Page 47 of A Dangerous Heart
“You and your brothers must’ve been good at gettingintoscrapes too,” she said, raising her chin.
She saw the slight crinkle at the corner of his eyes, though he didn’t crack a smile. Her stomach did a funny flip.
She cut her eyes away and was opening her mouth to tell him she wouldn’t leave when he pressed his hand to her lower back again. “C’mon, Clare. Let’s get something to eat while he’s sleeping. And then if you want to sit at his side all night, you can.”
She couldn’t. But somehow, she let Isaac lead her out of the office and onto the boardwalk.
Outside, the sun had fallen low behind the buildings lining the street. The moon was making a showing in the dusty-pink sky. Clare could just make out the subtle twinkle of the first star. Her stomach grumbled, but she didn’t think she could eat. A couple of men moseyed down the street, and a staccato of raucous noises intruded into their silent stroll. Clare, no longer able to hide her confusion, blurted, “Why did you lie?”
He narrowed his eyes, his focus down the street.
“In the doctor’s office, he called me your wife, and you didn’t—” She cut off her nervous babble.
“Doc’s a busy man. He doesn’t keep up with folks. Besides, I thought that’s what you wanted.” His eyes took on a gleam she couldn’t read when he looked at her again. Her face heated, but she didn’t look away.
“I thought you wanted us to leave. Isaac, I don’t want to put you or your family in any more danger.”
“You won’t. You were right too, Clare. Those boys deserve a real pa, not an outlaw. Wasn’t that the point of all of this?”
Yes, that had been the plan. Before she’d come to know the McGraws. To know Isaac McGraw, the man who still wrestled with his past. Clare let her eyes caress his face: the strong, handsome jaw, the beautiful, discerning green eyes, and the expressive mouth that could light up her world if he learned to smile again.
“I can’t pretend anymore,” she whispered.
No more secrets.
No more pretense.
Isaac took her hands in his. He looked down at her, his expression serious. “No more pretending. We should get married. Make it real.”
Isaac’s words landed between them. Clare blinked up at him, her chest tightening. She drew in a shaky breath. “You mean it?”
His jaw flexed as he gave her a curt nod. “I’ll share my name with you. But that’s all it can be.” His voice was low, steady, and brutally honest.
The words knocked the air out of her.That’s all it can be.Even as the finality settled in, Clare understood the magnitude of what he was offering. A man like Isaac McGraw didn’t give anything lightly, especially not his name. He wasn’t offering love. He was offering safety—hers and Ben’s and Eli’s—and that was more than she’d dared to hope for after he’d found out the truth about her.
She swallowed hard.
Her voice wavered as she answered, “Yes.”
His hands tightened around hers. Relief flickered in his eyes before his usual guarded expression returned.
“Good,” he said, stepping back and releasing her. The cold night air swept between them.
Clare turned her face away, trying to rein in the storm of emotions churning inside her. She didn’t love him—not yet. Butshe was falling, little by little, and she didn’t know how to catch herself.
Chapter 12
“Are you sure about this?” Ed stood beside Isaac in the modest parlor the next morning, self-assured and at ease as if this was just another ordinary day—not the day he’d been called without warning to witness his brother’s wedding vows. The preacher’s wife had welcomed the wedding party into the parlor to wait for the preacher to return. He’d been called away to visit Mr. Slotkin, another parishioner, and would return any minute now, and Isaac’s wedding would commence.
Isaac stuffed his sweaty hands in his pockets. Of their own accord, his eyes went back to Clare, perched on the narrow sofa across the room. His cousin Merritt talked animatedly, but Clare’s attention was focused on him. He looked away, noting Ed’s white shirt and starched collar.
“I’m sure,” Isaac murmured, his voice barely audible. He wasn’t sure about anything, but he wasn’t going to tell Ed that. He’d stayed the night at Ed and Rebekah’s tiny apartment above the newspaper office and hadn’t slept a wink.
“Because just a few days ago, you were pretty adamant about sending her away,” Ed challenged softly.
“Things change.” His eyes fixed on Clare again of their own volition, some invisible line pulling his gaze to her whenever she was nearby.
Things change.
