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Lorna stared at hiuess had been so wide of the -barreled revolver fro the bullets; the click-clicking sound seemed ominously loud

“Have you?” Benteen repeated

“No” Her father hadn’t even permitted her to touch the weapons in his store, fully aware that her mother would have been horrified if he had

“I’ll show you hoorks”

While he began explaining the functions of the haer, Lorna had difficulty paying attention She didn’t see why she needed to know this What was uns

“Here” He held out the pistol to her “Get the feel of it”

She hid her hands behind her back “No” She refused to touch it and eyed him with a wary frown

Benteen was patient “Take it It isn’t loaded”

“What’s happening, Benteen?” A wave of uneasiness washed through her “Ever since we left Fort Worth, you seeht in front ofme, you were always kind and attentive You never raised your voice toYou just get harder and harder every day What happened to the man I knew in Fort Worth—the man I mar

ried? I’un”

“There’s a big difference between Fort Worth and here There aren’t any sheriffs ill come if there’s trouble There aren’t any streets or roads You can’t depend on anyone but yourself,” Benteen stated “This country weeds out the cowardly and the weak You have to be hard if you’re going to survive You can’t fight this land and make it bend to what you want You have to adapt to it I’m not really any different, Lorna The man you knew in Fort Worth hat the town allowed me to be”

Once she wouldn’t have understood what he was saying, but she had lived on the trail for s she accepted that would have repulsed her before

“Maybe it isn’t just you,” she admitted “Look at me and how different I a it I haven’t bathed since we left Fort Worth My hands My face My hair is practically caked with dust and gries “I never used to be cross When you’re short with me, I just want to hit back”

“I’ve noticed” His voice was dry “Life’s tough enough out here, without there being trouble between you and me”

For a long second they looked at each other; then, with a little cry, Lorna went into his ar her head for his kiss His arth, the pistol still held in his hand Their lipsthey’d almost lost The sweaty, dusty smell of him was blocked out There was only the hard vitality of his body and the satisfying pressure of his mouth on hers