It was several days later before Ava had recovered enough to be alert. Boyd spent those days sitting next to her when she was awake, holding her hand, whispering words of love to her as she looked around, groggy and dazed from the medication and the pain of the wound. She would live, though, the doctor had promised it—and Boyd had, indeed, paid him a generous amount of money.

When she slept, he got on the phone and called his sources, who told him that Mags Bennett was dead by her own hand, and Dickie Bennett had been taken into custody by none other than U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens. You really could not trust a lawman, Boyd thought, fuming at Raylan's broken promise and the chance he had let slip through his fingers to rid the world of Dickie Bennett's misery once and for all.

At last, Ava felt well enough to sit up and eat something, and Boyd brought the tray to their room and fed her himself, gently. At last she pushed the plate away, settling herself back against the pillows with a wince of pain.

"You all right?" she asked him.

"Me? Don't you worry for a minute about me. You just concentrate on getting well."

"Can't seem to do nothing else." She shook her head as he reached for the bottle of pain pills. "No more of those. Makes my head all foggy. Can't afford that."

"I'm taking care of things. You go ahead and feel foggy all you like," he told her, reaching for her hand with both of his.

"No. Boyd." She turned her head on the pillow. "I don't want you taking care of things, while I sit here like a spoiled princess. You've got to let me do my share."

"May I remind you, Ava, that you were shot in the chest?"

She managed a smile. "You may not. I don't need any reminders. I've got plenty."

"You need your rest."

"And I'll get it. I'm not gonna be stupid and push my recovery and make things worse. I know better. But I can still think and make plans and help you figure out how you're gonna get back at the Bennetts."

"Bennett," he corrected, and he filled her in on what had happened since she was shot.

Ava thought the situation over for a moment. "Too bad about Mags."

"It was," Boyd agreed.

"But she deserved it for what she let her boy do to Helen."

"I can't argue with you there."

"And Dickie?"

"My old friend Raylan Givens squirreled him away in jail."

"What are you gonna do about that? You got anyone on the inside?"

Boyd smiled, loving the way she thought—straight to the point. "Well, now, isn't that a mite bloodthirsty?"

Ava looked at him steadily. "I feel bloodthirsty. You didn't see his face when he shot me, Boyd. I did. If I could get up out of this bed, I'd go visit him in prison and shank him or something." She frowned when she saw his face light up. "What?"

"Maybe I'll go do just that."

She clung to his hand. "Not until I can get up out of this bed, you won't. Promise me, Boyd."

He nodded. "I promise."

Ava looked at his face, shaking her head a little. "To think I've gone and fallen for Boyd Crowder. Who would ever have imagined that?"

"Not I, to be sure. It took me a while to be deserving of that emotion. I may still be working toward it."

"You're getting there. Boyd?"

"What is it, Ava?"

"Promise me something else."

"What's that?"

"You'll let me be part of things. Partners. I don't want to be pushed down in the cellar while you make plans with other men in my house. I want to be out front, fighting for what's ours."

"But, Ava …" He gestured at the wound in her chest.

"I know, and I know I have a lot to learn, and you're gonna teach me." She squeezed his hand, looking into his eyes so he would know she was serious. "I mean this. If we're together, we're together in everything. I'm not gonna be pushed aside or coddled or patted on the head."

"Well, you're a lot smarter than Devil, and a lot more devious than Johnny," Boyd conceded.

Neither of those were too hard to do, Ava thought, but she didn't say anything. She just kept looking at him, waiting for his word on the matter.

"All right, Ava." He nodded. "I agree. If our home is on the line, our livelihood, you have a right to have a say in how that's managed. Partners."

She smiled, a wave of weariness washing over her. "Good." Closing her eyes, she drifted off with her hand still cradled in both of Boyd's. It had been a long time coming, but Ava Crowder was finally right where she belonged.


Thank you for reading and coming along for the ride! These two have been such fun to write about. I will leave them here, where they're happy and optimistic about the future.