are you telling me to get out of your way? " "Yeah, I am."

"I'm not going anywhere. Besides, I've got a plan, " he said with a

gesture toward one of the gunslingers.

"I've got a plan too, Cole replied.

"Mine's better."

"Is that right? " "Yes. On the count of three, we both drop to the

ground and let them kill each other." In spite of his dark mood, the

picture Ryan painted made Cole grin.

"That would be real nice if it worked, but neither one of them is close

enough to hit the other. Besides, I'd get my new shirt all dirty

dropping to the ground."

"What's your plan? " Ryan asked.

"Kill one, then dive, roll, and kill the other."

"Seems to me you're going to get that brand-new shirt dirty with your

plan too."

"Are you going to get out of my way or not? " "Lawmen stand together,

Cole.

That's a real important rule to remember."

"I'm not a lawman."

"Yes, you are. You should be sworn in, but that's only a formality."

"You've got a twisted sense of humor, Ryan.

You know that? I'm not going to be a marshal."

"You already are, " Ryan explained patiently.

"Why? " "I need your help."

"I think maybe you don't understand how I feel. I'm fighting the urge

to shoot you, you son of a bitch. You kept my compass for over a

year." Ryan wasn't at all intimidated by Cole's threat. "It took that

long for the appointment to come through.

" "What appointment? " "I couldn't just pin a badge on you, " Ryan

said. "The appointment came from Washington." Cole shook his head.

"They're moving in on us, " Ryan said. He rolled his eyes in Eagle's

direction. "Do you know either of them? " "No."

"I'll take the one at five o'clock." Cole started to turn, then

stopped. "Your five or mine? " "Mine, " Ryan answered.

They each turned to face an approaching gunfighter, then slowly stepped

backward, stopping when they were shoulder to shoulder.

"Don't shoot to kill."

"You gotta be joking." Ryan ignored the comment. He shouted to the

gunslingers to put their hands in the air and walk, slow and easy,

toward him, but Eagle and Riley stayed where they were with their right

hands hovering above their guns.

"If you miss Riley, his bullet is going to go through you and hit me, "

Cole said.

"I never miss."

"Arrogant bastard, " Cole whispered just as Eagle went for his gun.

Cole reacted with lightning speed. The gunfighter didn't even get his

weapon out of his holster before a bullet stabbed through the palm of

his hand.

Ryan fired at the same time. He shot the gun out of Riley's hand just

as he was bringing his weapon up. The bullet cut through his wrist.

Keeping their guns trained on their targets, the two marshals strode

forward. Ryan reached Riley first. He removed his weapons, ignoring

the man's squeals of agony, and prodded him toward Sheriff Norton's

jail.

Eagle was bellowing like a wounded boar. Much to Cole's frustration,

he wouldn't stand still, but danced around in a gyrating jig.

"You ruined my shooting hand, Clayborne. You ruined my shooting hand,

" he screeched.

"I heard you the first time, " Cole grumbled. "Stand still, damn it.