Swept to Sea by Heather Manning Page A

have made her even more frightened of him.
    He edged nearer to the woman, intent on snatching his pistol away from her before she injured either herself or him. Or both.
    "Don't you touch me or take another step toward me or I promise I will shoot you!" Her small hands trembled.
    Her fingers fumbled, and she cocked the gun. Tears streamed down her face. Something dreadful must have happened to this poor woman. Such horrible nightmares had to have been triggered by some terrible event.
    "It is all right, Eden. I promise I am not going to hurt you. You are perfectly safe with me, I assure you." He gave her what he hoped looked like a comforting smile and reached a tentative hand out toward her.
    The lady jerked away, back out of his reach. She let out a startled cry as the gun fired with an earsplitting crack.
    A stabbing pain ripped through Caspian’s left shoulder.
    The acrid smell of gunpowder filled the air.
    Reed jumped straight up from his position on the bed.
    Caspian glanced down to find blood gliding from his shoulder down his left arm.
    He shifted his gaze to the lady in shock. "You shot me, woman."
    ****
    Eden dropped the smoking gun and flew to the captain's side. Had she truly just shot a man? Would he kill her now? Surely he would at least strike her. Not many men took kindly to a woman harming them. At least she knew Rutger would never take kindly. But the captain's blue eyes flickered in amusement and something else she couldn't quite place. Perhaps it was just anger and she misread his expression.
    “Papa! Papa, what has happened? Wha-what was that noise, Papa?” Reed was sitting up, looking as if he had just jumped out from a dead sleep.
    Caspian twisted to face his son, shock still painted on his face. His right hand clutched his wounded shoulder. “Nothing, Reed. Go out on the deck for a moment; I need a moment alone with Lady Trenton. I will call you back when we’re done, all right, boy?”
    Reed moved toward the door, his wide, sleep-filled eyes shifting from his father to Eden. Finally, he left.
    The second the door shut behind him, Eden spun to the captain, fighting to hold back the tears in her eyes. Was the man dismissing his son so the child’s young eyes did not witness what he had in store for Eden?
    Her shoulders shuddered when she realized her fears were probably true.
    "I-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean… will… you… are you going to… s-strike me now?" Eden felt certain her voice rose in pitch with each word she spoke. The blood flowing from the captain’s shoulder distracted her. Careful to keep her body well away from the man, she pulled out her handkerchief and gently pressed it to his wound with an outstretched arm. She refused to look him in the eye and instead studied the hole she had put in his arm with the gun. She noted, with a spark of relief, that the bullet had barely grazed the flesh of his arm.
    Well, she had had no idea the wretched firearm would truly fire that time. When she had pulled the trigger mere seconds before, nothing had happened. She had concluded that the gun was not loaded. How was she to know she would actually hurt him? He took the handkerchief from her and pressed it against his shoulder on his own.
    She stumbled away. “Please, just get it over with now, sir.” Eden stared fixedly at a splinter protruding from the wooden planks beneath her.
    Her words finally seemed to sink into the man when he cried out with what sounded something like alarm in his deep voice, "Never!" Captain Archer wrenched the handkerchief from his wound and took a step closer to her. "I would never strike a woman. Never. What kind of man do you believe me to be?” He glared at her so hard, she felt it almost the same as a blow. “Besides, I am not gravely injured, milady. The bullet barely grazed my arm. It is nothing drastic by any means." He placed a finger underneath her chin, nudging her face up gently. A callus on his hand brushed against her skin, but his touch was anything