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trying to appear as if this final meeting was not upsetting her so terribly.
“Mighty forgiving of you.”
“I suppose we all should start somewhere.”
He frowned at her, his hazel gaze holding hers until he exhaled heavily and looked uncomfortably around him. “We can walk a ways together.”
She hesitated. No it was not a good idea to prolong this parting, but the temptation to hold on to what little memory she had of him was too strong. “I suppose. We’ve walked further.”
He chuckled. “That we did.”
He led her down the flight of stairs from her room to the street below. The walkway was full of pedestrians heading in both directions. They were jostled slightly and momentarily separated. When they were reunited, she looked at him and asked, “What time does yer train leave?”
“Noon.”
Same time as the hanging.
“Are—” she broke off and tried again, clearing her throat. “Aren’t ye running late then? Ye only have ten minutes.”
“Trains are notorious for being twenty minutes late.”
She nodded and turned away from his grin. It had a bad habit of making her insides melt. Ivy needed to remain focused. Strong.
“Look, Ivy—”
Coming to a complete halt, she ignored the fact they stood in people’s path. Holding up a hand, she said, “Please, let me go first.”
His brows dipped, but he nodded nevertheless. “Okay.”
“I wanted to thank ye for everything ye did.” She dropped her chin and stared at his boots. “I shall be eternally grateful.”
There was a long pause causing Ivy to fidget with the lapels of her cloak. She wished he would say something. Instead he reached out and lifted her chin.
“Come with me.”
“What?”
“Come with me to Oklahoma.”
“What? I mean, why? I couldn’t possibly—”
”Why not?”
She felt her heart give a painful kick to her chest. He was gazing down at her with eyes that could have been woven from pure gold.
“I can’t, Sam.”
Even to her own ears her voice sounded so full of woe it didn’t surprise her in the least when the light in his eyes was doused. Dropping his hand, he stepped away. “You still don’t trust me.”
“I want to,” she pleaded. “I do. But it ain’t that easy.”
“It can be, if you just try. You said it was time to start forgiving. When will you forgive me?”
“Oh, I do forgive ye, Sam” she told him in earnest while reaching for his hand. “Ye saved me life. No one else believed in me.”
“Then why can’t you believe I’ll never hurt you again?” His eyes turned dark as he seized her hand. “Goddammit, Ivy. I’d never hurt you again. You might as well cut out my heart and feed it to the wolves before I’ll ever harm another hair on your body.”
Oh God, his words cut her to the core more than she cared. He made it so difficult for her to do the right thing. With determination, she tugged her hand free and hid it beneath her cloak. “Perhaps not intentionally.”
