Page 100 of A Forgotten Heart
He whispered, “Bossy.”
She couldn’t keep from meeting his secret smile with one of her own.
Danna’s brows rose. “Visit the doctor, then come see me. Don’t get distracted.” One corner of her mouth twitched.
Nick grinned. “No guarantees.”
Danna tipped the brim of her hat, then headed toward the jail, signaling for the crowd to disperse. Several folks walked off.
Merritt met them at the edge of the boardwalk. “Do you need help? Should I get Ed?”
Nick scoffed. “Bullet barely nicked me.”
No, what Elsie needed was time with Nick. A moment with just the two of them. “I can handle it.”
Merritt glanced between Elsie and Nick, eyes sparkling. “I guess now’s not a good time to tell you I had an answer to one of my letters. A young lady who wants to correspond with Nick.”
Nick glanced down at Elsie, his eyes so intense they sent a flutter to her toes. “I’m not interested in answering any letters. Not anymore.”
Merritt smiled and walked away, muttering something like “It’s about time” beneath her breath.
The silence of the night settled around them as they made their way down the street, Elsie sticking close to Nick, Nick a little slow but sturdy. The shadows no longer felt threatening. Not with Quade captured.
When they made it to the edge of the boardwalk to cross the street, Nick grinned. “Maybe I am feeling woozy. You’d better put your arm around me.”
Elsie slid her arm around Nick’s waist. “Woozy, huh? We can’t have that.”
Nick chuckled. “No, darling, we sure can’t.”
Their footfalls beat along the boardwalk in the quiet of the evening.
It still held her in awe. That he’d been there. That he’d fought for her. “I can’t believe you came for me.”
Nick leaned a little closer, his breath brushing her cheek. “I’ll always come for you.” He’d lowered his tone to an affectionate rumble. “I love you.”
She looked up into his face, seeing only sincerity. “I love you too, Nick. I always have.”
Even when she had believed she’d never see him again, even when he had promised to forget her, she’d loved him.
He pulled her tighter, lowering his lips to her temple. “You’re not marrying that other guy.”
It wasn’t a question, but she answered anyway. “No. I couldn’t have gone through with it, not when my heart belongs to you. Even when you didn’t want me anymore, it was always yours.”
He drifted to a stop and turned her toward him. “Darling, that was jealousy talking. I was acting stupid. Glad my brothers knocked some sense into me.”
A snicker escaped from her lips. She could only imagine how that had gone. “I hope they didn’t knock you too hard.”
He shrugged. “I deserved it.”
She laughed again, joy bubbling from her gut.
He drew back until he looked into her face. The light from the nearby building illuminated his knit brow. “You didn’t answermy question from earlier.” He drew in a breath. “If you’ll marry me.”
Elsie bit her lip against the grin she couldn’t stop. “Technically, you didn’t ask.”
The roguish smile that always released butterflies into her stomach crossed his mouth. “El.” He smoothed her hair behind her ear, stopping to cradle her cheek. “El-Belle, will you marry me?”
Tears of joy she couldn’t contain sprang to her eyes. “Yes.”
