The McEllis Boys

Chapter Twelve

Uncle Silas's blue eyes widened as he stared at the men, "Well I'll be damned...." he said as he scratched at his close shaven gray hair. He stuck his sawed off shotgun into the holster on his hip and then crossed his arms over his red and black checked flannel shirt.

Nicole had no idea what was going on inside Uncle Silas's mind as he stared hard at the brothers. She did know that they painted an impressive picture. They were wearing thin black cotton tees and wranglers. Their gun belts were low on their hips and their hats were casting their faces in shadows as they stood shoulder to shoulder.

"Hot damn!" Uncle Silas exclaimed before spitting out a stream of tobacco. "Y'all gotta let me get a look at them guns!"

Suddenly the men all became lost in conversations about guns, cylinders, cartridges and calibers that were completely lost on Nicole. Sure she knew how to shoot. She knew how to load and fire pretty much any gun you sat in front of her just like any good country girl would, but she didn't know much of anything about all the details and inner workings.

"Uncle Silas?" Nicole said breaking through the group of men and getting the older mans attention.

"What is it?" he asked impatiently as he gazed at Cavanaugh's .45 Colt as if it were a treasured relic.

"Is Bethany in the house?" Nicole asked, hoping that Uncle Silas's granddaughter would be here. The eighteen year old was one of the very few people that Nicole considered to be more than just an acquaintance.

"Yeah. Yeah. She's got her nose buried in some book," Uncle Silas replied.

Nicole smiled, "Okay, you keep these men busy for a while and I'm going to go in and rest."

"Rest?" Cavanaugh asked. "Are you okay?"

Nicole felt her heart swell when she heard the true concern in his voice and saw it in his blue eyes. She nodded and laid her hand on his arm, surprised when he didn't pull away. Though she could feel the muscles tense beneath her touch and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"I'm fine. The four of you just make my head numb and I need to go rest it for a while," she assured him with a wink. She wanted to stay lighthearted with him. It seemed that the more lighthearted she could stay the more open he was to being himself with her. The moment she looked too deeply into his eyes or turned the conversation personal, he just got angry and withdrawn. Nicole had suffered her fair share of loss in her life and knew that pushing someone that wasn't ready to be pushed only served to further their withdrawal.

She just had to make herself approachable and eventually Cavanaugh would come to her. She was sure of that. She felt the pull between them and knew deep down that he did too. That was what had him so moody and standoffish toward her.

"Makes your head numb?" he asked with a raised brow.

Nicole put her fingers on her temples and nodded, "Numb."

He shook his head and she saw his lips pull just a little at their corners. Nicole turned and made her way up toward the house.

"Hey, you," Uncle Silas said nudging Cavanaugh with his elbow. Cavanaugh realized he'd been watching Nicole's hips as she'd walked away in those denim jeans and he quickly shook his head and looked at Uncle Silas. "What was your name?" Silas asked.

"Cavanaugh."

"Well Cavanaugh," Uncle Silas stated as he laid his hand on the handle of his shotgun. "That girl right there is special and don't need to have her heart broke no more than it's already been."

Cavanaugh nodded and tipped his head. Of course Silas's words had made him want to know just what had happened in Nicole's life to cause her heartache and what kind of idiot would have hurt her. He realized he knew next to nothing about her and was surprised when he realized that made him a little sad.