A Promise of Thunder

and she reached it not a minute too soon. Storm’s face was red, her lungs burned from lack of air, and she was on the verge of collapse. Abruptly the ominous sound of gunfire reverberated across the distance. One shot, then another, then nothing but sinister silence. Storm’s legs turned to rubber as she skidded to an abrupt halt. The searing agony of breathing stopped completely as she went still.
    Too late. Oh God, too late.
    People began running in the direction of the shots, leaving her behind, unable to walk, unable to talk, her breath struggling to emerge from her throat. Finally one word came spewing out on a scream of terror.
    “Grady!”
    Her legs pumping furiously, Storm picked up her skirts again and took off at a run. Following the crowd to the open field behind the livery, Storm came upon the scene abruptly. Two men lay sprawled on the ground. Neither moved; both looked dead. A circle of people began forming around them. Someone bent down tofeel for a pulse. It was at this point that Storm found the courage to move forward. She gave Bull a cursory glance before concentrating on the other man. She could see the slow spread of blood beneath Grady and feared she was too late.
    She pushed her way through the crowd and people cleared a path for her, some shaking their heads, others clucking their tongues in obvious disapproval of the gunfight. Storm had just dropped to her knees beside Grady when the doctor approached, huffing and puffing from having been hastily summoned from his office. Reluctantly, Storm gave way to his expertise, watching anxiously as he used his stethoscope to find a heartbeat.
    “Is he—is he—”
    “Are you his wife?” the doctor asked brusquely.
    “Yes, I’m Storm Stryker.”
    “Your husband’s alive, Mrs. Stryker, barely. If I can get this bleeding stopped, he should make it. He’s a strong specimen and, unless I miss my guess, in excellent shape.”
    “Take your time, Doc,” a bystander said, “the other man’s dead. You can’t do him any good now.”
    “Where was Grady shot?” Storm wanted to know.
    “Left side, just below the heart. Another inch and he’d be a goner. Soon as I stop the bleeding, I’ll have him carried to my surgery, where I will remove the bullet.”
    “Are you sure he’ll be all right?” Storm asked anxiously.
    “He’ll be fine if you let me do my work and stop asking questions.”
    Storm bit her tongue while the doctor worked over Grady. From the corner of her eye she saw that the sheriff had arrived and was talking to several bystanders, then to Nat Turner, who she had just noticed for the first time. When she saw Bull being carried away she turned her attention back to Grady and what the doctor was doing.
    “Mrs. Stryker.” Storm looked up to see the sheriff looming above her. “I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
    “Please, Sheriff, not now. Can’t you see my husband is hurt?”
    “This will only take a moment.”
    Reluctantly, Storm rose to her feet, keeping her eyes on Grady’s still form while trying to concentrate on what the sheriff was saying.
    “What do you know about this, Mrs. Stryker? This sort of thing is illegal in Guthrie. I warned your husband once about making trouble.”
    “This isn’t Grady’s fault, Sheriff,” Storm said indignantly. “I was with my husband when Mr. Turner and Bull—the dead man—came up and challenged him.”
    “Why did your husband feel it necessary to accept? This whole unsavory mess could have been avoided if he had refused. Stryker was involved in one killing already, as you well know. He should have walked away from this one.”
    “Are you going to arrest him?” Storm asked, aghast.
    “Mr. Turner seems to think it was your husband’s fault.”
    “He’s a liar! I was there when Bull challenged Grady.”
    “Rumor has it your husband once rode with a band of renegades. Some say he’s a gunslinger called Renegade. Frankly, I’m confused. Who is he?”
    Storm hesitated, unwilling to divulge anything that might hurt Grady. “Gossip is unreliable. Don’t believe everything you hear. My husband is a family man.”
    “Turner insists the rumor is true, but Captain Starke says Stryker came from good stock, that his father was a hero. I decided to give your husband the benefit of the doubt as long as he caused no trouble.”
    “What happened today isn’t Grady’s fault, Sheriff, I swear it. Turner wants our land and will go to any lengths to get it. You’ve got to