Nobody's Darling

He searched his memory for any transgression he might have committed against her. She didn’t look the sort to thrust some squalling brat into his face, claiming it was his. He swallowed a shudder of distaste along with a mouthful of whiskey at the thought of inflicting another Darling on the hapless West.

His gaze roamed briefly over her trim form. She was as slender as a reed—downright underfed by his standards.

She most definitely didn’t favor the busty whores who bore the brunt of his romantic attentions.

Billy frowned. He’d woken up on more than one occasion with women whose faces and names he could barely remember, but it troubled him to think such an encounter could have escaped him completely. He studied the pristine curve of the woman’s cheek, wishing he could see the hue of the hair hidden by that ridiculous bird’s nest of a bonnet. As his gaze lingered on her mouth, he decided he had never known her, biblically or otherwise. If he’d have ever persuaded those prim lips to part for him or made those snowy cheeks flush with pleasure instead of indignation, he damn well would have remembered it.

He drained the rest of the whiskey in a single searing swallow and thumped the glass to the table, making her flinch. “Why don’t you put the gun down? You really don’t want to get powder burns on your pretty white gloves, do you, Miss…?”

“Fine. Miss Esmerelda Fine.”

She flung her name at him like a challenge, but it failed to trigger even an echo of recognition. “Esmerelda? Now that’s a rather lofty name for such a little bit of a lady. Suppose I just call you Esme?”

He would have thought it impossible, but her mouth grew even more pinched. “I’d rather you didn’t. My brother was the only one who called me Esme.” Then that same mouth surprised him by curving into a sweetly mocking smile. “Unless, of course, you’d rather I call you Darling?”

Billy scowled at her. “The last man who cast aspersions on my family name got a belly full of lead.” In reality, he’d gotten only a bloody nose, but since Billy didn’t plan to give either to this persistent young lady, he didn’t see any harm in embellishing.

“It wouldn’t have been my brother, by any chance, would it? Is that why you gunned down a defenseless boy? For hurting your poor, delicate feelings?”

“Ah.” Billy’s good humor returned as he folded his arms over his chest and tilted his chair back on two legs. “Now we’re getting somewhere. Do refresh my memory, Miss Fine. You can’t expect me to remember every man I’m supposed to have killed.”

He felt a surprising flicker of remorse when his jibe drew blood. The gloved hand wrapped around the derringer trembled ever so slightly. Dauber and Seal cowered deeper beneath their table, all but hugging each other.

“I should have expected no less than such callous disregard from an animal like you, Mr. Darling. A cold-blooded assassin masquerading as a legitimate bounty hunter.” Her contemptuous gaze flicked to Drew. “Sheriff, I demand that you arrest this man immediately for the murder of Bartholomew Fine III.”

“What happened to the first two Bartholomews?” Dauber whispered. “Billy kill them, too?”

Seal elbowed him in the ribs, earning a sharp grunt.

Drew twirled one tip of his mustache, a habit he indulged only in moments of great duress. “Now, lass,” he purred in that lilting mixture of Scottish burr and western drawl that was so exclusively his. “There’s no reason to get your wee feathers all in a ruffle. I remain confident that this private quarrel between you and Mr. Darling can be settled in a civilized manner without the discharge of firearms.”

“Private quarrel?” The woman’s voice rose to a near shriek. “According to that Wanted poster out there, this man is a public menace with a price on his head. I insist that you take him in!”

Drew sputtered an ineffectual retort, but Billy’s melted-butter-and-molasses drawl cut right through it. “And just where do you propose he take me?”

Miss Fine blinked, her face going blank for a gratifying moment. “Why, the jail, I suppose.”

Billy slanted Drew a woeful look. Avoiding Miss Fine’s eyes, Drew polished his badge with his ruffled shirt sleeve. “Sorry, lass, but our jail’s not equipped to hold Mr. Darling. You’ll have to take your complaint to the U.S. marshal in Santa Fe.”

Righting his chair, Billy favored her with a rueful grin, briefly entertaining the notion that she and her sad little bonnet just might admit defeat and creep away to let him finish his poker game in peace. After all, any fellow hapless enough to be stuck with the name of Bartholomew was probably better off dead.

She dashed his hopes by swaying forward, her voice husky with menace. “If this miserable excuse for a lawman—”

“Now wait just one minute there, lass!” Drew cried, his Scottish accent deepening along with his agitation. If she got him any more riled, there would be g’s dropping and r’s rolling all over the saloon. “There’s no need to insult my—”

She turned the gun on him; his defense subsided to a sulky pout. She returned it to Billy, aiming it square at his heart.

“If this miserable excuse for a lawman won’t take you in,” she repeated firmly, “then I will. I’ll take you to Santa Fe and turn you over to the U.S. marshal myself. Why, I’ll hog-tie you to the back of a stagecoach and drag you all the way to Boston if I have to, Mr. Darling.”

Rubbing the back of his neck, Billy sighed wearily. She’d left him with no choice but to call her bluff. As the smile faded from his eyes, the bartender vanished behind the bar, Drew inched his chair backward, and Dauber and Seal plugged their ears with their fingertips.

Billy rested his hands palms-down on the table, flexing his fingers with deceptive indolence. “Oh, yeah?” he drawled. “Who says?”

Little Miss Fine-and-Mighty cocked the derringer, her face going white with strain. “I’ve got one shot in this chamber that says you’re coming with me.”

The Colt.45 appeared in Billy’s hand as if by magic, accompanied by a personable grin. “And I’ve got six shots in this here Colt that say I’m not.”

Esmerelda stared dumbly at the gun in Darling’s hand. His movements hadn’t betrayed even a hint of a blur. One second his hand had been empty. The next it had been cradling an enormous black pistol. The imposing barrel dwarfed the stunted mouth of her derringer, making it look like a toy. Darling’s smile was unflinching, but all traces of green had disappeared from his eyes, leaving them ruthless chips of flint.

Esmerelda sucked in a steadying breath, cringing when it caught in a squeak. She’d spent so many sleepless nights in the past few months dreaming of the moment when she would confront her brother’s murderer. But none of the possible scenarios had included engaging him in a standoff. Billy Darling was rumored to be a crack shot, lethally accurate at thirty yards, much less four feet. What was the proper etiquette in these situations? Should she suggest they choose seconds? Step outside and draw at twenty paces? She flexed her numb fingers, choking back a hysterical giggle.

Almost as if he’d read her mind, he said, “It has occurred to me, Miss Fine, that this may very well be your first gun-fight. We have both drawn our weapons so all that remains is to determine which one of us has the guts to pull the trigger. If you’d rather not find out, then I suggest you lay your gun on the table and back out of here. Nice and slow.”

“Now, William,” the sheriff whined. “You know you’ve never shot a woman before.”

Darling’s affable smile did not waver. “Nor has one ever given me cause to.”

“Drop your weapon, sir,” Esmerelda commanded, praying the derringer wouldn’t slip out of her sweat-dampened glove. She waited a respectable interval before adding a timid, “P-p-please.”