Mission of Hope by Allie Pleiter

Author:Allie Pleiter
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2010-10-06T04:00:00+00:00

Quinn slowly squeezed his finger and felt the gun’s kick as it released its bullet.

Square into the straw target Simon had set up a good distance away. Quinn turned out to be an excellent shot. Within a week of training, Quinn already bested most of the regular infantry and half of the officers. While it surprised him that such a dark skill came to him so readily, he couldn’t ignore the admiration and respect fellow infantrymen gave him when he shot as well as he did. He understood how the Wild West got so wild now—and why Ma had been so against him owning one. Guns gave very attractive power on very short notice.

Major Simon took off his hat and squinted down the line at the hit target. “I ought to enlist you,” he said with a dark look. “This minute.”

Quinn shook off the tired ache in his neck, aimed and fired. A hole burst dead center on the second target. It rarely took him a second shot.

Simon shook his head. “You’re wasted on the swords, Freeman. The pistol is your weapon by far.”

It was the first compliment Simon had paid him in days. Things had been tense between them since the major’s oh-so-well-received dinner with the Longstreets—but the tension had mostly been on Quinn’s part. From what he could see, Simon was oblivious. Part of him knew the circumstances held immovable obstacles between him and Nora.

Another part of him refused to accept it. It was as if he and Nora were cut from the same cloth, but neither one seemed suited for their present circumstances. She was bolder than society cared to allow young women, and he craved more than what society cared to allow men lacking a formal education. It seemed unjust that neither of them be able to reach toward the middle ground they somehow seemed to share. He was not at all bothered by her boldness—something men like Simon probably considered unfortunate. He’d heard Simon speak of young, bold recruits as “loose cannons” or “liabilities.” Quinn, on the other hand, was fond of Nora’s boldness almost as much as he was fond of her eyes. No one should tamp down Nora’s boldness any more than they should change her eye color. It was how God had made her.

“I’m not sure how you did it, but word is out,” the major said once they returned inside, handing Quinn a cloth to clean the pistol. “People are talking about a mysterious ‘Midnight Messenger.’ Very dramatic name, by the way.”

Quinn had “signed” one or two of the deliveries as the “Midnight Messenger.” It was important that folks in Dolores Park knew someone was out there on their side. He’d done it as an act of reassurance more than any ploy for fame. “I wasn’t shooting for drama. Just something people could remember.”

“Oh, they’re aware of you, all right.” The major looked as if he didn’t think that was such a good idea. “Now that you’ve got an identity, I’d venture people will be out looking for you.

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