Page 37 of A Forgotten Heart
Glancing back, Ed must’ve seen them struggling. Without holstering his gun, he dropped back and supported Nick’s other side. “We’re almost there.”
Elsie’s muscles appreciated the reprieve even as her gaze clashed with Ed’s.
The family resemblance was strong. The same keen gaze. The same cleft in their chin. She could see the fierce protectiveness Ed felt for his brother.
So you lied and told him you were married?
There had been a time when she’d imagined meeting Nick’s family. But she never could have imagined the past half hour. Ed’s suspicion and fear.
Even now, Ed speared her with narrowed eyes before his attention returned to canvassing the street.
Nick had always said Ed would do anything for family. She saw it in his protectiveness. But he hadn’t had any idea who she was.
Nick had made good on his promise. He’d forgotten about her. Never told his family about her.
Her stride faltered, and she stumbled.
Nick tightened his grip around her shoulder. “You okay?”
Elsie regained her balance, but her heart stuttered. “I will be.”
Once she was far away from Nick and the McGraw men.
She didn’t belong with Nick’s family. Didn’t belong with Nick.
Their boots hit the boardwalk in front of the newspaper office, muffled by the thin layer of snow someone had left behind when they’d scooped it.
Ed herded them forward.
Elsie opened her mouth to excuse herself, but when she glanced at Nick, beads of sweat had collected on his now-gray skin.
The short trek had taken a toll. She couldn’t leave him. Not yet.
If she saw him settled first, then she’d find a way to go home.
The astringent aroma of ink slammed into her senses as she shuffled sideways through the door. With Nick between them, she and Ed moved behind the front counter and around the large printing press. Stacks of paper and notes were scattered along two nearby desks.
Ed had holstered his gun and now nodded toward the stairs in the back of the room. “We need to get him upstairs.” His cheeks had grown pink. From the exertion?
Hurried footsteps sounded on the floor above them. “Ed?”
Elsie recognized the woman who appeared at the top of the stairs. She’d seen Rebekah around town and, as usual, was stunned by the woman’s beautiful red hair.
Rebekah’s hand came to her chest as she moved toward them. “Oh no. What happened?”
They cleared the top of the stairs, Elsie huffing and ready to collapse.
Ed recounted everything in a dark tone as Rebekah helped them settle Nick on the sofa against the wall. Patch stood nearby, watching with a concerned tilt of his head.
Elsie stepped back as Rebekah pulled a blanket over Nick’s shoulders and Ed knelt to pull his boots off.
Rebekah touched Ed’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”
An affectionate look crossed his face for a moment. “I’m fine.”
That look, the clear love between the two, stirred the what-might-have-beens in Elsie’s heart. She wished she could just disappear. Nick was safe now. She should go.
But Nick was staring at her. He shook his head slightly, as if he knew what she was thinking.
