Page 80 of Fairest of Heart

Titus rubbed circles into her back in an effort to calm her. “Ike’s fine. I saw him myself last night. You don’t have to worry.”

“Jeb? Angus? I saw them fall. Are they . . . ?”

Jeb shuffled up to the bed. “We’re fine, Penny. You’re the one that gave us all a scare.”

“Thank God.” She reached out a hand to Jeb, and the old man took it. “I’m so glad you’re all right.” The V between her eyebrows deepened. “I should have recognized her. Should have seen the danger. You only drank that cider because I asked you to. Mercy. I could have killed you.”

“You listen to me, Miss Penny.” Jeb wagged a finger near her face. “None of this was your doin’, and I won’t have you thinkin’ it was. That she-wolf done caused all this mess, not you. Besides, it takes more’n a cup of bad cider to take down a Diamond D man.”

Jeb cast a sideways look at Titus and gave him a small nod, letting him know he wasn’t just parroting the sentiments Titus had tried to impart in the kitchen. He’d accepted their truth.

Titus nodded back. He was all too familiar with the destructive power of self-blame. He’d tortured himself with all the things he could have done differently with Tate until he almost couldn’t sleep at night. It had taken him months to realize that even if God had turned back the clock and provided him the opportunity to change things, he still couldn’t have guaranteed a favorable outcome. Not with Tate having free will and Nora and George Middleton bent on wickedness. A rather humbling epiphany for a man who liked to believe he carried some influence in the world. That must’ve been when he’d switched the blame to God, so quietly and without fanfare that he hadn’t even realize it had happened.

“A man has no future if he can’t let go of the past.” Titus could still feel his father’s grip on his shoulder as he’d passed along that bit of wisdom one of the few times Titus had come home during his hunt for Middleton. He’d been slow to learn the lesson, but it eventually sank in, leading him to forgive himself, Tate, and even George and Nora to some extent. And now through God’s grace, he’d dug up the last hidden piece of bitterness and laid it to rest. Titus wagged his head slightly. God had apparently healed two people last night, not just one.

“I’ll go fetch Ike and Angus down here to pay their respects,” Jeb said, his scowl brightening to an almost pleasant expression as he patted Penelope’s hand. “Might do you good to see them for yourself.”

Penelope offered him a wobbly smile. “I’d like that. Thank you.”

Jeb barely cleared the threshold before Penelope turned her luminous eyes back on Titus.

“It was Narcissa, Titus. She wore a veil and disguised her voice, but after the others collapsed, she revealed herself to me. She threatened to suffocate Ike if I didn’t tell her where the jewels were. Then she actually stuffed her shawl in his mouth and started smothering him.” A tiny sob caught in her throat, slicing straight through Titus’s heart. “I had to tell her about the ruby. I’m sorry.”

He brushed her tangled hair away from her face, then stroked her cheek with his thumb. “You did the right thing.”

Her gaze dropped to the sheets twisted between them. “She was so angry. So . . . cruel. She wanted me to die.”

The smallness of Penelope’s voice twisted Titus’s gut. He wanted to tear Narcissa’s cold, unfeeling heart from her chest, but more than that, he wanted to heal the invisible wounds she’d inflicted on the woman he loved.

“I wanted you to live, Penelope. More than I ever wanted anything in my life. We all did.” He curled a finger under her chin and gently tipped her face upward until her eyes met his. “Every man on the Diamond D begged the Lord to spare your life. You are a treasure. Loved. Wanted. Never doubt that, even for a second.”

A single tear rolled down her cheek. “I love all of you so much.” Her words included everyone at the ranch, but her eyes seemed to communicate a silent message that went straight to his heart and set it to beating at twice its normal pace.

Footsteps echoed from the stairs, making it clear this wasn’t the time to try to put burgeoning feelings into words. Instead, Titus brushed her tear away with his thumb and offered her a smile brimming with reciprocated affection.

“Here.” He reached for the knitted throw draped across the foot of the bed, then wrapped it around her shoulders. “I think you’re about to entertain some visitors.”

She closed the blanket in front of her and straightened the bedcovers over her lap while Titus organized the pillows into a backrest. Ike entered first, a smile beaming across his face. Angus followed, rubbing his eyes and yawning with a mouth so wide a train could have tunneled through.

Titus stepped back, letting the others have their moment with her. Leaning against the wall, he was surprised when Jeb came to join him instead of returning to Penelope’s side.

“We got a problem, Titus.”

Titus straightened away from the wall. “Doc?”

Jeb shook his head. “Doc’s fine. He’s going through his things upstairs.”

“Why is he going through his things?”

“Dusty’s lucky yellow handkerchief is missing.”

What did that have to do with anything?

“And that ain’t all,” Jeb continued, his voice low and urgent. “All our money’s gone. Every last cent. We was all so worried about Penny, none of us gave thought to much else. But that actress must’ve searched the house for valuables while we were sleeping off her apple-cider potion. She found all our secret stashes. Under Coy’s mattress. Inside Angus’s sock. Even found my hidey hole in the floorboard. That devil woman drained the Diamond D dry.”

34

An hour later, everyone sat gathered around the table for a late breakfast and a family meeting. Titus had tried to sway Penelope into staying in bed to rest, but the minute he left the room, she’d shooed everyone else out and gotten herself dressed. Her dark hair hung in a fresh plait over her shoulder, falling nearly to her waist. Her face remained a little pale, but the fire had returned to her eyes, warming the cold, worried place inside him that had feared a relapse. Her legs held her upright, though, and her chin jutted forward with a determined tilt, daring him to exclude her. As if he had the strength to deny her anything.