Page 106 of Charlotte's Reckoning
“I don’t know if the judge will rule in my favor. If he doesn’t, I couldn’t repay you.”
“Did I ask you to?” he countered.
She stared at the thick wad of cash, easily five or six thousand dollars. “This is a lot of money.”
“I have more,” he replied.
“You do?” she asked, astonished. He lived modestly and worked for a living.
“Not here in Laramie, at least not until the transfers are completed. I traveled a lot, and never put down roots, so I have accounts at branches in several states.”
“I didn’t know bounty hunting was so…rewarding.”
He pulled her close, laughing at her pun.
But she pushed away and handed the stack back to him. “I’ll wait until the judge makes his ruling. If he sides with Quentin, then I might have to accept your generous offer, but it will be a loan. I’ll pay you back, I swear.”
His eyes rolled to the ceiling, and he took a breath. Seconds ticked by, and she knew he was counting to ten.
She cupped his face between his hands. “Don’t think I don’t appreciate the offer, or you.”
“This is the strangest arrangement I’ve ever had with a woman. You won’t take my money. We can’t be seen together, not at dinner or anywhere in town—”
“I’ll understand if you want to end it,” she whispered, although it hurt her heart to say so. She had ignored Elise’s sage advice and lost her heart to him already.
“I don’t want to end what we have. I want more. To woo you like any other man would a sweetheart.”
“Woo me?” she asked, suppressing a smile at the old-fashioned word from a man under fifty.
“Court,” he corrected in a grumble. “It shouldn’t be this way, hiding because of what others might think.”
“I’m sorry, Seth, but it’s what’s best for you.”
“And you, Charlotte? What’s best for you?”
She cuddled close, arms wrapped tightly around him, feeling the warmth of his body against hers. A sad smile curved her lips when he returned her embrace. She offered no reply because it wasn’t one he would accept. With absolute certainty, she knew he was right for her. But it wasn’t right for him—the one with the most to lose.
***
Seth surprised her the next day by riding up at noon.
“Is something wrong?” she asked as she rushed out to meet him.
“There was a robbery at First National. A teller was shot.”
“Oh no!” she exclaimed, regretting all the bad thoughts she’d had about the bank over the past few weeks.
“I’m heading out after them.”
“Not alone!”
“Three of my deputies, Mayor Jackson, and a half dozen other men are going with me.”
“Aaron Jackson seems to miss his marshal days,” she observed. “He knows what he’s doing. Do the others?”
“They can ride and shoot, and they’re also riled up because they had deposits at the bank.” He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her up against him. “Try not to worry.”
“Impossible,” she replied, twining her arms around his neck. “What does it say about me if I’m taking a small bit of satisfaction from this? Not the teller being shot. Never that.”
