Free Lady of the Gun by Faye Adams Page A

threateningly as she jumped from her horse and joined the chase.
    "Oh, all right," grumbled the man, and he took up the rear.
    Brett watched the ensuing scene with laughter bubbling up inside him. Cass took the lead, trying to catch either the chicken or the cat, chasing them around and around a tree in the center of the yard. The old man rounded the tree once, then stopped to catch his breath.
    "Climb the tree, Mirabelle!" Cass shouted at the cat. "Soony, grab that chicken! I swear I'm going to fry him for dinner!"
    Brett felt himself start to laugh out loud. He hadn't seen anything so funny in a long, long time.
    Cass heard Brett laughing and glowered at him. "You big jerk, get down and help!" she yelled in his direction.
    Brett pointed innocently at himself. "Me?" he answered.
    Cass rolled her eyes and took off again after the two wayward pets.
    Brett jumped down from his horse but didn't really know where to enter the chase. The cat, darting haphazardly from one spot to another, didn't give much clue to the course the chase was going to take from one moment to the next. It was all Brett could do to stay out of the way and hold his sides laughing. Mirabelle chose that moment to get acquainted. Taking a flying leap, she threw herself onto Brett's chest, clawing furiously for a good grip of his shirt and taking a large amount of flesh along with it"
    "Ouch!" yelped Brett, trying to pull the frightened cat from his chest. Then before he could save himself, his vision was blocked by flapping wings and chicken feathers. The cat released its death grip on his chest and jumped to the ground in terror. Pork Chop tried to follow, but Brett managed to grab her by one leg. She began to furiously peck his hand trying to escape. "Ow! Somebody come get this chicken before I wring its neck," he threatened.
    Soony ran as fast as his legs could carry him and grabbed his precious pet from the fingers of the stranger. "Don't kill Pork Chop. She's a good chicken. She just doesn't like cats," he explained.
    Brett rubbed the tiny peck wounds on his fingers and looked down at his bloody shirt. The cat had done worse damage than the chicken.
    Cass had stopped running when Mirabelle leaped onto Brett's chest, and she now found herself in the center of the yard, staring at the wounded marshal. The whole thing suddenly seemed hilarious to her. Her face split into a grin and her chest started to heave with laughter. Soon she was guffawing loudly, tears filling her eyes and running freely down her cheeks. Finally she had to sit right down in the dirt, she was so weak with laughter.
    Brett looked indignantly at the hysterical young woman. "I don't see what's so funny," he told her, pointing to the bloody marks on the front of his shirt. "That damn cat nearly tore me in half. And look at my fingers!" He held his hand up for Cass to see the angry red marks along his knuckles.
    Cass just kept on laughing. The more put out Brett looked, the funnier the situation became, She didn't know or care whether or not anything was truly funny. Right now it seemed hilarious, and she needed this. After the horrific day she'd had, she needed to sit in the dirt of her own back yard and laugh until she cried. She let herself fall backwards to lay flat, staring up at the sky as she laughed. Oh, how she needed this.
    Brett walked over to where Cass lay and looked down at her. "I'm certainly glad you're enjoying this," he said, which sent Cass into another fit of choking giggles.
    Darby took hopping steps to Cass's side. "She's always been a bit strange," he said to Brett, as though in explanation.
    Cass laughed even harder.
    Brett shook his head and held out his hand to Darby. "Brett Ryder," he offered.
    Darby shook the proffered hand. "I'm Darby Way ne, Cass's uncle,"
    “ Nice to meet you, Mr. Wayne."
    "Just ca ll me Darby, Marshal. Everybody does."
    "Yes, sir, Darby."
    Cass's fit had begun to subside a bit as the two men made their introductions. She felt as though a