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She jerked away from him and tried to stand up, but her father pushed her back into the chair.
“No. You need to hear this. He left earlier this morning, intending on finding that lawman who’s been after him. Instead, he found me sprawled out on the trail just outside town.”
He looked down, shame burning through his eyes. He shook his head and rubbed at the back of his neck. “He could’a kept riding, left me there in the dirt. I’d have done it if I were him, especially after the way I’ve treated him, both of you. But he didn’t. He hauled me out of that ditch, put me on his horse, and rode us both back here. But when we got back, we could see that the door to the garden had been left open.”
“I’d never leave it open,” she murmured.
“That’s exactly what he said. He knew the moment he saw that gate that something was wrong. He left me with the horse while he crept over to the barn and took a peek at what was going on inside. I don’t know what he saw, but he hurried back right quick. I’ve never seen a man so…crazed. He was more than mad. He was furious. And afraid. For you,” he said, gently wiping away another tear she hadn’t even felt falling.
“He came back over to me, told me I had to sober up quick because he needed my help if we were going to get you out of there safe. He has a plan. He didn’t bother explaining it to me…” Her father frowned and he rubbed at his head. “Or if he did, I can’t quite remember it. But he set me to watching you through that hole in the south wall. He said he was going to make sure the lawman left you alone and followed him, and that if he didn’t, I was to make sure the lawman went after him. Say whatever I had to. And if I couldn’t get him to go, he told me to shoot him, and he’d take the blame.”
Her father shook his head like he couldn’t believe it. She felt the same way. If it had all been an act…it had been a damn good one.Toogood.
“I heard him, what he said. I know he said terrible things.”
“Yeah, he did,” she said. “And then he stole all our money.” She blew out a deep breath. “He might not have wanted my blood on his hands, but if he actually loved me, would he have done any of that?”
“To save you, to make that lawman believe that he didn’t feel anything for you so he’d let you go? To make sure that he followed him, for the money if not for himself, yes. He would.”
She shook her head and he scowled. “He loves you,” her father said again. “So much that even a sorry excuse for a man like me could see it plain as day.”
She turned her head, squeezing her eyes shut as if that would make it so she couldn’t hear what he was saying anymore. It certainly didn’t keep more tears from spilling out.
“He loves you,” he insisted. “He sacrificed himself for you.”
She shook her head. She’d believed it once. She wasn’t going to make that mistake again.
Her father sighed. “All right. I know you don’t believe me. And I don’t blame you. But just…think on what I said.”
She hesitated, but she nodded anyway.
“Good. Oh, and he said to give you this.” He held out a paper with another sigh. “I should have given it to you a long time ago.”
She took the deed to the property in a trembling hand and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry some more.
It seemed she finally had everything she’d wanted.
Everything but him.
She drew in a deep breath and strode out the door, her father at her heels.
“Nora! What are you doing?”
“We’re going to go save my husband from his reckless attempt at martyrdom. And we’re going to need reinforcements.”
Her father’s brows raised. “You’re going to ask for help?”
She took Adam’s gun from him and shoved it in the band of her pants. “From every damn person I can find.”
…
If Nora had realized it was going to take as long as it did to gather everyone up, she’d have gone on her own.
Asking for help wasn’t something she was very good at. But she wanted their help with this. Needed it. It was too important to risk going it alone.Hewas too important. And Spurlock was too dangerous to try and take out by herself. She had to give it to them, the moment she’d ridden into town, asking them all to drop everything to go chase down a murderous marshal with her, not one of them had hesitated to say yes.
But now, everyone was gathered in the sheriff’s office, throwing out one strategy after another. And if one more person offered up one more suggestion that didn’t begin withlet’s go now, she was going to scream.
When Doc raised a hand and started with yet anotherwhat if we, Nora jumped up from her perch on the desk.
