the
tavern often, but, when she did, Jake, Deke, or Cade played bodyguard. Addy
didn’t feel safe anywhere that they weren’t. Shadow-of-the-Gods was just about
the worst place she could imagine. Every day, she was poised for more weird
laws and bloodshed, and she wasn’t usually disappointed. She was very grateful for the Westins.
…No
matter grouchy Cade became.
Her
huge, brooding, unwilling landlord continued to catalogue every move she made,
like he was her probation officer. Ever since his Wild Bill shootout in the
street, Cade had been surlier than ever. He was clearly trying to avoid her,
which wasn’t so easy since they lived in the same house.
When
he did speak to her, it was usually to complain about the “disruptions” she
caused. But, he’d yet to change the locks on her, so Addy ignored his grousing
and focused on the fact that he always watched out for her. Whenever one of
his customers got too close, he’d snarl the same one word warning to them and
they’d scurry back to the safety of their rickety chair. Addy had no idea what
“ nynan ” meant, but she knew he said it to protect her and it made her
feel safe.
With
Cade Westin, actions were a lot more important than words.
Jacobi
wasn’t nearly so anti-social. Unlike his grumpy sibling, Jake liked to chat.
Aside from gambling, stories were his favorite way to pass the time. Any kind
of story. When he wasn’t demanding that she tell him about her life, he was
telling her about his. Jake was the one who’d explained more of future history
to her, although he seemed baffled as to why she didn’t already know it.
That
“flash” thing had wiped out everything, knocking civilization back to the Stone
Age. Addy assumed it was some sort of nuclear blast, but she had no idea who’d
started it or which side had won. As far as she could piece together, it must
have happened about five or six hundred years after her time. She’d tried
asking Jacobi more about it, but he squinted at her like she was deranged and
she dropped the topic.
Jacobi
was far more interested in where she’d come from. The kid continued to pepper
her with all kinds of questions about the wondrous metropolis of Yellowstone.
Since, Addy couldn’t very well tell him the truth about her life, she made it
all up. Lying didn’t come easy to her and it was hard to keep her stories
straight, at first. But then she’d hit on a fabulous idea: Television!
Instead
of creating her own lies, Addy let professionals do it for her. She’d seen
enough reruns of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman to recount a few Western-y
plots. Mostly Addy watched ‘80s TV shows, but Dr. Quinn was close
enough that she owned the DVDs. So long as no one asked her to midwife any
babies or treat a rattlesnake bite, everything should be fine. Jacobi was Jane
Seymour’s biggest inadvertent fan.
She
was less comfortable with Deke. As far as Addy could tell, the middle brother spent
all day every day, staring out the window, waiting for someone to attack. She
still wasn’t clear on who he’d been fighting in the Wilderness War, but it
really didn’t matter. It was more than just his missing arm leaving him
wounded. Clearly, no one in Shadow-of-the-Gods was giving him adequate mental
health counselling, because the man seemed to be struggling with his memories
of battle. Why didn’t somebody help him? It was so wrong that…
Crap.
She was engaging, again.
Her
plan to treat the Westins like passing acquaintances at an airport lounge got
harder every day. Even when she knew it was a mistake to like them, she liked these guys. They were exactly how she’d always pictured a real family. Well,
maybe not exactly , but damn close. They fought and complained and loved
each other. It was getting way too easy to feel like she was a part of their
dysfunctional bond. Like she had a place with them.
It
was a really bad idea to get so
tavern often, but, when she did, Jake, Deke, or Cade played bodyguard. Addy
didn’t feel safe anywhere that they weren’t. Shadow-of-the-Gods was just about
the worst place she could imagine. Every day, she was poised for more weird
laws and bloodshed, and she wasn’t usually disappointed. She was very grateful for the Westins.
…No
matter grouchy Cade became.
Her
huge, brooding, unwilling landlord continued to catalogue every move she made,
like he was her probation officer. Ever since his Wild Bill shootout in the
street, Cade had been surlier than ever. He was clearly trying to avoid her,
which wasn’t so easy since they lived in the same house.
When
he did speak to her, it was usually to complain about the “disruptions” she
caused. But, he’d yet to change the locks on her, so Addy ignored his grousing
and focused on the fact that he always watched out for her. Whenever one of
his customers got too close, he’d snarl the same one word warning to them and
they’d scurry back to the safety of their rickety chair. Addy had no idea what
“ nynan ” meant, but she knew he said it to protect her and it made her
feel safe.
With
Cade Westin, actions were a lot more important than words.
Jacobi
wasn’t nearly so anti-social. Unlike his grumpy sibling, Jake liked to chat.
Aside from gambling, stories were his favorite way to pass the time. Any kind
of story. When he wasn’t demanding that she tell him about her life, he was
telling her about his. Jake was the one who’d explained more of future history
to her, although he seemed baffled as to why she didn’t already know it.
That
“flash” thing had wiped out everything, knocking civilization back to the Stone
Age. Addy assumed it was some sort of nuclear blast, but she had no idea who’d
started it or which side had won. As far as she could piece together, it must
have happened about five or six hundred years after her time. She’d tried
asking Jacobi more about it, but he squinted at her like she was deranged and
she dropped the topic.
Jacobi
was far more interested in where she’d come from. The kid continued to pepper
her with all kinds of questions about the wondrous metropolis of Yellowstone.
Since, Addy couldn’t very well tell him the truth about her life, she made it
all up. Lying didn’t come easy to her and it was hard to keep her stories
straight, at first. But then she’d hit on a fabulous idea: Television!
Instead
of creating her own lies, Addy let professionals do it for her. She’d seen
enough reruns of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman to recount a few Western-y
plots. Mostly Addy watched ‘80s TV shows, but Dr. Quinn was close
enough that she owned the DVDs. So long as no one asked her to midwife any
babies or treat a rattlesnake bite, everything should be fine. Jacobi was Jane
Seymour’s biggest inadvertent fan.
She
was less comfortable with Deke. As far as Addy could tell, the middle brother spent
all day every day, staring out the window, waiting for someone to attack. She
still wasn’t clear on who he’d been fighting in the Wilderness War, but it
really didn’t matter. It was more than just his missing arm leaving him
wounded. Clearly, no one in Shadow-of-the-Gods was giving him adequate mental
health counselling, because the man seemed to be struggling with his memories
of battle. Why didn’t somebody help him? It was so wrong that…
Crap.
She was engaging, again.
Her
plan to treat the Westins like passing acquaintances at an airport lounge got
harder every day. Even when she knew it was a mistake to like them, she liked these guys. They were exactly how she’d always pictured a real family. Well,
maybe not exactly , but damn close. They fought and complained and loved
each other. It was getting way too easy to feel like she was a part of their
dysfunctional bond. Like she had a place with them.
It
was a really bad idea to get so
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