All are in peril in BG. Will Uncle Bubba survive? What are William Land's plans for CG? Will Tiger get to Raven before he's forced to do this favor for a mysterious Bounty Hunter and clear his name? Brandy and Bruce are about to face down Regan and...
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Although it turned out she was good with a rifle, Annie didn't like killing.
But Petra, Bruce, and Buck were down there, and she wasn't going to let them die.
When the shooting was over, she was sick in the bushes.
Bart came over, embraced her, and kissed her.
"Let's go off for a bit before we get back in the saddle."
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His eyes promised fun and a little bit more, but as he lifted her chin her eyes flashed.
"How can you be that way?"
"What way?"
"You want to get all lovey after we've killed people! I don't think your mother and sister would like that!"
Bart raised his hands in an attempt to placate her. "Now, Annie, don't get your dander up. You know we treated the bodies with respect."
"I don't care! I can't look at you right now, much less ride off with you. I should have never come along with you."
"If I remember right, you wanted to come along."
"Well, I was wrong! I hate killing! I hate guns!"
She threw her rifle on the ground and it discharged, making them both jump.
Bart stood still for a minute or two, searching her face. "What's really eating at you?"
That was just like a Denver: obtuse when you wanted him to be understanding, perceptive when you didn't want him to ask questions.
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Annie crossed her arms. "That's it. I don't know. I don't feel like...like me anymore."
"Of course you're still you, but you're maybe a different you than when you came to live on the Belle. With me." He touched her shoulder.
"And I don't want to be different anymore!" She jerked away. "Please, Bart, just leave me be. I need to think."
She knew he cared about her enough to agree, and if he didn't...well, Shadow and Missy would fix him.
They headed back to reclaim the Liberty Belle from some pirates, it seemed. Annie was distracted, but tried to do her part.
Helping Josie get back to her brother gave her the chance to do some thinking, but not as much as she needed.
What she really needed was a straight-talking someone to get her head and heart back in the right place, not a bunch of mumbo jumbo.
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So instead of heading back to the boat, she headed for the newsprint office where she could work on writing up an article about the "Big Pool Massacre," as she had dubbed it in her head. And maybe she would get a chance to talk to CG and get some advice.
Not that CG was the best person to ask when it came to matters of the heart (why didn't she and 3Gun up and get married already?), but Annie had always appreciated her bluntness, even if she didn't always like what CG had to say.
