Forbidden Hearts by J.L. Jarvis

Author:J.L. Jarvis [Jarvis, J.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780985855451
Publisher: Bookbinder Press

Chapter 13

At dawn, training began. Carlos mustered every man and some women to make sure they knew how to clean, load and discharge every type of weapon in camp, which included a few Winchesters, Springfields, Colt forty-fives and a couple of Mausers. Ana expected to be ignored and was not disappointed. Carlos appeared not to object to training women. They were too few in number to be selective. In fact, Carlos treated the women with equal respect, as long as they behaved like proper soldiers, and as long as they were not Ana. She had known how to shoot since childhood from her days at the hacienda. She was out of practice, but so were some of the men. Many here were farmers and peons, men of peace under normal circumstances, who needed as much practice as she. And so Ana found herself in good company, not the best shot by far, but not the worst either.

After a week, her turn came for the night watch. The evenings were quiet. Anyone who might have sought them in the mountains had given up days ago. Still, Ana was outfitted with bandoliers crisscrossed over her chest, a holster wrapped around the waistband of her skirt with a pistol in front, and a Springfield rifle in her hands. She stood watch far enough from camp to hear more than music and laughter, far enough to hear sounds the night makes. She glanced back now and then at the campfire and the people around it. The flames sent warm light and ashes into the air. Behind them sat Carlos. He watched the fire as if he were waiting for danger, looking through chiseled shadows with eyes sharp and vital. With no warning he laughed, and his face formed new angles that brightened his eyes to near blinding brilliance. Ana wondered, would her heart break from sighing?

As though hearing her thoughts, Carlos looked up and, in one brittle moment, the joy left his face. Ana turned away. She couldn't endure it. From then on, she kept her eyes where they belonged, focused anywhere that she wouldn't see Carlos.

The sun came upon the mountaintop with sprays of light that stretched over the vast valley uninterrupted. Land and Liberty. It was their slogan, their reason to fight. She could see it and feel it, and now the desire to fight for them burned like a passion. Beneath, a rock rolled and bounced its way on down the steep slope. Ana looked, and she listened. She heard nothing more, which made her more wary. Could rocks fall on their own? It could have been an animal, or a man. Ana looked toward the camp. A few women stirred to make breakfast. If only the men would awaken. No. she wouldn't let her fear betray her. She held her rifle close by her side. The footfall was careful. She could barely discern it, but someone was coming. Ana lifted her rifle and aimed toward the sound. The steps halted.

Her voice sounded calmer than she felt.

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