Dancing with the Devil

Chapter Twenty-Eight

***

"Audrey, I want to talk to you," Ance grumbled before leaving the tiny cabin and stepping out into the darkness. 

Audrey cast a glance at her daughter, sitting in the floor playing with a deck of cards with a doll that Old Man Thompson had given her sitting in her lap. "She'll be okay, ma'am," Old Man Thompson promised from the rickety rocking chair where he sat sewing a patch onto a worn pair of trousers. 

"Yeah, mama, I'll be okay. Me and Annabelle are playing poker the way Ance taught me. I really like Annebelle," Penelope caressed the red yarn atop the dolls head. "Thank you for giving her to me, Old Man Thompson." 

Audrey's gaze went to the old man and she saw his throat bobble. He might be odd, a bit rude and quite eccentric but Audrey had a feeling that deep down inside, his heart was made of pure gold. "Don't mention it, Penelope. My little daughter, God rest her soul, would have liked knowing her favorite doll had gone to such a good mother." 

"Audrey?" Ance called from the door. 

Audrey rolled her eyes. Would it kill the man to say please? She laughed inwardly. It probably would. 

She rose from the tattered chair she'd been sitting in and stooped down to kiss Penelope's hair. "I'm going to go speak with Ance a moment. You be good for Old Man Thompson." 

"I will, mama." Penelope promised with a smile. 

"Take your time, ma'am," Old Man Thompson laughed and sent her a knowing wink. "These things are best when not rushed... then again rushing is sometimes a bit of fun to, isn't it?" he cackled. 

With a blush so deep red, Audrey could feel it down in her toes, she dashed out the door and abruptly ran into Ance's broad back. He whirled around and steadied her before she had a chance to fall and Audrey took a moment to collect herself, enjoying the way his strong arms felt wrapped around her. 

"Slow down, woman. You came barreling out of there like a team of horses," Ance scolded, even as his thumbs gently caressed her arms. 

Audrey smiled up at him in the lantern light on the tiny porch. "You're more than likely more accustomed to folks running away from you as if they were a team of horses instead of running toward you in such a manner." She batted her lashes and Ance chuckled. 

He pulled away from her and held out his arm. "Walk with me?" 

Audrey didn't like the sadness in his blue eyes. She had a suspicion they were only taking this walk to give him a chance to say goodbye before he ran off into a situation that could very likely end with him dead. She hooked her arm though his and allowed him to lead her out into the night. She was a bit nervous after hearing about all the traps Old Man Thompson had around his property to keep intruders out, but Ance managed to steer clear of them all and he led her a safe distance from the cabin with the glow of the distance lantern light barely flickering through the trees. 

"You're leaving, aren't you?" Audrey whispered, pulling her arm away from him and wrapping both her arms around herself. 

Ance sighed and rubbed his neck. "Yeah. I have to go and take care of those people before something happens to Penelope..." he placed a calloused hand gently upon her cheek. "Or to you."

Audrey leaned into his touch. "You'd better come back to us, Ance. Don't go get yourself killed." 

"I don't plan on dying anytime soon," Ance assured her. He dropped his hand to his side when his gaze fell to her lips and he realized she was chewing on the bottom one. "What's wrong? Whenever you chew that damned lip it means you're either thinking hard about something or something is wrong." 

Audrey scoffed. "Are you a mind reader now?" 

"No." Ance stooped low and dropped a feather-light kiss to her lips. "I'm a lip reader." He stood straight and crossed his arms over his broad chest. "Now what's wrong?" 

Audrey wanted to scream and cry and yell. She wanted to shout about the unfairness of life. Rant and rave over the fact that she had finally found a man who made her want a future with a man and there was a very good chance that man was going to die before they ever even had a chance at that future!  

Instead of doing any of that, however, Audrey simply smiled a sad little smile and tilted her head as she gazed up into his deep blue eyes. "It's complicated," she whispered. 

Ance nodded in agreement. "Real complicated." 

"Are you going to say goodbye to Penelope?" Audrey questioned. 

"No.. I can't." 

"You have to," Audrey scolded. "I won't cover for you on this one. You have to tell the girl you're leaving for a while. She'll want to hug you goodbye." 

"I don't like goodbyes," Ance grumbled. 

"Then you can have an, 'I'll see you later', but you're going to let Penelope know you're leaving. If she realizes you've left without telling her it will break her heart." 

"Fine," Ance muttered. His eyes flashed with want. "But first, I'm gonna give you a proper, 'I'll see you later.'" 

Audrey swallowed hard and barely had time to catch her breath before Ance descended on her in a rush of passion and heat. 

***

Ance climbed into the saddle of his mare and glanced up onto the porch and both the teary-eyed ladies he was leaving behind. Penelope's cheeks were red and blotchy from her weeping and while Audrey had managed not to break down quite as badly, her eyes were red and swollen from the tears she'd been trying to hide from him. 

Damnation, this was ripping his heart out!

Ance hadn't realized just how completely his heart was invested in Audrey--sure he'd known just how attached he was to Penelope but this realization of what Audrey meant to him only served to strengthen his resolve that he had to leave. 

Barnaby had to be dealt with as did Rodger York. Until both men were dead and buried, he could never know just what kind of future he could have with Audrey and Penelope. Hell, maybe Ance could be a family man.... After all, he'd always been good at riding away from anything and everything. He'd never lost a damn thing that he'd missed, but as he tipped his hat to the ladies and started away, he realized that those days were over..... 

He wasn't just riding away unfazed and happy to have his freedom and the open sky.. No, he was riding away with a broken heart, a heavy soul and leaving a fairly good chunk of himself behind him.