“It isn’t silly if it’s something that worries you.” His mind churned, trying to discern what it could be. “Is it your safety here in town? I’d hoped getting to know the sheriff and his wife might help. I promise you that nothing will happen to you here.”
She smiled a little. “You can’t promise that. No one can.”
She sounded so wistful, so sad, that Hale knew it was more than a logical mind that spoke those words. She was correct, after all. He couldn’t control the choices others made, although he’d do his best to ensure a comfortable and safe home for her. But there was something else in the way she said it . . .
“May I ask what happened to you?” He spoke the words hesitantly, knowing it might be a wound she’d prefer not to open.
Her gaze was on him again. “What do you mean?”
“Well . . .” He turned his hand over, resting the back of his against her leg. “Perhaps I’m reading too much into it, but you don’t seem a fearful person in general. It makes me think something bad—or the threat of something bad—happened to you in Wyoming.” He paused, searching her face, hoping she would give him a clue. “You can tell me what it is. Maybe I can help.”
“Oh.” She sounded surprised. “Nothing terrible happened to me, at least not in the way you’re thinking.”
That was a curious answer. Hale studied her, but nothing about Isabella indicated she was lying.
“I promise you. No one ever hurt me or stole from me or anything like that.” She smiled at him, clearly trying to assuage his worries.
He nodded. It didn’t explain why she was so nervous at times. But then again, the only women he’d known well were Tansy and his own mother. Perhaps her reaction to hearing about outlaws and other ne’er-do-wells was an entirely normal reaction for many women.
Satisfied with her answer, he leaned back against the step behind them. “Seeing the same stars I saw in Philadelphia was comforting for me when I first came here.”
“I was thinking the same,” she replied. “It’s nice to know the people we left behind can look up at the sky and see exactly what we’re seeing.”
They were quiet a moment. Hale’s attention drifted from the stars to the sliver of a moon hanging over the mountains in the distance. When he was a boy, he never could have imagined seeing such a view. Behind their boardinghouse in Philadelphia was a cobblestone alleyway, hemmed in by more buildings.
“Hale?” Isabella’s voice was quiet.
“Yes?”
“Thank you for choosing me. You must have received several letters, and yet you chose me.”
Her words, spoken with a little tremor, went straight to his heart. He caught her eyes. And then, without hesitation, Hale wrapped his arm around her. After a few seconds, she leaned her head on his shoulder.
He closed his eyes, relishing the moment. No one had ever trusted him so completely. Tansy needed him, but not in the way Isabella did.
“I should be thanking you,” he said. He’d taken on an enormous responsibility in marrying her. And he was determined Isabella wouldn’t regret her decision.
Whatever it was that sat so heavily on her mind, he hoped she would eventually trust him to help her with it.
Chapter Ten
IZZY HESITATED IN THEdoorway to the dining room.
Fourteen women—no, fifteen, if she counted Tansy—filled the space around two large tables that had been pushed together.
