“Are you all right with that . . . omission?” He searched her face for a clue, anything that would tell him how she felt after he’d been so stand-offish toward her.
A hint of a smile played at the corner of her mouth. “Jeremiah, I’m the one who wrote you those letters. How do you think I feel?”
He smiled himself then, a chuckle escaping his lips as a spark of happiness lit inside him. “Well, then I’ll continue not mentioning it.” It was a little thing, but it was enough for now.
He stifled a yawn, but Deirdre noticed anyway. With the fear and worry and the anxiety gone, fatigue had swept in, making every bone in his body feel heavier than it should.
“Lie down,” she said, pulling just a little at his hand. She patted her leg, indicating he should use it as a pillow.
“We need to get back to the livery.” Yet he couldn’t imagine climbing onto a horse and making that ride, not right at that moment.
“After you get a little rest. I won’t let you sleep long, I promise.”
It was easy to give in. The ground was hard, but Deirdre was soft, and he closed his eyes as her warmth enveloped him. She laid a hand on his shoulder, and as he drifted off to sleep, he could think of nothing in this world that would make him happier than he was in that moment.
Chapter Sixteen
“SHE’S A BEAUTIFUL HORSE.” Deirdre patted the new mare Roman had just purchased. The horse nickered and lifted her nose, making Deirdre laugh.
“He got her for a good price too,” Jeremiah said as he led the mare into the corral. “The fellow he bought her from was desperate for the money. Seems he got in over his head in a card game over at the mining camp and owes a fair bit of money.”
Deirdre leaned against the wooden fence as Jeremiah settled the mare into the corral. His story reminded her of Liam and his mention of opening a gaming hall. She pushed that thought from her mind. He hadn’t mentioned it since, and she hoped her words had convinced him it was bad idea.
“What’s her name?” she asked Jeremiah, nodding at the horse.
“Siegfrida.”
Deirdre wrinkled her nose. “That’s a terrible name.”
Jeremiah laughed as he gave Siegfrida a bit of carrot from his pocket. “That it is. But it’s hers, and I hate to change it on her.”
His words made her smile. His unconditional love of horses was one of the million reasons she’d fallen in love with Jeremiah.
Her eyes widened as she considered the thought that had just run through her mind. Was she in love with Jeremiah? Deirdre almost laughed at herself. Of course she was. She had been for some time now, but she just hadn’t thought of it in those precise words.
She gripped the wood of the fence as she watched her husband talk gently to Siegfrida. Jeremiah had softened toward her over the last week, ever since she’d gone after Robin Hood and he’d confessed that he didn’t tell Liam about his idea for an annulment. She found him watching her the way he’d done months ago, when he first paid her attention, but now it seemed he did so even more intently. There was something in his eyes that made her shiver with some unknown anticipation when she caught that look.
