After the Ashes(116)
Lorelei gripped the knob as Douglas studied her in a way he hadn’t before. She prayed she didn’t visibly tremble. No one would believe she wasn’t in cahoots with Corey, especially since she was hiding a king’s ransom in gold. She would be condemned by association, only this time she couldn’t say she didn’t deserve it. If not for her blind loyalty to her brother, Christopher wouldn’t have been hurt.
She narrowed the gap between the door and frame to merely a sliver. “Thank you for word of Christopher.” She lowered her voice. “But Corey is sleeping.”
He placed his hand on the door, stopping her from closing it completely.
“Don’t you want to see him?” he asked, confusion, not suspicion, in his voice.
She’d thought of little else since she’d been driven away from his bedside. After finding out about the gold and Corey, she couldn’t help but feel Douglas was justified in his treatment of her.
“I don’t want to upset him.”
Douglas increased his pressure on the other side of the door. “He’s already upset. If I don’t come back with you, he’ll take my head off.”
She slipped out into the hall and managed to close the door behind her. She had to face Christopher sometime. She didn’t have any illusions that he would be able to forgive her for all this. Why should he? She could hardly forgive herself.
“Let’s go.”
They silently walked out of the hotel and onto the baked dirt street. Douglas’s sideways glances brought a film to her palms. He suspected. He’d probably be quick to officially arrest her once he learned the truth. And the truth was, she was acting as Corey’s accomplice. Though she’d turned him in to Wade, she didn’t want Douglas to know of her brother’s escape. Douglas would track down Corey and the gold, not caring whether he returned his prisoner dead or alive.
“You don’t look very happy,” he finally said.
She shrugged. “Can you blame me? You’ve treated me like a criminal, and I haven’t forgotten I might be facing serious charges.”
Douglas stopped, then stepped in front of her, blocking her path. “Hold on a second. I didn’t say for sure. I just said I needed to sort things out.” He took off his hat and brushed back his thick hair before replacing it. “I can’t help my suspicions. I see only the worst in people. Forgive me?”
His unexpected request stirred the cauldron of guilt roiling in her stomach. She sidestepped him and continued down the street, fearing he’d read her expression too clearly.
“There’s nothing to forgive.”
He fell in beside her. “Make sure you tell Braddock that.”
She couldn’t help but grin at the tone of his voice. “You’re afraid of him, aren’t you?”
“He already told me that if I did anything to upset you, he’s going to beat me. I know him. He’ll keep his promise the minute he’s on his feet.”
She followed Douglas in a daze. His words should thrill her, but Christopher didn’t know the truth yet. Would he hate her once he learned that her blind loyalty to her brother had almost cost him his life?
Douglas tightened his grip on her arm. “Lorelei, you’d better snap out of it before I take you to Braddock, or I’m going to get that beating.”
She nodded but would have tripped on the clapboard house’s first planked step if Douglas hadn’t been there to guide her.
The marshal pushed open the door and practically shoved her through the front room and into the one bedroom.
Christopher sat up in bed. His eyes were red rimmed and puffy. His hair stood at awkward angles and his pallor rivaled the white walls, but he was alive and awake. To Lorelei, he’d never looked better.
“Christopher.” She forgot all the things that would keep them apart and rushed to his side. His recovery was miracle enough. If she had to choose, she’d gladly choose Christopher’s health over her happily ever after.
Ignoring the chair, she nestled beside him on the bed. She gently placed her hands on his bare shoulders and leaned forward to kiss his cheek.
His arm snaked around her waist, pulling her forward as he turned his head to capture her mouth.
She braced her hands on his shoulders to keep him from crushing her against him. “Your wound.”
“Yes, I was about to mention that,” said Dr. Gavin from behind her.
She glanced over her shoulder, then delicately tried to free herself from Christopher’s hold, but he restrained her with surprising strength.
“The doctor was just leaving.”
Dr. Gavin buckled his leather medical bag. “I’ll leave it to Miss Sullivan to remind our patient that he hasn’t yet fully recovered. Mr. Braddock seems to think he’s stubbed his toe rather than survived a wound that would have been fatal to another man.”