Chapter Fourteen
Mitchell had neverthought water could taste so good. Glass after glass they drank that afternoon and all through supper. Afterward, they gathered on the back porch and listened to the sound of the water gurgling several feet below ground.
Lara sat on the stairs with her back against a post, Belle opposite her and the children down below, pointing out stars and constellations. Arlen and Josie had turned in a while ago, and George was inside, reading to Isabel while she worked on baby clothing for Josie. Mitchell leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and tried to think of another more perfect moment.
This entire day had been memorable. From nearly kissing Lara to finding the water to this still, peaceful time on the porch.
The only thing that had marred it was the rustling in the bushes.
It had been an animal. Of that, Mitchell was absolutely certain. But it had set him on edge.
He still couldn’t place the man who had attacked Lara. He wondered if perhaps he’d imagined the similarity to someone he’d known or had met. The man’s image seemed to blur in his mind now, mixed in with his time in Denver and the men he’d worked with.
Denver.
He blew out a breath, trying to keep his mind on the good in front of him. Lara, laughing in delight at something Joseph had said. The happy chatter of the two girls. The water burbling away, refreshing and full of promise.
But try as he might, Denver would always be there in the back of his mind.
He’d done wrong, and he’d admitted it. Then he’d saved Clarkson’s life by telling them everything. He’d done agoodthing—that was what he’d told himself over and over. No matter that it had helped him too. It had set him free rather than leaving him to rot in a prison somewhere.
Then why did he feel so badly about it?
And then there was Lara. Determined, curious Lara who wanted to know everything about him. If she knew about his time in Denver, she’d likely ask Arlen and Josie to toss him back out into the road.
But if this . . . whatever it was between them was going somewhere, shouldn’t he tell her?
The thought made his stomach churn.
His gaze landed on Lara, who watched him quietly. She stood and took the chair next to his while Belle listened patiently to Joseph’s jokes.
“It looks as though you have something on your mind,” she said.
Mitchell said nothing. It was as if she could read his thoughts. “Nothing more than I had earlier.”
“Hmm.” She didn’t believe him. That much was clear from the set of her jaw and the way her eyelids narrowed. “When you were thinking of your family, you looked more sad than worried. And when we heard that movement in the trees, you looked ready to fight. This is something else.”
