“What’s up?”
“Nothin’. Just watching the game.”
“With a gun.”
Bart had blinked, looked down at his hands, and frowned. “Yeah, guess so.”
“Why?”
A shrug.
“Is it loaded?”
“Guess so.”
“Maybe you should put it away.” Cade held out his hand and his brother finally looked up. What he saw in that moment caused his heart to freeze. There was a deadness in his brother’s gaze, and the only other spark, other than the reflection from the images on the television, was a quick, silent accusation.
“Maybe you should go to hell.”
Cade’s hand was still stretched forward, palm up, fingers splayed, waiting to accept the weapon.
His brother held his gaze.
Cade felt the seconds tick by as a drip of sweat ran down his spine as Bart considered his next move.
“Come on, brother. Give it up. You know whiskey and firearms don’t mix.”
The beams of headlights flashed across the windows and Bart blinked for the first time since Cade had entered the room. “Someone comin’ over?”
“Dan.”
“Why?”
“Thought the four of us could watch the end of the game and play a little poker.”
“Zed’s gone. Went to Missoula. Meetin’ Sally.”
Sally Eberhart was the widow of a good friend. Zed had been seeing her off and on for a couple of years.
“Then it’ll just be the three of us. Come on. Maybe this time we can beat Dan, get a little of our money back.” He heard the back door creak open only to slam shut. “Ready to lose some serious cash?” Dan bellowed from the kitchen. Boot steps pounded on the floorboards, growing louder.
Bart squinted up at Cade, his nostrils flaring a bit. “You’re an asshole.”
“So I’ve been told.”
Slowly, Bart handed his brother the .45. “I wasn’t plannin’ on poker tonight.”
“Plans change,” Cade had said, emptying the cylinder of the Colt and finding a single bullet. “Y’know, just so we’re clear: Russian roulette isn’t such a good idea.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Bart had said with more than a little venom as he’d capped the whiskey bottle and climbed to his feet. “But you always have been full of shit.”
Cade saw no reason to argue.
The Seahawks scored again and the crowd went wild.
Bart shuffled out of the room, only listing slightly.
Cade kept the .45.