Circle Eight: Vaughn by Emma Lang

strike me as a smart man, Mr. Montgomery. I’m going to guess you know exactly where that money and deed are and how to get them but you don’t want to.” Damn girl was too smart for a woman.
    “What makes you think that?”
    “The way you talk, your manners, the way you treated Granny.”
    “That makes no sense. I had nothing when you found me.”
    She tsked. “That’s because the most important thing to you are possessions. Having what you want even if it’s someone else’s money.”
    He stared at her, his heart slowing to a hard thump. “What do you think is the most important thing?”
    “That’s easy. Family.”
    Family.
    Vaughn had never experienced what a real family was. Her idea that it was more important than money, clothes, a fine horse and security was absurd. Ridiculous even. She was naïve, brought up on a ranch full of countless family members with endless names. She didn’t know what it was like to live in the real world.
    “Family doesn’t keep your belly full.”
    “Yes, they do. They hunt, grow food, cook it and share it.”
    “They don’t keep you in nice clothes.”
    “Yes, they do. My sister-in-law Hannah is right handy with a needle.”
    He scowled at her. “I’ve gotten along fine without one nearly all my life.”
    “Then I’m sorry for that. I can’t imagine life without my family.” Her voice caught and he glimpsed the real Ellie beneath the exterior.
    “Don’t be sorry for me. I’ve had a good life.” He’d had ups and downs but it had been good. Sort of. He wouldn’t think about Abraham. The closest thing he’d had since he was ten was Winnie, and they were more friends than family.
    “Is that why we’ve been kidnapped, tied up and my family’s house burned down? Because it’s a good life?”
    Another unexpected emotion assailed him—guilt. It annoyed him. A lot.
    “I didn’t ask you to help me.”
    “You didn’t have to. My family brought me up to be a good person, to help those who need it.” Her words implied he didn’t have such an inclination.
    It was true.
    Vaughn had been on his own for more than fifteen years. Hell, he didn’t even remember life before he was ten years old and ran from the work farm he’d lived on after Abraham’s death. Survival had been his driving force, helping no one but himself. Her ideas were foreign to him. What must it be like to rely on others to live? He broke into a cold sweat contemplating the possibility.
    “None of this is my fault.” He sounded petulant to his own ears and fought back a wince.
    “I ain’t gonna argue the point with you. But we need to find a way to get out of this. I have to get back to the Circle Eight and Martha.”
    Her voice hiccupped when she mentioned the old lady. “You called her Granny before. Now she’s Martha again.”
    She looked away. “She’s Hannah’s granny but she’s been with us so long, she’s almost mine too.”
    He heard the longing buried deep in her voice. She might not have even known.
    “I hope she’s all right.”
    Elizabeth turned back to contemplate him. “I think you mean that.”
    He told himself not to be affronted. “I do. I like her. She is as refreshing as you are. I enjoyed my time with her.”
    Silence fell between them and Vaughn missed the banter. She was smart, funny and had a foul mouth he could grow to appreciate. Her manners were rough, her ideas ridiculous, but there was something about Ellie Graham that appealed to him. Why, he couldn’t even begin to explain. And it wasn’t because he was afraid to understand.
     
     
    Two days passed with excruciating slowness. Elizabeth nursed her anger, at the same time she studied the three men, their weapons, their weaknesses and their intelligence. Tobias was the smart one. The other two, Jeb and Will, could barely pull on their boots without help.
    She didn’t want to ask Vaughn for his opinion. Not the confident man who’d somehow convinced these three men he had a gold mine he wanted to