'I honestly don't know.'
'Neither do I. I won't know until I look at him.'
'If you kill him, they'll lock you away or hang you.'
'I realize that.' You know what's worse than hanging? ' 'There's
lots of things worse than hanging.'
'Sitting in a cell somewhere knowing that because of you, two of the
gang got away.'
'You'd get them.' Cole didn't want to argue the point. 'What about
Grace? ' Daniel shook his head. 'I don't know what to do about her.
She kind of . . .
took me by surprise.'
'I know all about that, ' Cole admitted.
'Meaning Jessica? ' 'I'm that transparent? ' 'No, but she is, ' he
said. 'She's always looking at you like she's thinking about shooting
you.' Cole grinned. 'It's love all right.'
'How can you be so sure? Every one who meets you wants to shoot
you.'
'We're getting married.'
'Has she agreed? ' 'No.' Daniel burst into laughter and was surprised
at how good it made him feel to let his guard down and relax for a few
minutes.
'Then how do you think you're going to get her to marry you? ' Cole
smiled. 'Ever hear of a shotgun wedding? ' 'No, but I've got a
feeling I won't want to miss it.'
'Good, ' Cole said, 'because your attendance is going to be
required.'
'Why? ' 'Who do you think is going to hold the shotgun? ' They both
laughed.
Grace turned to smile at Daniel. She and Jessica were sitting side by
side at the edge of the creek, dangling their feet in the water.
'What do you think they're laughing about? ' she asked Jessica.
