“My family,”she said abruptly, before he could ask. “They died.”
He regarded her a longmoment. “Callihan?”
She nodded once,sharply.
“Is he theone behind that scar on your neck?”
Her eyes burned.Brutally, she dug her teeth into her bottom lip. “Yes.”
“You’relucky.”
She gave a bitter laugh.“Yes. Lucky.”
“I’m sorryfor your loss.”
She stared at her hands.They were steady. Surprising. “Thank you.”
“Now the war,it weren’t all bad,” he said as if they hadn’t spoken of herfamily. “In fact, most of it were goddamn amusing. I should tellyou the time Higgins almost got his fool arm bit off by a bear whatturned out to be a rock covered in moss. Higgins was on patrol formore’n a day and he…”
Grateful he asked no morequestions, Hope listened. The rough timbre of his voice washingover her, rising and falling as he described Higgins’s grandwrestle with a rock. A warmth glowed in her chest, that he somehowknew she had no wish to speak further of her family and Callihan,and he instead distracted them both with these tales.
He gesticulated with hishands, a sly grin on his face as he finished that story and startedthe next, amusing anecdotes of fellow soldiers and ridiculoussituations. Lurking underneath, though, was a grimness she didn’tthink he even realised, a lie told so often and so well even hebelieved it. She’d been guilty of such, once. She’d told herselfshe was fine, pretended to others she was well. She’d let her unclebelieve she was a sweet, innocent girl who had put the horrors ofher past behind her, let him believe vengeance didn’t smoulder deepwithin her, waiting only for a tinder that would set her ragealight. He’d died believing his niece was safe and whole, and hadnever known the revenge she had sown, that she nowpursued.
So she knew Jacob Wadelied, because she was a liar, too.
“Why are youlooking at me like that?”
His words interrupted herthoughts. “Like what?”
“I don’tknow. Like...that.” He waved a hand at her.
She lifted a shoulder.“Ironwood tomorrow? I thought it would take a week,” she saidinstead.
He didn’t insist,offering his own shrug. “May be we made better time than I thoughtwe would.”
“Hmm.” Hereally was quite beautiful. Flame licked at his features, creatingdark hollows of his eyes and cheeks, the bones of his face starkand strong. He was bathed in a light of red and gold, and shewanted to run her fingers over the stubble of his beard, feel forherself if it was soft or if it scratched. She wondered how itwould feel against her lips.
The air thickened betweenthem. His gaze slid over her, and she felt fire in its wake. Was hethinking of her? Was he wondering if he would discover if her heartbeat faster? Did he want to trace the lines of her face, her neck;did he want to cup the weight of her breast and cover her fleshwith his strong hand? Did he wonder how she tasted, if her lipswould part under his, if she would moan and sigh, and draw himcloser? Did he wonder all these things because, dear God, shedid.
The moment elongatedbetween them, becoming forever. She imagined his hand twitched,formed a fist, and that he made that fist to stop himself fromreaching for her. She imagined she tilted her head, baring herneck, wanting him to wrap his fingers about her, pulling at thestrands of her hair as he drew her to him...
“We shouldsleep,” he said huskily.
Dazed, she nodded,wondering and wondering...
“MizMcElroy,” he said and she almost imagined a warning to his tone, asif he fought himself and could not fight her as well, as if theydid not disturb this moment he would break and she would take himwithin her...
She blinked. What was shethinking? “Yes.” She cleared her throat. “Yes, of course.You are correct. Good night, Mr Wade.”
It seemed his eyesburned, but perhaps it was just the fire. “Good night, MissMcElroy.”
That night, it tookforever to fall asleep and when she did, dark eyes filled with firefilled her dreams.
ChapterNine
ITWERE THE MIDDLE of the afternoon of the following day afore theyrode into Ironwood. The path had been longer and more fearsome thanJake remembered it, and though he’d hidden it from Miz McElroy,he’d had some concern they would not reach the town intact. The badman who’d stumbled into their path had been not much more than abother, but where there was one, there could have been others. Ifhe’d been alone, he’d give it not much more than a thought, butwith Hope.... He wasn’t fixing for anything to happen to her. Ithad been a time since he’d last doubted his abilities, since uneasehad had him so firm in its grip. He couldn’t say he much cared forthe experience.
However, now they’darrived in Ironwood and a different kind of danger faced them. Thetownfolk had always been wary, and they garnered suspicious looksand curious glances as they rode through town, more than one handtwitching toward a holstered gun. He’d made sure to shield MizMcElroy from those glances, though no matter how he protected her,some danger would transfer from him to her by virtue of her beingby his side. Unease would not leave him just yet.
