Page 62 of A Dangerous Heart
“And rescued the dog.” She finished the story for him.
He didn’t deserve the soft, admiring light in her eyes. “Few minutes later, when I was walking back to meet my pa, one of ’em came out of nowhere?—”
The drunk had skirted through the alleyway and emerged from behind a different shop. Back then, Isaac hadn’t known to watch for danger lurking in every direction. “Knocked me off my feet. Roughed me up a little, but he didn’t hit me.”
Isaac had been terrified for those few moments.
The drunk had seemed to come to his senses, seemed to realize how young Isaac was. And stupid.
“He let me go, and I went back to Pa. Never said a word.” He’d been ashamed at the time. Drew’s warning words from two years before had echoed through Isaac over and over for the entire wagon ride home.
“I thought if I could work hard enough, prove myself”—he shrugged—“that I could be like Deputy Nerat. Better.”
“Where is that deputy now?”
“I dunno. I saw him in action once.” Reminiscing was easier than talking about his own mistakes. “Fella walked right up to the stagecoach to rob it. Nerat called him out—demanded he leave town. The robber pulled his weapon right there on the street.” Isaac remembered being enthralled with the drama unfolding even as Ma had tried to drag him to safety. He’d watched over his shoulder as Nerat had drawn faster than the blink of an eye and shot the outlaw through the heart. “I wanted to be just like him.” His voice turned to gravel. Breaking free of the memory, he realized Clare stood just behind his shoulder. Hovering close but not touching him.
“I was—for a while, until my arrogance got Cody killed.” Just like Drew had predicted. “I can’t let anything happen to Ben or Eli.”
Or you.
He heard an unexpected noise. A sniffle. And turned to see her with a wrinkled nose and misty eyes. She dropped her gaze to stare at the belt on the bed. He did too.
“You don’t have to do this,” she whispered. “We can have the marriage annulled. The boys and I—we can just go.”
Run. She meant run.
“No!” The instant rejection rang out. Inside him, it felt right. “Won’t solve anything,” he rasped. “Victor will still come looking. And I have to protect my family.”
“It doesn’t have to be you,” she argued. “The marshal can round up a posse. It’s not your job anymore.”
It’s not your job anymore.
Isaac felt that to his core. Another gutshot. Could he really leave this job? Or was it a calling, like Nick had said? Something that was a part of him, that he’d never be able to escape. He’d taken an oath when he’d joined the Marshals. One he’d vowed to keep to his grave. Same as the vows he’d said to her.
“I meant those vows I spoke,” he said before he could stop himself.
He caught the hope in her eyes, another bullet ripping through him. After all she’d been through, she could still hope.
He reached for the belt and began to strap it on. She grasped the brace of pistols lying on the cot and brought them to him, one in each hand. He cupped his hands over hers. They stood there, suspended in time.
“You are my hero, Isaac McGraw.”
With their hands still connected, he leaned in and kissed her. Saw the sweep of lashes against her cheeks as her eyes closed. The press of her lips was heady and sweet. He kissed her tenderly. Outside, the horse whinnied. Eli’s boots thudded in the dirt.
Isaac pulled back, touched his forehead to hers. He took a second to memorize her flushed face and the way her eyes shimmered with something he didn’t dare name. Lifting a hand, he curled some loose hair behind her ear. “We’d better go.”
She nodded and released the revolvers to him. He only hesitated a moment before slipping them into the holsters at his hip. His family needed him. Clare needed him.
Chapter 16
Moments after the kiss, Isaac had gone down to the river to fetch the reed whistle he and Ben had made together. Passing through the propped-open cabin door, folded quilt on her arm, Clare played his words in her head.
I meant those vows I said.
Isaac’s words, his kiss, had bolstered her hope for the future.
Eli wasn’t waiting in the wagon like she’d asked.
