“I do.” Lina thought she might burst if she didn’t get the thoughts out of her mind right now. “First, you must know I didn’t come here to hurt you. That was never my intention. I wanted only to find the money to help my brother. Matthew and I . . . we had nothing. Papa had been promising riches when he returned, money that would pay for Matthew to go East and receive the treatment he needs so badly. But he never returned.”
“Joseph Grayson is your father.” Hawk said this matter-of-factly, as if the revelation didn’t surprise him at all.
“Yes. Grayson was an assumed name, so no one could connect his crimes to us.” Lina paused. “How did you know?”
Hawk smiled—just slightly—and tapped the bridge of her nose. “You have the same eyes. It took me a while to put it together, but when I did, it was quite obvious.”
“Oh,” Lina said. He still held her hands. She didn’t know what that meant, but she didn’t deserve it. She pulled her hands from his and clasped them together.
“Why did you answer my letter?” Hawk asked after a moment.
Lina closed her eyes, remembering all too vividly that moment in her kitchen when she made the connection between him and the sheriff that had put an end to Joseph Grayson and his gang. She opened her eyes and looked straight into his. She had had enough of lies and deceit.
“Because I knew you were the sheriff who had surrounded my father and his men. You were the last one to talk to him before he died. I had hoped I might find some clue here that would lead me to the treasure, or that you might tell me something useful.”
Hawk didn’t flinch. Of course he didn’t. But that didn’t mean that what she said didn’t hurt him inside.
“That may have been why I came here,” she continued. “But the reason I remained grew more complicated.”
Hawk raised his eyebrows, and Lina plunged forward. She would bare her heart to him. And if he rejected her, as she knew he ought to, she would leave. But at least she would go knowing she’d done the right thing. She could nurse her battered heart back in Kansas—alone.
“I fell in love with you,” she said, her voice barely audible. “I am sorry to tell you that now. When we return to Perseverance, I’ll pack my things. I’ll go back to Sweetwater, and you’ll never need think of me again.” Her voice cracked, and it was all she could do to keep from weeping. The thought of never seeing Hawk again, never watching him smile, never hearing his voice say her name—it was too much to bear. But bear it she would, for it was exactly what she deserved.
“What about the money?” he asked.
Lina shook her head. “I don’t want it. Not anymore. I thought I did, even this morning I thought I did. But it feels wrong to me now. It’s caused too much pain to too many people, including you. It was acquired illegally and no good can come of it.” She glanced up at him. “I’ll find some other way to help Matthew. We can go to a city and I can take work in a factory. At least that money will be honest, and it won’t have hurt anyone.”
Hawk was quiet. He didn’t care for her answer, and that was fine. She’d expected him not to believe her, and why should he?
“Please know I will always carry you in my heart. You were kinder to me than I deserved.” Lina gathered her skirts and stood. But just as she turned, a hand gripped her arm.
She turned back to see Hawk standing there.
“Don’t go,” he said, his voice rough at the edges. “Please.”
Lina looked down at his hand. “I don’t understand.”
He rubbed his other hand over his face. “It makes no sense, but I fell in love with you too. Please stay. We can start again, and maybe this time I can get to know the real Carolina Groves Rodgers.”
Lina’s breath went ragged in her throat. Had she heard him correctly? “Are you certain?”
Hawk nodded, and finally,thankfully, he flashed her that smile she loved so much. Lina threw herself at him again, reveling in the feel of his arms holding her close.
She leaned back just a little to see his face. “I want you to know that youdoknow the real Lina. The only facts I kept from you were the identity of my father and the reason I came. The rest of what I shared about myself was all true.”
His smile grew broader. “Well, in that case . . .” He drew one hand away from her waist and used it to lift her chin.
Lina’s eyes fluttered shut as his lips met hers, and she knew in that moment she was forgiven. She vowed never to need to lie to him again. Then she sighed, and her mind stopped thinking at all as he deepened the kiss.
Her heart was his, for as long as he would have her.
