Chapter Twenty-three
Wade held Hazel tohim as if he’d never let her go again. All he wanted to do was sit down on the settee and comfort her, but that couldn’t happen just yet. He led her to a chair, and she sank gratefully onto it. “I’ll be right back,” he promised, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
Across the room, Trenton had gotten Cole to his feet with his hands cuffed behind him. Wright and the other man he’d brought had gone upstairs, where Wade had left Duke unconscious and Vance with a gunshot through his shoulder—thanks to the pistol Hazel had left in that drawer.
“I owe you an apology,” he said to Trenton. “I misjudged you.”
Trenton nodded, seeming accepting the apology. “I appreciate that.” He paused, his eyes on Cole for a moment before returning to Wade. “I think we have more in common than I realized.”
He was referring to the tale he’d told Wade not too long ago, about his own brother, whose jealousy and selfishness had turned Trenton’s life into something he didn’t recognize—and had threatened all he held dear.
“You and Mrs. Trenton are welcome here anytime,” Wade said, holding out a hand.
Trenton grasped his palm. “Thank you.” He paused. “I knew I could trust you. I’ve told very few folks about my past.”
“I’m honored to be among them.”
One by one, Wright and the other man brought Duke and Vance downstairs, and Wade informed them of the men in the barn. They’d just laid Duke on the settee when another knock sounded at the front door.
Wright drew his pistol and the others followed him. Hazel, thankfully, remained seated. Wright nodded at Wade, who stepped forward and reached for the doorknob. The guest had to be one of Cole’s men, checking in. Wade hoped to see two or three of them. It was better to get this over with here, and have fewer numbers to contend with at the barn.
But it wasn’t Cole’s men at all. When he opened the door, Kristiansen stood there, with almost every other man who worked for him fanned out around the house, weapons drawn.
Wade opened the door wider to show them he wasn’t in any danger, and Kristiansen lowered his gun.
“I take it this is all over?” Kristiansen asked.
“Appears to be,” Wade replied.
His foreman jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Left you a few men trussed up in the barn, Deputy.”
As Kristiansen and the others offered to help Wright escort Cole, Vance, and Duke out of the house, Wade retreated to the kitchen.
“I’ll need to go back to town with them,” he said, taking Hazel’s hands in his as she stood to meet him.
She nodded. “I rented a horse from the livery. She’s tied up out back.” Hazel paused. “I can’t believe it’s over.”
There was a lot Wade couldn’t believe, starting with the presence of his brother. But with the danger gone, all he could think about now was Hazel.
“Why didn’t you leave?” he asked, wrapping her hands tightly between his.
She looked up at him with those brown eyes, soft in the lamplight. “I couldn’t. I—” She swallowed hard. “I never had a chance to tell you how I truly felt about you.” She cast her eyes across his face, studying him. “And then I overheard two men talking about coming here, and I couldn’t leave you to face that alone, not when I could possibly help.”
She’d ridden into danger on purpose.
Wade shook his head. “I don’t know whether to reprimand you for putting your life in danger or kiss you for saving all of us.”
A tiny smile lit up her face. “I’d much prefer the latter.”
He looked at her incredulously. After everything that had happened, after how he’d treated her and sent her away . . . she not only came back to save him, but she wanted him to kiss her.
“I don’t deserve you,” he said. It was a true, matter-of-fact statement.
“You’re wrong.” She pulled a hand gently out from between his and rested it against the side of his face. “You deserve love and happiness and all of the joy in the world, Wade Pierce, despite what you may tell yourself.”
He laid his hand over hers, not wanting to lose the feel of her palm pressed against his skin. “When I came back, I realized I’d made a terrible decision. I made it out of fear.” He paused, letting those old emotions rise just enough to convey them to her. “I’ve spent my entire life not wanting to become my father and never understanding what that meant giving up. I think I see now that he wouldn’t have had it any other way. The grief was worth the love he shared with my mother.”
Hazel watched him intently, but didn’t say a word.
