Page 97 of Love’s Silver Bullet

“Ha!” A rare grunt popped from Grace’s lips. “Which means he gives no guarantees for the future, pretty much giving him what he wants in having you stay away from other men while he gives nothing in return.”

“That’s not exactly true”—Sheridan absently fiddled with the corner of her pillow, wandering into a melancholy stare. “He finally gave his love to me tonight …”

“With words and kisses, Sheridan,” Grace said with a shake of Sheridan’s shoulder, “which does not a marriage make, and ultimately, that’s what you want, right?”

Sheridan squinted at her friend. “Yes, of course, but I also want to make Jake happy.”

“Of course you do,” Grace said with a tight clasp of Sheridan’s hand, “but there’s only one way to truly make Jake happy, my friend, as we’ve discussed many times before, and that’s with ‘the plan,’ remember?”

The plan. To heal Jake’s heart from the pain of the past. Sheridan’s rib cage suddenly relaxed with a peace that Jake’s words and actions hadn’t been able to bestow. So he could finally embrace the joy of his future.

Even if that wasn’t with her.

Hope stung at the back of Sheridan’s lids as she lunged to squeeze her dear friend in a tight hug. “Oh, Grace, what on earth would I do without you?”

A soft chuckle floated in the moonlit room as Grace embraced Sheridan right back. “Why, the very same thing you’d do with me, my sweet friend, right now.” She gave Sheridan’s waist a playful pinch. “First pray … and then plan.”

CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR

“Got a minute, sir?” Jake stood at the mayor’s office door in City Hall, hat in hand as he assessed the stacks of papers on Finn’s desk. “I can come back if you’re busy …”

Finn waved him in with a tired smile, the dark circles under his eyes confirming that the loss of his town marshal last week in a bank-robbery shoot-out had taken its toll. “No, Jake, come on in, please. I could use a break,” he said laying his spectacles on his desk before he sagged back with a heavy sigh, gaze trailing off into a distant stare laced with grief. “I never fully realized just how much Cyrus handled on behalf of Virginia City or what an amazing asset he actually was to our town.”

Jake lowered into one of several rickety chairs in front of Finn’s well-worn desk, the sorrow in Finn’s tone akin to that in Jake’s chest since he’d first heard the news. “How’s Abigail doing?” he asked just above a whisper, well aware that Marshal Cyrus Tanner’s widow had literally broken down when Finn had told her. She’d been confined to bed after Doc Ritter gave her something to help her sleep.

“Not good.” Finn massaged the bridge of his nose as he sagged into his chair, glancing up with the same hollow look he’d worn since the tragedy had taken place. “Her sister is taking her back to Ohio where her family lives, leaving on the train tomorrow.”

“I’m glad. This town can’t hold many good memories for her after all the times Cyrus has been hurt over the years. It’s too bad they never had children of their own, but at least there’s nothing keeping her here now.” Jake expelled a cumbersome sigh as he quietly twiddled with his hat, Abigail’s loss reopening wounds of his own from a past all too similar. He swallowed hard as he numbly stared at the floor. “Family will be good for her.”

“Yeah,” Finn said, resting his head on the back of his chair with a sad smile. “Abigail told Libby once that it was just as well the good Lord didn’t see fit to send them any children. Claimed Cyrus’s job was so dangerous, it was hard enough on her, much less a child.”

“Yeah.” Jake’s eyelids lumbered closed while emotion thickened in his throat.

“So.” The casters of Finn’s chair squealed as if he were wheeling closer to his desk. Glancing up, Jake watched as his boss and mentor laid forearms on his desk with hands clasped, suddenly all business. The intensity of his gaze probed as if he already knew why Jake was there. “What can I do for you, son?”

Jake drew in a bolstering breath as he met Finn’s direct gaze. “I’d like to apply for Cyrus’s job,” he said quietly, never surer that this was exactly what he needed to do.

Finn never even blinked. “Mind if I ask why?”

Carefully placing his hat on the edge of the desk, Jake leaned back to sit straight up, elbows resting on the arms of his chair and hands folded like Finn. “Because first and foremost, sir, you need a marshal. Secondly, because I’m one of the fastest guns in the state. And thirdly, because”—he looked away—“I need to forge a life of my own.”

Finn paused, and Jake could almost feel the penetration of Finn’s unwavering stare. “Are you unhappy at Silver Lining Ranch, Jake?”

“No, sir.” He focused on his hat as he twirled it slowly, reluctant for the man he respected more than any other to see the near-lie in his eyes. “I just think it’s time to be on my own”—he paused to swallow hard—“both with a job and with a home.”

“I see.” Finn’s chair squeaked once again, indicating he was settling back in for a talk. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with Sheridan’s departure, would it?”

Jake’s head jolted up, fire licking up the back of his neck. “No, sir,” he said firmly, Finn’s intense scrutiny making him squirm enough to look away with a duck of his throat. Maybe. Bowing his head, he kneaded his forehead with the ball of his hand. Okay, mostly.

He gave a gruff clear of his throat before he met his gaze again. “I will admit, it’s a little lonely with Sheridan gone, sir, because as you know, she and I have gotten to be close friends. Add to that the fact that both Blaze and you have recently gotten married, and well”—he cuffed the back of his neck with a strained smile, hoping to deflect his awkwardness with a little humor—“sometimes there’s so much … well, you know, togetherness … going on that I feel like a rooster at a hen party.”

Finn smiled. “There’s always Dash, you know, so you don’t have to feel like odd man out, Jake.”

A smile tugged at Jake’s lips, relaxing him somewhat. “That’s true, sir,” he said with an idle scratch of his temple, his smile sliding into a grin, “because if ever there was an ‘odd man out,’ it would be Dash Donovan. I swear that boy is married to his job, so he’s not even around half the time.”

“No, that’s true,” Finn said with a slow nod, smile fading somewhat as his eyes trailed into a melancholy stare, his regret over Dash’s chosen profession as evident as the lines of fatigue in his face. His gaze flicked up beneath weary lids. “Does Blaze know about this? Your interest in leaving the ranch?”

Jake almost winced, knowing this would be a blow to his best friend. “No, sir. I thought I’d check with you first, to see if you’d even consider me for the job.”