Cade whipped around to find Bennett standing just to the left of the door, gun pointed right at them. He shoved Jolie behind him, and with just a second to think, he acted on the first thought that came to mind.
He pulled the trigger at the same time Bennett fired.
Chapter Twenty-five
Someonescreamed.
It was her. Jolie realized that as Cade fell in front of her.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bennett fall too. But she only had eyes for Cade.
She knelt beside him. “Cade! Answer me. Cade!” She ran a hand down his arm and then rolled him onto his back.
He raised a hand. “I’m all right.”
“You’re not bleeding,” she said as she traced the outline of his chest, and then his other arm. “You aren’t hurt?”
He pushed himself up into a sitting position. “I’m fine.”
“He missed.” Jolie breathed the words out, and then she rose up on her knees and did the only thing she could think to do.
She wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and kissed him as hard as she could.
“No!” An anguished cry made her pull away. Cade’s hands were on her arms as she turned to see Mrs. Bennett stumble out of the house to where her husband lay crumpled on the ground.
“I thought you said you would help him!” Mrs. Bennett shouted. She knelt next to Mr. Bennett, and despite all they’d done, Jolie’s heart ached for her, and she prayed Mr. Bennett was alive.
“Harris!”
Jolie turned with Cade to another shout behind them. A man Jolie didn’t recognize led a group of other men on horseback, all of whom halted nearby.
Cade got to his feet, and Jolie stood with him, not ready to let go of him yet.
“You must be the sheriff.” Cade held out a hand and the man in front shook it.
“Caius Hunt. Ma’am.” The sheriff nodded a greeting at Jolie. He didn’t wait for an introduction, but instead scanned the scene before him as he waved at the men behind him to fan out. “Mrs. Wright gave me the basic details, but perhaps you can fill me in later.”
“I’d be glad to. They locked a couple of my men in the barn, along with the fellow who owns this place. And I left another man unconscious inside.” He took a deep breath. “He was the one who ordered my brother killed.”
The sheriff nodded. He dispatched a man to the barn, and then withdrew his pistol to enter the house with another man.
Jolie watched all of this, thinking how glad she was that Mr. Sawyer didn’t appear to be involved in any of it, but her attention quickly returned to the Bennetts. By some miracle, Mr. Bennett was awake and clutching his arm while one of the sheriff’s men attempted to wrap it in a piece of discarded cloth.
“He’s alive,” she said under her breath to Cade.
“He is.” His voice was a tangled knot of emotion, and she looked up at him. “It’s all right,” he said. “I’m glad for it. Despite what he did to Lucas, I didn’t want to take his life.”
Jolie nodded, relief rising in her chest. She held fast to his arm, simply grateful to have him at her side. And she supposed Hannah felt that way too, although Mr. Bennett would need to answer for his crime.
“Jolie.” Cade was looking at her now, those brown eyes taking her in as he lifted his other hand to take hers. “I’m sorry,” he said at the exact same time she said the same thing.
He laughed a little as she smiled. “I shouldn’t have pressed you,” she said. “I did everything you asked me not to do.”
“I’m glad you did.” He pulled one hand away and rubbed the side of his face. “You were right. I was being stubborn and I wasn’t ready to face life without my brother, so I refused to talk about any of it. I wanted it hidden. But if I’d gotten my way, I’d probably be dead too. And Neil and Horace, and you.” His voice broke.
Jolie flung her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. He was alive and he was here, with her. And she never wanted to let him go again. Unless . . .
He rested his chin on the top of her head. “Please don’t leave me.”
