Page 47 of A Forgotten Heart
“You lied to me for three days straight.” He couldn’t contain his fury, and she flinched.
A sheen of moisture brightened the green within her hazel eyes. Her lips firmed. “The doctor told me to do anything I had to in order to keep you quiet and still. He said you could die if you went out into the storm with a head wound like yours.”
The fire in her voice told him she was telling the truth. Or at least that she’d believed the doctor.
“Besides,” she went on. “You were the one determined to keep me close.”
Boot steps pounded on the boardwalk, and then Ed stomped through the door, looking harried. Relief crossed his expression when he saw Nick and Elsie.
Elsie turned her back, but not before Nick saw her hands swiping at her cheeks.
“Where’s the marshal?” Ed seemed to sense the tension in the room, his eyes bouncing between Elsie and Nick. “Everyone all right?”
No one answered him. Ed strode to the desk, looked at the note. Muttered something low. “It was Quade doing the shooting. I saw him clearly before he ducked into the saloon.”
Nick had only seen the shooter’s profile, and from too far away to identify him. Elsie had been closer.
Realization prickled down his spine.
Nick looked at Elsie, who still stood with her back to him. “Did you see his face?”
She gave a curt nod, but didn’t turn.
Fear rolled over Nick.
If she had been close enough to see Quade’s face, he’d definitely seen hers. What would Quade do to silence her?
Ed sent Nick a grim look that said he’d had the same realization.
And it was Nick’s fault Elsie was in danger. He couldn’t stand to look at her, but it was his obligation to protect her. But he couldn’t guard her and his heart at the same time. He needed space.
Ed went to the window. “It’s not safe to stay here without the marshal or her deputies. Quade will be looking for us.”
Nick pinched the bridge of his nose. The room was spinning again, and a sudden wave of exhaustion hit him.
“Could you help me get back to my rooms?”
Nick looked up, but Elsie’s words were directed at Ed, who flicked a look at Nick.
“You can’t go home, Elsie,” Nick said. “You’d be far too easy to find there.”
For a moment, the same terror hit that he’d felt when he’d thought the gunman had shot her.
“I’ll go to Merritt’s, then. Surely Jack can keep me safe enough.”
It was a decent suggestion, but Ed was shaking his head. “You’ll be safest at the McGraw spread with us,” he said gently.
“No.” Her voice quivered. “I can’t?—”
“We don’t have a choice,” Nick bit out. He pushed himself to stand, glad when the room only wobbled a little.
She still wouldn’t look at him, but he said it anyway. “You just witnessed attempted murder, Elsie. You’ll have to come with us.”
She shook her head slightly.
“Quade tried to shoot me,” Nick said. “And then you.”
Ed had gone quiet, finally realizing things weren’t right between Nick and Elsie. “He won’t let this go,” he said now.
