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“Nope! No more!”
Everyone in the room turned and stared at her.
“I’m sorry. I know everyone is trying to help. But the longer we stand around discussing things, the farther away they get. If Adam is even still with him,” she forced herself to say. She looked over at the sheriff. “You said it, Sheriff, and Spurlock himself confirmed it. He prefers to bring his bounties in dead. Adam’s hours are numbered the moment Spurlock finds him. The longer we wait, the more of an opportunity we are giving him to make that happen.”
Preacher stepped forward. “I know you’re worried for him, but the odds are pretty good he’s still alive. For now.”
She frowned and folded her arms across her chest, as if that would somehow help contain the roiling pit of emotion that was threatening to boil over at any second. “How do you know?”
“Because it’s a lot easier to travel with a live man than a dead one,” he said, not bothering to soften the blow. She’d always appreciated that about Preacher. Sure, it stung when you were on the end of whatever bluntness he was slingin’, but she still appreciated it.
“Good. I hope you’re right,” she said. “But the longer we wait, the worse his chances get.”
“I’m a little surprised you’re so fired up to go and get him,” the sheriff said. “Considerin’ how he left things.”
She cringed, cursing her father for telling everyoneeverythingthat had happened in that barn.
Mercy quietly admonished her husband as Martha spoke up. “I know he couldn’t have meant any of those things he said. He needed to get Spurlock out of there. And needed you to stay put. I know it was horrible but…I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”
Mrs. DuVere nodded. “So have I. Whatever else might be going on, that man loves you.”
Sunshine, Doc, and even Preacher nodded in agreement. The sheriff sighed and gave one jerk of his head, joining in with the others.
Nora took a deep, shaking breath. “My head knows that. It might take my heart longer to catch up. But regardless of how I feel about him right now, I know I’ll never be able to live with myself if he gets killed because my feelings were too hurt to come save him. Or worse, if we are too late because we were too busy sitting around making grand plans.”
She grabbed her hat off the desk and clapped it on her head, her limited patience at an end. “I’m riding out now. I’d love to have some company. But I understand if anyone wants to stay behind.”
She didn’t wait to hear any more arguments, statements, declarations, or admonitions. It was past time to leave.
Teddy pranced beneath her, picking up on her agitation as she pulled herself into the saddle. Her father was right behind her. And so was Doc, and Martha, and Preacher, and Sunshine. Mercy and the sheriff came out last, followed by Mrs. DuVere, who had apparently volunteered to stay behind with little Daisy.
Nora swallowed hard past the sudden lump in her throat at the sight of all her friends surrounding her. “Thank you,” she said, her voice hoarse.
Doc nodded at her with a smile. “He’s one of us now.”
“And we take care of our own,” Preacher added.
Her heart swelled again, and she took a deep breath and turned Teddy toward the road out of town.
“Let’s ride!”
She kicked her horse into a run and thundered out of town, her friends at her side.
Chapter Thirty-Four
It had taken a bit longer than Adam had expected for Spurlock to catch up to him. Especially considering he’d done everything except draw the man a map showing exactly where he was going. He’d even walked his horse as slowly as Barnaby would go—and that was saying something, because Barnaby was slow even on a good day.
Now Barnaby was tied to Spurlock’s saddle, and they plodded along behind him, Adam in iron handcuffs. He hadn’t put up much of a fight, though he’d done enough to make it look like he wasn’t just giving up. Barely. Luckily, Spurlock believed in his own legend enough that it didn’t occur to him that Adam was making it easy for him.
Frankly, he was surprised that Spurlock hadn’t just ridden up and shot him in the back. Adam hadn’t been doing anything to prevent that exact scenario from occurring. After what had happened in the barn, death would have been welcome. He deserved it.
He couldn’t get the image of Nora’s face out of his head. It would haunt him for the rest of his days. That mixture of shock and betrayal etched on her face, the hint of despair in her eyes that she couldn’t tamp down fast enough. And worst of all, the pain. It radiated from her as he’d used everything she’d shared with him against her. Hurting her like that had almost been more than he could bear. It was like ripping his own heart clean out of his chest.
But Spurlock wouldn’t have believed anything less. The man was heartless, cruel. It was all he understood.
Adam hoped Nora’s father could make her understand, could help her move past it. Past him. Find some happiness, even though it would destroy something in him that it wasn’t with him. But she’d be better off. Hopefully, he hadn’t hurt her too much. He’d needed her to hate him, though. That woman was as stubborn as her legs were long, and she loved more fiercely than any wild tiger. She never would have let him go if she thought he was in danger. Even to save her own future, her own life.
Better that she hated him. She could move on with her life. He could trust her father to help him, to tell Nora what he wanted him to. Tell her that Adam had used her and left her, and she was better off without him. The pain of his betrayal would fade eventually, and she’d find someone else. She’d need to, because his own life was over. Even if he made it to Denver alive, and he very much doubted he would, he’d spend years in prison, decades if Spurlock decided that would be more fun than just killing him and had anything to say about it.
