“You’re a better man than me,” she groused.
Wyatt laughed. “Get the rope.”
“You know what I mean,” she said with a snort as she realized what she’d said. “He doesn’t deserve it.”
“Maybe not, but neither of us deserve to have his blood on our hands.”
She studied him for a long moment, seeing the boy he’d been and the man he’d become. He’d gone to grim places and carried out orders she couldn’t even fathom. Didn’t want to. Even if he’d never planned to return to Deadwood she was grateful he was here now. Thankful he was a hero at heart.
“What happened to Baker?” she asked.
“He’s passed out. Injury, exertion or whatever.” Beneath Wyatt, Cordell’s muffled voice sounded worried. “He’s not dead, but he can’t fight. Are there any diamonds left in there?” he queried.
Tate tried to talk again.
“Plenty.” She smiled. “We need to confiscate the diamonds he has,” she said. A gust of wind lifted the top-most layer of snow, carving from one drift to add to another. “Wind is changing,” she said. “Maybe the worst of this storm is over.”
“Let’s get them secured and see if we can get out a call for help.”
“On it.” She trudged back toward the outpost for the rope and whatever else might keep Tate and Baker subdued. “Then we’ll talk,” she added once she was out of earshot.
She wouldn’t let this prime opportunity for a second chance with Wyatt pass her by.
10
After a brief debate, Wyatt and Evie decided to keep Tate and Baker in the outpost. They built up a fire in the hearth and gave the men a couple of blankets and some bottled water while they debated what to do next. It would be so nice to leave them here to rot but that wasn’t practical and most likely the FBI would frown upon it too. Not to mention the mess it would leave for the Greenbriar’s to clean up.
The snowmobile from the mining museum had a radio, but it was broken.
“You’ll need to go back to town,” he said. “You can lead Sheriff Russell in to pick us all up.”
“Not without you,” she argued.
He almost smiled, she was so predictably stubborn. “No one but the FBI knows I’m not part of Cordell’s crew and there’s no way to know if they’ve revealed themselves to the sheriff.” Her brow furrowed, but he knew he was getting through. “They all think I’m a kidnapper. It will be faster all around if you go alone.”
She stalked past him and into the outpost. He followed, laughing to himself when he caught her checking theirrestraints. “You shouldn’t be alone with them,” she said once she was back outside.
“Have a little faith,” he said.
She pressed her lips together, clearly holding something back. He didn’t know she was capable of that. Climbing into the seat, she gave him a tight smile. “Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”
She drove off before he could kiss her and he stood there, listening to the whine of the engine long after she was out of sight. He didn’t go back inside, too afraid of haranguing or hurting Cordell. The man had nearly killed Evie more than once. He needed the reward money and to get that, he needed to do this the right way.
Waiting with his own thoughts wasn’t any easier than dealing with Cordell and Baker would have been. As the adrenaline drained away, he couldn’t stop thinking about all of the ways he’d gone wrong with Evie. He’d been a kid, sure. Scared of his mother’s addiction dragging him down and Evie too, by association. He’d had to get out.
That was what he wanted to talk about. He wanted to look into her beautiful gray eyes and watch her accept his promise that he’d never walk away again. Returning to Deadwood for the FBI, for his future, had been a choice that he’d instinctively known would give him that opportunity. He finally felt man enough to come back into Evie’s orbit. Although he would have been happier if she’d never been caught up in Cordell’s mess, he wouldn’t have survived this half as well without her.
She was it for him. Somehow he had to find a way to win her back. Her trust, her love, her kisses. Every ounce of the chemistry he remembered was still there between them. He saw it simmering between her flashes of familiar temper and even more tempting tenderness. No one in his life had ever demonstrated such caring and tough love for him in as Evie.
At last the sounds of rescue approached in the form of snowmobiles gliding over the snow-blanketed terrain. It shouldn’t have surprised him that Evie led the way. She parked at the far side of the building and sat there, watching the proceedings as the sheriff and Agent Pickering marched Cordell and Baker out.
“Good enough?” he asked Agent Pickering.
“Did you talk to them?”
He shook his head. “Didn’t trust myself,” he replied. “Is it okay if I ride back with Evelyn?”
Pickering arched an eyebrow and gave him a subtle nod. “As long as you’re right behind us. We need full statements, the sooner the better.”
