Elise had been sweeping up the broken splinters off the front door, but now she paused and picked up the hammer she’d laid on the table, along with a handful of nails, and handed the items to him. He grasped the head of the hammer, but she didn’t release the handle. “I meant it when I said I’m glad you’re here.” When Chauncey merely waited for her to say something more, she glanced away almost self-consciously and smiled at the hound. “Why, Beau was practically beside himself with worry.”
Chauncey bowed his head. “I do regret that, Miss Erindelle.” He dared to wink at her. “Let’s get this door repaired before another winter storm sets in, shall we?”
***
Elise hummed to herself as she stirred the vegetable stew in the pot hanging over the fireplace that night. She imagined she would never lay eyes on Mr. Chauncey Cade again, and yet, he sat in her favorite chair andcontinued to work on the mending she’d set aside earlier. She’d watched him for a time, when she was pretending to read, fascinated by the way his large hands, rough from labor, had so gently pulled the needle through the cotton fabric.
A man who could fix a doorso it wasmore efficient than it had been before, to one who could sew as well as any lady was surely like no other.She’d long discovered that Mr. Cade was a true gentleman, even though his past was littered with fragments of misdeeds. He’d treated her with nothing but kindness,and she intended to show him the same courtesy. And to be honest, she couldn’t very well blame him for disposing of the men who had murdered his family.“An eye for an eye,”her father would have said.
Lost in her daydreams, Elise stirred a bit too vigorously and some of theboilingbroth splashed onto her hand. “Ouch!” She instantly dropped the wooden spoon.
Mr. Cade was by her side in an instant. He took her hand in his and inspected the damage.It was red, but it hadn’t yet blistered. “We need to put this in some cold water to reduce the swelling.”
Elise nodded, as if her mother hadn’t instructed her how to survive on her own in the wilderness. She’d cut down trees and split wood, repaired shingles on the roof, but now she letMr. Cade lead her over to the kitchen where he poured a bit of cold water into a bowl. “It will sting, but you have to immerse your hand completely.”
She did it without hesitation. It was only when she glanced at him again that she seen the rather sheepish expression on his face. “What is it?”
“No doubt you think I’m rather highhanded for treating you as though you’re some helpless female.” His mouth twisted and he shook his head. “Martha used to accuse me of the same thing. Even though she was aMétislike I was, she’d been raised in a tribe and knew more herbal remedies and cures than I did, and yet I always imagined that she needed my interference. It seems I can’t stop myself from doing the same now.” He held up his hands and started to back away. “I apologize if I offended you.”
Elise reached out and grasped his wrist before he could retreat too far. “I appreciate that you care, Mr. Cade. It’s true that my mother and father taught me how to do whatever is necessary to live off the land, but it’s been two years since anyone cared about what happened tome.I’m not offended in the slightest. In truth, I’m rather…grateful.”
His dark eyes assessed her, and then he moved forward. He grasped her chin in hisfingertipsand lifted her head. She closed her eyes, eager for his kiss. The blood rushed through her every extremity, but he pulled away almost as quickly as it had begun.
He turned away, as if ashamed. “I’m…sorry. I don’t want you to think that I returned for—”
She took pity on him. “You’re a good man, Mr. Cade, no matter what dark shadows might trail behind you.” She paused and dared to add, “And it isn’t as though I told you to stop.”
His dark eyes shifted back to her face. For a moment, she glimpsed a flash of fire before it was swiftly banked. “I should go check on—” He broke off his words with a shake of his head and headed for the door.
***
Supper was a rather stilted affair that evening, but then Chauncey couldn’t seem to get the soft feel of Elise’s lips out of his mind. They had tortured him from the very first time he’d glimpsed their fullness.Thatwas why he’d attempted to conjure up some sort of excuse to leave her andtrudgeout in the snow, in an effort to cool off his growing ardor.
Now, as he pushed around acooked carrot with his spoon, he couldn’t seem to remove the frown from the center of his forehead. He kept telling himself that he should leave again, that it would be for the best, but a force like nothing he’d ever felt before compelled him to stay. And he wasn’t sure he could see the look of dejection on Miss Erindelle’s face should he walk out that door again. Unfortunately, time was against him, and if the men who were hunting him in Charming were to discover that he was here…
He abruptlygot tohis feet.
Elise slowly lowered her spoon. “Is everything alright, Mr. Cade?”
He shoved a hand through his hair and released a heavy breath. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t sit here and pretend that everything was fine, that they could continue this farce of being happy when it was all going to come crashing down. As much as he hated to see this woman upset, she had to understand that his capture was a very real threat.
“I hadn’t intended on returning,” he stated evenly.
She nodded. “I know.”
“I shouldn’t have returned.”
She said nothing to this.
He walked around to her side of the table and bent down before her, taking her hands in his, gently rubbing his thumb over the strip of white cloth that she’d tied around her burned hand. “I’m living on borrowed time. At some point, Iwillbe found.”
Her blue eyes were focused on him, but she remainedsilent.
“Don’t you see what this means, Elise?” He used her given name so he could impart how important this was to him. “I don’t want you to be injured because of your association to me.” He sighed heavily. “Since it’s obvious that I don’t have the strength to stay away from you, I need to hear it from your lips that you want me to go, that you never want to see me again.ThenwillIbe able towalk out that door andnever return and spare you from what’s to come.”
She didn’t even appear to ponder his words. There was no hesitation as she squeezed his hands and said, “Theonlything I ask from you, Mr. Cade, is to stay with me until the bitter end. I’ve found that things are…easier when you’re here.” She swallowed visibly. “And if, or when, the day comes when the authorities knock at my door, that is the day I will fight with every last breath for you because it’s what you deserve.” She paused. “It’s what Martha and Thomas deserve.”
Chauncey released a shaky breath and rested his forehead against hers. “I don’t know what I could have done to deserve a woman like you in my life again, but I swear that I won’t dishonor your faith in me. I will endeavor to do what I can to keep your devotion alive because it’s whatyoudeserve.”
