Read Daring for Free Online

what she already understood, she wanted to tell him to mind his own business, but she didn’t. This was Deke. The man who had unbeknownst to him given the girls a lot of pointers about being a bounty hunter over supper one night years ago.
    “Yeah, I know.” Ruby sighed and hung her head. “I’m sending her back to Zenith. From here on, I think it’s best I go it alone.”
    “That’s dangerous,” he said. “Why don’t you go back with her?”
    She turned and glared at him. Since Annabelle’s disappearance and then subsequent marriage, Ruby had been at home. Sitting and waiting and sitting and waiting until she’d been about to go crazy with the need to chase bad men again. “Because I hate farming. I hate chickens. And I get bored sitting around staring at the four walls. I’m not exactly into needlepoint.”
    He laughed. “No, I guess you’re not.”
    “And if I take Caroline home, then my sisters are going to insist I stay. This way I can continue doing what I want. But you’re right, Caroline needs to return to Zenith before she shoots someone who’s not a criminal or she gets shot.”
    Deke took Ruby by the arm as they crossed the street to the other side. “You know I’m impressed with how you’ve caught these last two criminals. You’re good. We even work pretty well together.”
    She turned to face him and was struck by how his dark hair and emerald eyes could send a girl’s pulse racing. Even hers, though she wasn’t interested in pursuing a chase that would only end up with her heart aching once again. “Thank you.”
    She halted on the wooden sidewalk and stared at him. For a moment, she considered asking him to join forces with her, but then she realized that would never work. He’d want to take control. “You’re good too. I’m sure we’ll run into each other again.”
    “Maybe,” he said. “I want to get out of this business. Soon. Before someone shoots me. You need to be thinking about what you want to do besides bounty hunting. Eventually, you realize you’re going to die if you keep chasing outlaws.”
    Even her own father had died at the hands of a criminal. But a man could expire sitting around watching cattle munch grass.
    “Take care.” He turned, and she watched as he walked away, his boots echoing on the planks of the sidewalk.
    If she’d been interested in attaching herself to a man, he would still be her first choice. But she had plans. Regardless of what Deke said, she loved her job and had more bounties to catch and a cousin to send packing.
    *
    Later that evening, sitting in their hotel room, Ruby counted out Caroline’s portion of the money and handed it to her.
    The young woman’s eyes grew wide as she stared at the stack of cash. “In the last two days I’ve made more money than I would have made all month working a job. I like being a bounty hunter.”
    Ruby sighed, bit her lip, and gazed at her cousin. “Caroline, this isn’t working. I should never have brought you out on this hunt. You’re not ready.” She watched as Caroline absorbed the news that she was sending her home.
    Her face tightened and her eyes widened. “But we’ve captured two criminals,” Caroline said defiantly. “This last one I caught by myself.”
    Ruby didn’t want to make her cousin feel bad, but she feared for Caroline’s life. She didn’t want to take her body home. “You did catch him, but your shot was way off, thank goodness. But what if you’d killed him? How would you have felt? Or what if you’d shot me?” She licked her lips. “I know you want to do this, but I think it’s best you go home and practice your shooting skills. Then you can rejoin me once you’re better.”
    Though that time period would be several months down the road. Time enough for Caroline to develop her gun skills. And while maybe Ruby should take Caroline home, she knew better than to try to get away from the farm without someone with her. There was no way her sisters would knowingly