Page 74 of Mail-Order Viscountess

He was still planning to leave. To uproot them from this place that had begun to feel like home and drag them across the wilderness to an unknown future.

She pulled back a little—not far, just enough to create space where there had been none. The cold air rushed into the gap between them.

“Kate?” Thomas glanced down at her, confusion flicking in his hazel eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Everything. Yet she couldn’t say that. Could she?

She’d started to love this place. The sprawling ranch house with its massive stone fireplace. Mrs. Wang’s quiet wisdom and fierce protection. The brothers who teased each other mercilessly but would clearly die for one another. Even Enoch, with his gruff exterior and gentle heart. Mandie and Rose, with their warm smiles and easy acceptance. And that precious baby.

They’d welcomed her. Made her feel like she belonged somewhere for the first time since her mother died.

And Thomas wanted to take her away from all of it.

“Nothing.” Mayhap her voice came out a little too sharp, so she softened it. Though she couldn’t quite bring herself to lean back into him. “I’m just…surprised. You haven’t mentioned California in a while.”

“The timing wasn’t right. With Clara and everything.” He guided the horses around a bend in the road, keeping his focus on the road. “But she’s recovering now. Once she’s well enough to travel, we can start making plans.”

Plans. As if uprooting their lives was as simple as packing a trunk.

She tightened her jaw. Could she say something? Tell him that she wasn’t sure she could leave? That the thought of abandoning this fragile sense of home made her chest ache with a grief she could barely put into words?

But they were approaching Walnut Springs now. Wooden buildings emerged through the trees ahead. This wasn’t the time or place for the conversation they needed to have.

She swallowed the words pressing against her throat and fixed her gaze on the town ahead. “Let’s just focus on getting Clara’s medicine for now.” Her voice came out steadier than she felt. “We can talk about the rest later.”

Thomas didn’t answer for a moment, and his gaze warmed the side of her face, though she kept her focus ahead.

At last, he said, “All right. Later.”

The word hung between them—a promise and a threat all at once.

She drew a breath of cold mountain air, but it didn’t hold the same crisp freshness. Just a burning ache.

CHAPTER 24

The main street of Walnut Springs stretched quiet in the early afternoon sunlight, a stark contrast to the chaos that still churned in Thomas’s chest.

He shouldn’t have mentioned California.

The moment the word had left his mouth, Kate stiffened beside him. The warmth had drained from her body like water through a cracked vessel. And now she wouldn’t look at him, just kept her eyes fixed forward as though she wasn’t even interested in the town.

But he couldn’t keep pretending his plans had changed when they hadn’t.

Had they?

He shoved the thought aside as he guided the wagon to a stop in front of Holbrook’s Mercantile. The familiar storefront with its weathered sign and frost-rimed windows should have felt ordinary. Safe.

Nothing felt safe anymore. Too much turmoil churned inside him.

He set the brake and jumped down, his boots crunching on the churned snow. When he turned to help Kate, she was already gathering her skirts, her expression locked away like she did when she was upset but refused to show it.

“Allow me.” He reached up and locked his hands around her waist through the layers of wool.

She hesitated for just a heartbeat before placing her hands on his shoulders. When he lifted her down, she weighed almost nothing.

Her feet touched the ground, but he didn’t immediately release her. Couldn’t quite bring himself to let go.

“The doctor’s office is that way.” He tilted his head toward the end of the street. “Dr. Morrison should have Clara’s medicine ready. He knew we’d be coming sometime this week. I’ll load the supplies from Holbrook’s and meet you back here.”