that?”
“Loyalty. Outside of that, it’s everybody for himself.”
“That’s a pretty harsh evaluation of life. Don’t you believe in the goodness of man?”
“Sure. Jake and Isabelle are the best people on earth, but there aren’t any more like them.”
“What makes them so good?” He was beginning to take this personally. She didn’t really know him, but she’d lumped him in with the worst of men. “You’ve practically said they are the only two decent people in the world. There must be something outstanding about them.”
“No. They’re just ordinary people.”
“Then why aren’t they liars and deadbeats like the rest of us?”
“I didn’t say everybody was a liar and a deadbeat.”
“Yes, you did. What did Jake and Isabelle do that was so wonderful?”
He’d angered her now, but that was all right. He was a little put out himself.
“They adopted all of us when nobody else wanted us. They gave us a home, made us feel wanted, helped restore our self-respect.”
“Do-gooders on a monumental scale.”
“Don’t make fun of them.”
“Did they succeed in their lofty objectives?”
It surprised him when she didn’t snap back at him. “I used to think so, but most of the boys have left. Now I don’t know.”
He wanted to explore the issue further. If Jake and Isabelle were real, if they really had adopted all those kids, they might have established a network of gangs all over the South. No telling what a really clever leader could accomplish by adopting kids already alienated from society and teaching them to get back at people who’d hurt them. He wanted to know more about this couple.
“Who are those men over there?” she asked.
“Which men?”
“The ones talking to Carl. Why is one of them pointing at me?”
“Those are reporters. I invited them to come see you give a demonstration. I’m going to make you the biggest attraction in this show.”
Chapter Seven
“Who gave you the right to bring them here?” The look she gave him said she’d rather riddle his body with bullets than speak to even one reporter.
“I told you what I wanted to do.”
“I never thought you’d do it.” She got to her feet. “You asked them here, you talk to them.”
Cole grabbed her wrist. “You can’t leave. They came to see you, not me.”
“Watch me.”
Drew pulled hard against his hold on her; he let her go. He didn’t understand why she was so set against meeting the press, unless she didn’t want anybody to take a picture, for fear somebody could identify her as the leader of the robbers.
“Do you want your act to be a success?”
She stopped and turned to face him, irritation pinching her features. “We’ve already been through this.”
“Do you want to earn enough money for your ranch in one more year, or do you want to keep doing this for the rest of your life?”
“You know the answer to that, too. Get to what you mean to say.”
“This is show business. The person with the most talent doesn’t always come out on top. You’ve got to sell yourself to the public, make the audience want what you have to offer. You’ve got a great gimmick, a woman who can shoot better than a man.”
“It’s not a gimmick!”
“Sorry, wrong word.” She was stuffed with enough pride for two people. “People are naturally curious about guns and sharpshooters. They’ll be even more curious about a woman.”
“So?”
“So you’ve got to let people know you’re here.”
“My name’s on all the posters.”
“So are a lot of other names. There’s nothing to draw attention specifically to you.”
“I don’t want to draw attention to me.”
“Then why are you in this show?”
“To make money.”
“Like you said about your family, everything comes with strings attached. To be successful in show business, you’ve got to advertise. The way to do that is to get people to write about you, to put your picture in the newspaper so the public will know who you
“Loyalty. Outside of that, it’s everybody for himself.”
“That’s a pretty harsh evaluation of life. Don’t you believe in the goodness of man?”
“Sure. Jake and Isabelle are the best people on earth, but there aren’t any more like them.”
“What makes them so good?” He was beginning to take this personally. She didn’t really know him, but she’d lumped him in with the worst of men. “You’ve practically said they are the only two decent people in the world. There must be something outstanding about them.”
“No. They’re just ordinary people.”
“Then why aren’t they liars and deadbeats like the rest of us?”
“I didn’t say everybody was a liar and a deadbeat.”
“Yes, you did. What did Jake and Isabelle do that was so wonderful?”
He’d angered her now, but that was all right. He was a little put out himself.
“They adopted all of us when nobody else wanted us. They gave us a home, made us feel wanted, helped restore our self-respect.”
“Do-gooders on a monumental scale.”
“Don’t make fun of them.”
“Did they succeed in their lofty objectives?”
It surprised him when she didn’t snap back at him. “I used to think so, but most of the boys have left. Now I don’t know.”
He wanted to explore the issue further. If Jake and Isabelle were real, if they really had adopted all those kids, they might have established a network of gangs all over the South. No telling what a really clever leader could accomplish by adopting kids already alienated from society and teaching them to get back at people who’d hurt them. He wanted to know more about this couple.
“Who are those men over there?” she asked.
“Which men?”
“The ones talking to Carl. Why is one of them pointing at me?”
“Those are reporters. I invited them to come see you give a demonstration. I’m going to make you the biggest attraction in this show.”
Chapter Seven
“Who gave you the right to bring them here?” The look she gave him said she’d rather riddle his body with bullets than speak to even one reporter.
“I told you what I wanted to do.”
“I never thought you’d do it.” She got to her feet. “You asked them here, you talk to them.”
Cole grabbed her wrist. “You can’t leave. They came to see you, not me.”
“Watch me.”
Drew pulled hard against his hold on her; he let her go. He didn’t understand why she was so set against meeting the press, unless she didn’t want anybody to take a picture, for fear somebody could identify her as the leader of the robbers.
“Do you want your act to be a success?”
She stopped and turned to face him, irritation pinching her features. “We’ve already been through this.”
“Do you want to earn enough money for your ranch in one more year, or do you want to keep doing this for the rest of your life?”
“You know the answer to that, too. Get to what you mean to say.”
“This is show business. The person with the most talent doesn’t always come out on top. You’ve got to sell yourself to the public, make the audience want what you have to offer. You’ve got a great gimmick, a woman who can shoot better than a man.”
“It’s not a gimmick!”
“Sorry, wrong word.” She was stuffed with enough pride for two people. “People are naturally curious about guns and sharpshooters. They’ll be even more curious about a woman.”
“So?”
“So you’ve got to let people know you’re here.”
“My name’s on all the posters.”
“So are a lot of other names. There’s nothing to draw attention specifically to you.”
“I don’t want to draw attention to me.”
“Then why are you in this show?”
“To make money.”
“Like you said about your family, everything comes with strings attached. To be successful in show business, you’ve got to advertise. The way to do that is to get people to write about you, to put your picture in the newspaper so the public will know who you
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