Page 107 of Love’s Silver Bullet

He caressed her face with the side of his hand, his smile as soft and tender as his voice. “No, darlin’, we can’t, because something else still stands in the way.”

“Something else?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

Jake drew in a deep breath, determined to put an end to Sheridan’s false hopes once and for all. “I’m the marshal of Virginia City, Sheridan, and when I took the vow before your uncle to safeguard this city, I also took a vow to safeguard you. I watched both my father and stepfather die as lawmen and Cyrus Tanner too, and I will never subject any woman to that life of fear and foreboding—ever.”

A sob broke from her lips, and the sound slashed right through his heart as he gathered her close, rocking her gently while she wept in his arms. He pressed a kiss to her hair. “I love you more than anything in this world, Sheridan,” he whispered, his voice gruff with an agony like any he’d known before, “so I hope we can always be friends. The Bible tells me that ‘greater love hath no man than this, to lay down his life for his friends,’ and that’s all I’m doing, darlin’, so I’m asking you for the last time, please”— he pulled away to cradle her face in his hands, unable to stem the water that flowed, “just let me go.”

CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE

“Just let me go.”

Like a funeral dirge, Jake’s words played over and over in her brain as Sheridan silently wept in her bed, mourning a death as real and wrenching as the anguish in her heart.

The death of her dream.

The death of her hope.

The death of a love she’d prayed for since she’d been a little girl.

So final. So foreboding. So full of heartbreak beyond anything she’d ever known.

Because it was over. Her quest for the love of her life was over. And there was nothing more to do.

But grieve.

Neither had spoken on the way back to the ranch, other than his quiet request for her silence regarding the awful details of his past, but then there was really no more to say. So, he’d just carried her bag to the front porch and pressed a kiss to her head, hugging her tightly for what felt like the very last time. “I’ve got a lot to do in town this week, Half-Pint, so I won’t see you and your family till Christmas Eve,” he’d whispered, “but I hope you enjoy your time with them this week.” And with that, he’d driven the rig into the barn, mounted his horse, and simply ridden away.

Never was Sheridan more grateful that Uncle Finn and Aunt Libby weren’t home yet from Carson City and Maggie was still at work because all she’d wanted to do was escape to her room and cry.

Of course, Blaze and Dash had come running from the barn to welcome her home, swooping her in the air just like Jake had done. Shaylee all but squeezed the stuffing out of her while Angus fawned with boasts of making her favorite dinner. She’d noted a slight pause in each of their manners, no doubt concerned over her red-rimmed eyes, but she just convinced them it was tears of joy over seeing them again and all she needed was a rest before dinner.

A rest.

To cry her eyes out.

Before she saw everyone again.

Glancing at the clock, she was relieved she still had several hours to clean up, and expelling an exhausted sigh, she stared at the ceiling, wondering how on earth she was going to hide the ache in her heart from her family.

Of course, ever since Uncle Finn had remarried Aunt Libby two years ago, it helped that her aunt made sure that each and every holiday and birthday was chock full of fun and laughter with a well-planned itinerary of games, contests, and silly presents. A seed of a smile shadowed her lips. So hopefully, it wouldn’t be too difficult to fool the people she loved most.

The people she loved most. The ache resurged with a vengeance.

All but one.

And then, as if she hadn’t spilled a million tears already, more swelled beneath her lids, and closing her eyes, she prayed for God to heal Jake’s grief—and hers.

Tap. Tap.

Eyelids flipping open, she was pretty sure that would be either Maggie or Aunt Libby, and glancing up at the ceiling, she felt the hint of smile flicker at the edge of her lips. “Fast work, Lord.” Sitting up in the bed, she quickly swiped at her eyes with her limp handkerchief and stashed it beneath her pillow before smoothing out her dress. “Come in,” she said brightly, conjuring up a happy smile.

Which … immediately crumpled into a pathetic sob when both Maggie and Aunt Libby popped their heads in.

“Oh, Sher …” Maggie rushed in while Aunt Libby quietly closed the door before hurrying over as Maggie scooped Sheridan into a protective hug. “Honey, what’s wrong? Blaze said you didn’t seem yourself, so you went up to rest, but this is way more than exhaustion, isn’t it, Sher?”

Giving a weepy nod over Maggie’s shoulder, more sobs broke through when Aunt Libby joined in on the hug, the three of them wrapped in a safe cocoon of family and love.

“Move over, sweetheart,” Aunt Libby said with a bump of Sheridan’s hip, the two of them sitting side by side against the headboard while Maggie sat cross-legged in front. “This has to do with Jake, doesn’t it?” Her aunt hooked a gentle arm to Sheridan’s waist.