“You are not making this any easier!” Logan shouted, and Jeanne’s mouth snapped shut.
Edgy about the situation at hand, conflicted over what to do next, Logan was momentarily distracted when he heard a low growl nearby.
Jaco?
In the next instant, two figures appeared in the doorway, one tall and the other short. The shorter one charged through the door and leaped up, attacking Duncan, who fell backward as the gun went off. Everyone ducked as the bullet when through the thatched roof. Duncan yelled out in pain as Jaco’s jaw latched onto his arm. Logan had to physically pull the dog off Duncan.
In seconds, Logan had the gun in his possession. He jammed it into his coat pocket as a miserable and bleeding Duncan clasped his arm to his chest. Logan thought to tie his injury up, but Jeanne had thrown herself onto Duncan.
“You daft, stupid, foolish man!” she said as she peppered his dirty face with kisses. “Oh, I could kill you!” she said as her hands touched his face, holding him tenderly. “I love you and only you, you miserable idiot!”
“Jeanne,” he said, wincing. “I’ve missed you so.”
Logan turned his back on them to give them some privacy. He did not envy Duncan’s position, as Jeanne would likely provea terrible nursemaid, but at the very least, Duncan was finally back where he belonged.
Lifting his gaze, he saw Faith standing in the doorway, looking frightened at all she had witnessed. Sheer elation filled him at the sight of her, followed by terror that she should have come to a scene of such danger. Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her out of the house and into the clearing behind the cottage.
“What the blasted hell do you think you’re doing here?” he snapped as he twirled her around to face him. “Have you any idea how much danger you just walked into?”
Faith, surprisingly, was at a loss for words. She only stared at him and then back at the cottage.
“What…” she began. “What in the world…”
But Logan’s blood was pumping furiously as the adrenaline began to subside. His anger and panic at the situation caused him to react without thinking.
“What could have possibly possessed you to come out here?”
Faith blinked, then frowned as she stared up at him.
“I was worried,” she answered honestly, nodding over his shoulder. “Jaco was bleeding and agitated, I thought something happened to you.”
“You didn’t think to call on Graham? Or someone else?”
“He wasn’t around,” she said defensively. “So I came myself.”
“Of all the foolhardy things you’ve done,” he said, shaking his head in exasperation. “You might have been hurt.”
“He was pointing the gun at you, not me.”
“It could as well have been you.”
“But it wasn’t.”
“It could have been!”
“Well, I don’t see what the point of it all is now.”
“No, you wouldn’t,” he continued. “Because you don’t seem to realize that if something happened to you, anything at all, that would be it for me. I wouldn’t know what to do.”
Faith’s eyes widened at his confession.
“Excuse me?”
“I,” he thundered before his voice dropped. “Damn it. I…”
Faith’s hand rose to the center of his chest. His skin tingled beneath her warm palm, and he tried to push past his insecurities.
“You what?” she asked gently after a moment.
