Well, everything that could possibly go wrong had. His plan to embarrass Charmaine had gone out the window the first time she’d smiled at him. He didn’t want to hurt her. He wanted this one night to be perfect — for her and for him. For Charmaine to be horrified that the man she’d danced with all night was just Ash Coleman — that was not part of any perfect evening. He unhitched Pumpkin from the post, jumped into the saddle, and leaned forward with a few soft words for the horse. And then he heard the voices, Stuart Haley’s loudest and most furious bluster dominating them all as they headed this way. If he didn’t get out of this alley, he’d be dead. With another whispered plea and a nudge of his heel to Pumpkin, they were off, flying from the alley and onto the street to surprised shouts. And then the gunfire started. After a moment of panic he realized the resounding shots came from only one gun. Stuart Haley’s, no doubt. The bullets whizzed past, too close for comfort, and Ash leaned over Pumpkin’s neck to make a smaller target of himself.
