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Justin shook his head. “I was back in Omaha. I felt this... compulsion to see it again, though I can’t explain why. Afterward, I decided to do the Deadhorse Rally on a whim. I arrived earlier than expected and had some time to kill, so I came to visit some of the places I’d never been.”
“My point is...” Carly took a deep breath. “What if we were meant to be together?”
“Meant to be together in what way?” That uncertainty was back, and Carly realized that Justin needed her to bare her heart, just like she needed the same from him. There could be no misunderstanding, no words left unspoken.
“In whatever way seems natural to us, I suppose. If we weren’t meant to... have a relationship, would we want to? I mean, you’d think if we weren’t supposed to have anything to do with one another, these sorts of feelings would never have developed. If we really weren’t suited for each other, wouldn’t it just be... you know... physical?” Carly could feel her cheeks heat up a little from her last words.
“I can’t imagine God would want a guy like me with a girl like you.” Justin shook his head. “I’m too old, too damaged. I wish I could be good enough for you, Carly. I really do.”
She tilted her chin up. “Shouldn’t I be the one to decide who’s good enough for me?”
Justin gave her a small, sad smile and took a corkscrew from the basket. He stabbed it into the bottle’s cork and began to turn it. “I don’t think you realize yet how special you are.”
“Maybe you don’t realize your own value, either.”
With a pop, Justin pulled the cork and poured the white wine into the glasses. Carly took a sip and hummed in appreciation. It was sweet and fruity. Justin poured himself a glass and tapped the brim of hers. “To our underappreciated selves.”
She sipped again. “What made you break into your precious trade goods for this?”
“I wanted to give you something special.” Justin traced the pattern on the blanket. “Something you would enjoy.” He glanced around at the shelves of books. “I knew you’d like coming here.”
“I don’t have a card for this library.” Carly gave him a little tentative smile.
He gave her a grin, appreciating her attempt at humor. “I’ve got connections. I can get one for you.”
“What do you want in return?”
His eyes fell to her lips. “I’ll think of something.”
Carly took the bull by the horns. She put down her wine glass, leaned forward, and kissed him. It was soft, gentle, and hesitant; part of her feared he might change his mind and reject her again. He moaned softly, and his arms went around her, pulling her closer to him. He turned that soft, hesitant kiss into a ravishment of the senses. She heard herself gasp when his lips left hers to trail down her throat. He drew back for a moment, and his eyes searched hers intently.
“Are you sure?”
“I want this,” Carly whispered. Being in Justin’s arms was like coming home and exploring an exciting, unknown realm all at once. Her heart hammered in excitement as he lowered his lips to hers once more.
Outside, Shadowfax screamed. Justin and Carly froze for a fraction of a second and then jumped to their feet. Sam was already at the glass door, snarling, his hair raised all around his shoulders. His muscles bunched as he poised to jump right through the glass.
“No, Sam!” Carly shouted. “Wait!”
They burst out the door and saw three people trying to control Shadowfax. One of them had looped a rope around Shadowfax’s neck, and a skinny man with blond hair was trying to grasp her halter, but Shadowfax kept lashing at him with her hooves as she reared against the rope. There was a dark-haired woman attempting to climb onto her back, and the man holding the rope was shouting instructions to her as she tangled her hands in Shadowfax’s mane. Their heads all turned when they heard Carly and Justin burst through the door, guilt and fear widening their eyes. The woman saw Sam and screamed. Shadowfax, seeing the cavalry was on its way, fell back down to all four feet. The woman clinging to her back pounded her heels against Shadowfax’s heaving sides. For a moment, she looked like a little kid on a wooden carousel horse. Shadowfax wasn’t budging.
Sam charged with a vicious snarl. The man holding the rope dropped it and ran while the one holding Shadowfax’s halter shouted, “Oh shit!” as Sam leapt at him and knocked him to the ground. Carly heard the man’s screams of pain and Sam’s snarls. She didn’t look.
Justin dropped to one knee, holding the pistol steady, and aimed at the woman. “Get off the fucking horse.”
The woman tried kicking Shadowfax harder, and the mare reared again. The woman lost her balance and fell to the ground. Freed from the strange humans grabbing at her, Shadowfax ran over to Carly. She was trembling, and she tossed her head repeatedly. Carly swept the rope off her neck and threw it to the ground.
Sam left the limp and bloody man lying still in the street and dashed over to stand in front of his pack. The woman in the street rolled and clutched at her arm as she let out staccato moans of pain.
“They used to hang horse thieves,” Justin said. “Consider yourselves lucky.”
“David!” The woman dragged herself over to the bloody blond man, who lay as still as death in the gutter. Sam had blood on his muzzle. Carly swallowed and hid her face against Shadowfax’s neck.
Carly heard a shot, and the pavement next to her foot cracked, sending small chips flying. Carly stared at it stupidly, but Justin was on his feet in a flash. He grabbed Carly and shoved her back into the library while firing his own gun. Shadowfax and Sam followed them inside.
“Get to the back door,” Justin said. “Cover it. Be ready to run if you have to. We don’t know how many are in their group.”
Carly took the gun out of its pouch on her belt and checked the load and the safety as Justin had showed her. She had the fleeting thought she could have shot the people just for interrupting what had been turning out to be a very interesting kiss, much less trying to steal her horse.
