Taken by Charlotte Abel

trying.
    Josh said, “Channie, I need you to stop crying and be quiet.”
    She sniffed and hiccuped then pressed her lips together and scrunched her face, pulling her features together like a drawstring purse.
    Josh closed his eyes and thought about how Hunter had raced to Channie’s aide without hesitation. He thought about how much Channie loved him. Because she did love Hunter. It was nothing more than friendship, but it was a deep bond nonetheless. If Hunter died, not only would she grieve his loss, but she’d never forgive herself, knowing she’d fired the gun that killed him.  
    Hunter had to live. For Channie’s sake.
    “Channie, move your hands out of the way.”
    Josh maintained pressure as she slid her hands out from beneath his. Magic swelled up from a place deep inside Josh’s chest. He focused on his desire for Hunter to survive. No, not just survive. To be healed. A warm tingling sensation flowed out of his heart, down his arms and into his hands.  
    Hunter’s bleeding slowed, then stopped. A lump formed beneath Josh’s palms as his strength left his body. His eyelids fluttered shut against his will. Channie’s arms wound around his chest. She pulled him onto her lap and kissed his forehead. The last thing he heard as he lost consciousness was “Love is enough.”

CHAPTER THREE
DILEMMA

    Channie wept with relief when Hunter opened his eyes and squeezed her hand. But she was still worried about him. He’d lost a lot of blood. She was worried about Josh too. She’d never witnessed such a dramatic healing. He’d passed out and collapsed into her arms as soon as he finished.  
    Hunter slid his left hand across his chest and ran his fingers over the lump of flesh scarring his shoulder. “Where’s Ms. Wisdom?”
    “She’s not here. Josh healed you.”
    “Josh?” He lifted his head about an inch off the ground, then fell back with a groan.  
    “Does it hurt?”  
    Channie’d been too concerned about saving Hunter’s life to ask Josh if he could cast a pain-away spell.
    Hunter let go of Channie’s hand and lifted his arm over his head. “It’s just a little stiff that’s all. Did the bullet go all the way through?”
    “Can you lift up a little? I’ll check.”
    Hunter nodded.
    Channie slid her hand under his back and bit her lip when she felt the ridge of raised flesh that covered his entire shoulder blade. How was he even able to move that arm? And why, if Josh had the skill to mend shattered bone, severed arteries and torn muscles, couldn’t he heal skin without leaving such hideous scars? Was he so jealous of Hunter that he wanted to leave him disfigured?
    “Yeah, it definitely went all the way through.”
    Hunter swore and said, “How big’s the exit wound?”
    “It’s big.”
    Hunter rolled onto his side and tried to look over his shoulder. “How’s it look?”  
    Channie cringed at the sight of the angry red scar puckering the skin over a quarter of his back. “It looks like you’re lucky to be alive.”
    “Is it as bad on the back as it is on the front?”
    “It’s worse.” No point lying about it. He’d find out soon enough. “But girls like a man with battle scars. It proves he’s a fighter and a survivor.”
    Hunter grinned, grabbed her hand again and pulled himself into a sitting position.  
    “Take it easy, Hunter. You lost a lot of blood. How are you feeling?”
    The corners of Hunter’s mouth twitched upwards into a smirk. “Better’n Jimmy. Nice shootin’.”  
    Channie’s blood turned to ice. “You … knew him?”  
    “I fed false information to him and Uncle Rider. It was part of Ms. Wisdom’s master plan.”
    Even though Hunter was double crossing the two men, he must have had some kind of relationship with them to make them believe he was on their side. “I should have aimed for his legs or something to disable him, but I panicked. I’m sorry.”
    “Don’t be. The man was scum. Always bragging about the women he bedded. Took ‘em