Eve gave him a pouty look, then grinned and put the tree stump in her sights again. The next shot shattered the wood at the center of the stump.

“Not bad,” Keegan told her. “Hard to believe this is your first time.”

She shrugged, keeping the gun pointed at the stump. “Maybe I’m a natural,” she said.

THE TWO OF them came up out of the ravine into the full sunlight, glowing with perspiration. Nora trotted down from her post to meet them. The dog quivered all over with excitement, her head ducked close to the ground. She jumped up on Keegan’s legs when he got to her. He bent and scratched her ear. “Atta girl,” he said brightly. “Way to be brave.” The dog dropped down and tugged at the hem of his trousers as they climbed the last of the hill.

When they reached the crest of the ravine, the din of the gardener’s big mower got louder. It had been running on Ormsby’s place since just after dawn, and the pungent scent of clipped grass rode on the updraft wind.

The two of them headed down the trail to the cottage, Nora at their heels. They had to shout to each other to be heard over the mower. The handful of unused .38 cartridges jingled, like spare change, in Keegan’s trouser pocket. He looked down at the cottage and Ormsby’s place and then stopped in his tracks.

Eve stopped beside him. “What?” she said. “What is it?”

Keegan pointed. Down below them, a cop car rounded a big hairpin turn and kept coming up the hill fast. Keegan couldn’t hear the siren—it was too far away, and the mower drowned it out—but he could see the red lights flashing. The car passed the turnoff to Ormsby’s place and climbed the last few switchbacks. There was no doubt it was coming for them.

“Someone called the cops on us,” Keegan said. “They must have heard us shooting.”

Eve moved a few inches closer to him and shaded her eyes with one hand. “What do we do?” Her trim body grazed the length of his arm.

Keegan watched the car make its way up along the final curve. “Shooting out here is technically illegal,” he told her. “But it shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll talk to him.”

Eve frowned and blinked up at him in the sunlight. “You sure?” she said. “We’re not going to get in trouble?”

The light caught her brown eyes, and Keegan felt another twinge of masculine vanity. The police car disappeared into the last bend in the road. “Look,” he told Eve. “You wait back up there.” He nodded up the path towards the crest of the hill. “Keep out of sight. I’ll take care of this.”

“Certain?” She looked relieved, and Keegan bit the inside of his lip so as not to smile.