Izzy’s mind wandered to the previous night’s conversation. She’d half-convinced herself that Hale would set her aside without considering anything she said. It was a relief when he hadn’t. She knew keeping the information about her family from him had hurt him, and her heart ached when she thought of the betrayed look on his face. But the more she’d spoken, the more his face had softened. And when all the emotions she’d held back got the best of her, he hadn’t turned away. Instead, he’d taken her in his arms and held her.
For a moment, she’d been certain he was going to kiss her.
It had been too much, realizing that even if he was angry, he still wished her to be his wife. And then the comfort he’d shown her, and the promise to consider her request. She wasn’t certain if she could have held herself together if he’d kissed her, so she’d stopped him before he could try.
Part of her wished she hadn’t. She’d thought about it for a long time last night before falling asleep, and it had been on her mind all day. At some point, her marriage of practicality had turned into something more in her heart.
She was afraid she was falling in love with Hale Darby.
“You must have something on your mind,” Edie said, interrupting Izzy’s careening thoughts.
Izzy blinked into the sun as if she’d just woken up. “Nothing more than usual.” It was the semblance of truth. After all, her mind was still constantly occupied with her family and with Hale.
“I received a letter from my father a few days ago,” Edie said as she pinned up the corner of a bedsheet. “I haven’t heard from him in a long time. He’s . . . well, let’s just say we see the world differently.” She gave Izzy a smile as if she would understand. “Anyhow, it’s been on my mind. I miss him and my family, andI would like to see them again, but I also prefer not to.” She laughed quietly as she examined the sheet she’d just hung. “I don’t know if that makes sense at all.”
“It does,” Izzy found herself saying. “Will you write him back?”
“I don’t think so,” Edie said quietly.
“I’d like to see my family again, but I prefer my life here.” The words came out before she thought through them, but nothing she said was untrue. And she found herself oddly surprised. When she lived in the cabin in Wyoming—or in any of the other cabins and camps and clapboard houses before that—she’d thought she was perfectly happy. “I don’t think I knew what I was missing until I had it.”
“That’s an interesting perspective,” Edie replied as she reached for another sheet. “If you had the opportunity to return home to visit, would you go?”
“Yes, of course,” Izzy said immediately. She paused, picturing her family out of prison and living in that cabin outside of Roebuck again. “Maybe. I’d like to see them again, of course. I miss them. But I’m afraid they’d want me to stay with them, and I couldn’t do that.” She wouldn’t want to, she realized. Papa would want her to hold the horses again, to watch for lawmen, to live in fear that what had happened could happen again—and possibly end worse.
Her life was here now, with Hale and Tansy and her work at the boardinghouse.
“You could write to them. I know it isn’t the same, but it’s better than nothing at all,” Edie said.
Izzy stared at the bedsheet in her hands. There was no reason she couldn’t write, was there? “I might do that.”
Her mind turned with everything she could say. She could tell them she was fine, that she’d married, that she had a plan to help them. She could find out about Carter.
“I didn’t leave my family on good terms. I left home without telling them, which perhaps wasn’t the kindest way to leave but it was the only choice I had. They came here to find me and try to get me to return.” Edie’s head was turned, so Izzy couldn’t see her expression. But her voice sounded remorseful, and Izzy was certain that Edie had a difficult time telling her family that she preferred to remain here.
“That had to be hard to navigate,” Izzy said as she picked up the empty basket.
“It was. And the circumstances were . . . interesting. Remind me at another time to tell you about how I was kidnapped.”
“Kidnapped?” Izzy’s mouth fell open.
Edie laughed. “It’s a long story, and James is expecting me home. Put those plants in the sun and give them plenty of water. And Isabella?”
“Yes?”
“If you ever need someone to confide in, I’m here. You have the same look I did when I first arrived here.” Edie gave her arm a squeeze before leaving.
The familiar fear fluttered in Izzy’s stomach. Edie didn’t know—how could she? She was only being friendly.
But still, Izzy stood in place for a few minutes, trying to breathe normally. Once Hale agreed to give her the money and a lawyer took the appeal, this nightmare would be over. She wouldn’t have to worry about anyone looking for her.
She could simply enjoy her life as Hale’s wife.
In the meantime, she’d write Papa a letter. Of course, there was the tricky part of actually mailing the letter. What would the postmaster say when he saw the address on the envelope? He’d have to be curious about why the boardinghouse owner’s wife was sending a letter to a man in prison. She’d have to get someone else to send it. Someone trustworthy. She’d figure that out later.
Right now, she had so much to say she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to fit it all into a single envelope.
