Chapter Fourteen
Nolan strained to listen. Someone was approaching. His pulse hammered, making his head pound.
No! Please, God, not Deborah! Not when two of these men were trying to find her.
The bushes rustled. Several men drew their revolvers.
Then a familiar female voice shattered the silence. “There you are!”
Nolan said a silent prayer that the Almighty would protect her.
Deborah marched into the camp like an angry tornado. Her skirts swished around her boots. Her cheeks were flushed against the glow of the fire. And her eyes blazed with righteous fury. Her hair was even messed up and very different than what she usually wore, making her appear like a madwoman.
She looked nothing like a woman walking into a camp full of armed outlaws. Instead, she looked like a woman ready to murder a man with her bare hands. He just prayed Simmons didn’t recognize her, especially since she was so disheveled now.
“What took you so long?” she demanded, glaring at Nolan as she stood above him.
The outlaws exchanged confused glances. Simmons narrowed his gaze.
Deborah glanced around the camp, pointing dramatically toward Nolan. “I have been searching for three days for that miserable excuse of a human being.”
Nolan blinked. Three days? What was she doing?
Butch lowered his pistol slightly. “Beg your pardon?”
“The liar.” She threw her hands into the air. “The cheat.” She took another step forward. “The scoundrel.” She jabbed a finger toward Nolan. “This is the rat I’ve been looking for.”
The entire camp turned to stare at him. Nolan stared right back, feeling just as confused as they appeared. But thankfully, none of the outlaws recognized Deborah.
She folded her arms. “Nolan Avery. You abandoned me.”
The outlaws looked delighted. Simmons looked suspicious.
“I don't think—” Nolan began to say.
“You don't think?” Deborah interrupted. “Well, that is quite clear, Mr. Avery.”
A few of the gang members snorted.
She huffed and scanned the gang again. “This man promised me marriage.”
Nolan coughed. Deborah ignored him.
“He promised me a home.” She took another step closer. “He promised me children.”
Nolan’s eyebrows rose. Children?
Deborah’s glare dared him to argue. Wisely, he remained silent.
Then she gasped dramatically. “And after everything, do you know what he did?”
The outlaws leaned closer as if they were intrigued with her story. Even Simmons seemed caught off guard.
Deborah pointed accusingly. “He ran away because my father only owns one horse.”
The camp exploded with laughter. Butch nearly dropped his coffee.
Nolan lowered his head to hide a smile. Good grief! His adorable wife was actually pulling this off.
“One horse?” Jonah wheezed.
“Exactly! Just one.” Deborah sniffed as though she was starting to cry. “Apparently, that wasn’t enough.”
More laughter. Even several of the Farrington men relaxed. Only Simmons remained wary as he stepped forward.
“Miss? What did you say your name was?”
Danger flashed through Nolan. He prayed Deborah was a quick thinker... then again, he knew she was.
“Rosalie Beaumont.” The answer came instantly. Too instantly.
Simmons studied her. “You came all this way looking for him?”
“Wouldn't you if you were me?” She planted her hands on her hips. “He humiliated me.” A tear suddenly appeared in her eye.
Nolan almost forgot she was acting.
“He ruined my future,” she continued with a trembling voice. “I deserve answers.”
For a moment, genuine emotion slipped through. And suddenly, he understood. She wasn’t acting because she enjoyed it. She was terrified. Yet, she’d come anyway. For him.
Something shifted inside his chest and brought tears to his eyes. She genuinely cared for him. Enough to sacrifice her life to rescue him. If they were alone right now, he’d take her in his arms—no matter how battered his body was—and show her how much she meant to him.
Simmons finally stepped aside. “Fine, but you might want to know, he was with a different woman on the train a couple of days ago.”
A cry ripped from her throat, echoing in their camp. “Oh, Nolan. How could you?”
Butch grinned. “Let her have him. He’d get punished by her more than we could punish him.”
The gang parted, and Deborah marched toward Nolan. The moment she reached him, her expression hardened.
“Why can’t you love me... for me?”
She kicked his boot, but not hard. Just enough to make the others laugh.
“I... loved you. I would have done anything for you.”
Nolan decided to play along. “I’m sorry, Rosie.”
“You should be.” She cried a little more.
The outlaws roared.
Then Deborah crouched beside him. Her head bowed, which shielded her face from the others. Very quietly, she whispered, “Don’t react.”
Something cold slid into his hand. A revolver.
Nolan’s pulse jumped.
“You are a miserable excuse for a man.” Deborah continued speaking loudly.
The gang cheered.
She slapped Nolan’s shoulder, which hurt more than he was prepared for. He managed not to wince.
Then she leaned closer. “The sheriff is coming. Hopefully, very soon now.”
His heartbeat quickened. Hope surged through him.
Deborah rose dramatically, threading her fingers through her messy hair. “I never want to see you again.”
She spun toward the outlaws. The men applauded... loudly, as though they had just witnessed actors on a stage. Nolan had never seen anything like it.
Then Deborah started walking away. Halfway across the camp, she stumbled. Straight into Butch. The large outlaw wasn’t prepared and knocked into another man. Both toppled backward. The camp erupted in confusion.
Nolan took this moment to move quickly. He tightly gripped the revolver she had given him.
Suddenly, one shot rang through the darkness. Then another. Men shouted. Someone cursed. Simmons lunged for cover.
Nolan rolled behind a log. Pain exploded through his ribs, but he ignored it.
Another gunshot echoed. Then another.
Horses screamed. The camp descended into chaos.
Then, out of nowhere, deputies burst out of the trees. They all held rifles. “Drop your weapons!”
Sheriff Hawkins charged into the clearing with half a dozen armed men behind him. The remaining outlaws froze. Within seconds, the fight was over.
Deputies swarmed the camp, and weapons were confiscated. Prisoners were secured. And Simmons lay face down in the dirt with a deputy’s knee planted firmly between his shoulders.
The widow’s man was finally caught.
Nolan sagged against the log. Exhaustion swept through him. At last, the danger was over. A moment later, Deborah appeared beside him. Her eyes were bright with tears. Before he could speak, she threw herself into his arms.
He grunted from the impact but still wrapped his arms around her anyway.
She buried her face against his neck. “I thought I was too late.”
Her words broke apart. Nolan closed his eyes, feeling the tenderness. For one long moment, he simply held her as tightly as his battered body would allow. Breathing her in, and thanking the good Lord she was safe.
“You should never have come here,” he murmured.
Deborah pulled back immediately. Her eyebrows shot upward. “I beg your pardon?”
Despite everything, laughter escaped him. “You heard me.”
“I just rescued you.”
“That doesn’t change my point.”
She crossed her arms. “Which is?”
“When you noticed that I had been captured, you still marched headstrong into camp, even though you could have been killed.”
“I was determined not to let that happen, which is why I concocted the crazy story.”
Nolan smiled. Then, before he could stop himself, he brushed a kiss against her forehead. “You are stubborn.”
The light from the campfire softened her features. “Takes one to know one.”
For a moment, neither moved. Neither spoke. And as Nolan looked into her eyes, one truth became impossible to ignore. He had fallen completely in love with his wife. And for the first time since she’d stepped off that train in Willowhaven, he wasn’t afraid of admitting it.
At least to himself.
* * * *
The sheriff insisted, but Deborah argued. Then the sheriff insisted harder. In the end, Nolan was too exhausted to protest, and Deborah was too tired to continue arguing. Which was how they found themselves occupying adjoining rooms at the Gentle Creek Inn shortly after midnight.
The innkeeper had taken one look at Nolan’s bruised face and swollen eye and wisely asked no questions. Now Deborah sat beside the narrow bed while Nolan slept. Or at least she hoped he was sleeping.
The lamp on the bedside table cast a warm glow across the room. Outside, rain tapped softly against the windowpane. Inside, the only sound was Nolan’s steady breathing. If it had been a clear day, she was certain the sun would have made its debut by now, but the rainstorm chased it away.
At least they were inside now.
Deborah folded her hands tightly in her lap. Then unfolded them. Then folded them again. She couldn’t stop staring at him.
The bruises looked even worse now. Without the chaos of the outlaw camp to distract her, she noticed every scrape and cut. Every darkening bruise and every sign of pain that he displayed.
A lump formed in her throat. He could have died. The thought struck with renewed force. She had repeated those words to herself all evening.
He could have died if the sheriff hadn’t arrived in time. Thankfully, he and other men in town came just in the nick of time. She’d been running out of things to say to Nolan to convince the outlaws that she was a heartbroken woman. And by the grace of God, the Farrington Gang believed her.
Deborah lowered her gaze to her lap as she twisted her fingers together. She’d spent so much of her life running from trouble... running toward a new life... and running from danger and fear.
Yet the moment she’d learned Nolan had been captured and beaten, none of that had mattered. The realization unsettled her because she knew exactly why.
A movement from the bed drew her attention. Nolan shifted slightly and opened his eyes. For several moments, he simply looked at her. Then he frowned.
“What time is it?” he asked with a scratchy throat.
“Very early in the morning.”
“Then why are you awake?”
Deborah looked away. “I couldn’t sleep any longer.”
The lie was ridiculous, and judging by his expression, Nolan thought so too.
“Hogwash,” he said through a half-smile.
“Pardon me?” she asked with a touch of laughter in her tone.
“You rescued me from a gang of outlaws.”
“Yes.”
“And you rode most of the day.”
She shrugged. “I suppose.”
“You haven’t slept.”
“Well, I slept a little on your lap while we were on the horse.”
One corner of his mouth twitched, and her heart fluttered. She could tell he recalled the time on the horse as well.
“You’re really a stubborn woman, Mrs. Avery.”
She pointed toward him. “You’re not allowed to call me stubborn anymore.”
“And why not, may I ask?”
“Because today proved you’re considerably worse.”
A low chuckle escaped him. The sound sent warmth fluttering through her chest.
Nolan carefully pushed himself into a sitting position. The movement made him wince.
Deborah was immediately on her feet. “What do you need my help with?”
“Sitting.”
She found another pillow and stuffed it behind him. “Is that better?”
“Much, thank you.”
She sighed. “You are really impossible. You need to rest.”
“Impossible? That’s not what you said last night.”
She narrowed her eyes as her mind struggled to remember everything they had said to each other yesterday. “What did I say?”
A teasing glint entered his eyes. “You called me a scoundrel.”
Deborah groaned. “Oh, please don’t remind me. I was desperate for words.”
A smile spread slowly across his face. “You told everyone I abandoned you because your father only owned one horse.”
“It sounded believable at the time.”
Nolan laughed. The sound filled the room, rich and very warm. It comforted her like a cozy blanket. Deborah found herself smiling despite her embarrassment. It was wonderful to feel like this... like her heart didn’t want to stop expanding inside her bosom.
Then the laughter faded, and suddenly the room felt quieter and definitely more intimate. Nolan’s gaze held hers. Neither spoke. The rain continued tapping against the window.
“I found out from Simmons himself that he was the one who left the note on your windowsill,” Nolan said, breaking the silence.
“When I saw him, I wondered, but it’s good to finally know.” She nodded. “You scared me.” The words slipped out before Deborah could stop them.
Nolan's smile disappeared. For a moment, neither moved. Then she looked down at her hands. She needed to explain her statement. Maybe if she did, she’d feel better as well.
“I know I’ve already said it.” Her voice wavered. “But I thought...” She swallowed. “I thought I was going to lose you. And I wasn’t prepared for that kind of emotion.” If truth be told, she still wasn’t prepared for it.
Silence settled between them. He continued to stare at her—his amazing blue orbs were so warm and welcoming. There was an emotion inside him, she could tell. Was it the same that she felt?
When Nolan spoke, his voice was surprisingly gentle. “Deborah.” His hand covered hers. The tenderness in his expression nearly stole her breath.
“You won’t get rid of me that easily.”
A laugh escaped her. It was half sob and half relief.
Nolan squeezed her fingers. And for the first time since they fell off the train, some of the fear loosened its grip around her heart.
Outside, the storm continued to rumble across the mountains.
Inside, Deborah sat beside the man who had somehow become the center of her world.
A man she had never intended to marry. Never intended to trust, and especially, a man she never intended to love.
Yet here she was, unable to imagine a future without him.
The realization settled quietly in her heart. It was terrifyingly wonderful.... and completely undeniable.
Across from her, Nolan still held her hand. Neither of them seemed eager to let go.
And for the first time since stepping onto that train in Bloomington, Deborah felt something she had almost forgotten existed.
Hope.