Her father always did have a habit of thinking a few steps ahead of everyone else.
The thought made her smile.
“Nice place you got here.”
She spun around, broom in her hand. “Hunter.”
He leaned against the door frame separating the front and back of the shop. One arm was tied up in a sling while it healed from the bullet wound. She hadn’t seen much of him. He’d spent two days on strict bed rest insisted upon by Doc Whyte and after that...well, after that he’d simply made himself scarce, though she had noticed a bunch of fresh lavender and herbs on her mother’s grave.
“Getting settled, I see.” He glanced around the room. Her worktables were in place, thanks to Bill, and the sign rested on top of one of them waiting to be hung over the door.
Connolly Designs & Dresses.
“I’m trying. The council reversed their decision.” The ruling had come down within a week of the events at the homestead. A special meeting had been called to deal with it. She was certain both Hunter and Bertram had had a hand in it, and she would be forever grateful. Preparing the shop for opening had given her something to do. A bit of a respite from all the thoughts and emotions she’d dealt with in the aftermath.
She and Hunter hadn’t spoken about the ordeal. She had seen him during the sparsely attended service for Vernon and gave her condolences but the exchange was stilted and awkward. He’d told her he wanted to talk, but so far, he had kept his distance. She didn’t press, giving him the space he needed to grieve and heal.
“Has there been any word on Mr. Kincaid?”
Hunter shook his head. “Not yet. I’ll keep you posted if you like.”
“Please.” She worried about the bounty hunter. He had saved her life, pulling her out of harm’s way at the Town Hall. She didn’t want to see him come to any harm, self-inflicted or otherwise. “Thank you for the flowers at Mama’s grave.”
“You’re welcome.”
Meredith’s fingers tapped against the broom handle as she struggled to find something else to say. The weather had been nice, despite an early snowfall. Rachel had complained Caleb was becoming a nervous nursemaid the more her belly grew. Bertram was talking about retirement again, which would never come to fruition. Bill seemed happy in his newly installed position of foreman at the Diamond D Ranch, leaving Hunter free to continue on as sheriff.
But those topics were just fillers, words put in the way of the things that really needed to be said, so she held her tongue, and her breath, and she waited.
Hunter didn’t disappoint.
“I owe you an apology.”
She remained silent and waited.
“I shouldn’t have kept you in the dark like I did,” he said, walking into the room. His footsteps echoed against the walls and beat against her heart. He stopped a few feet from her and she gripped the broom handle tighter to keep from reaching out and drawing him in closer.
“Why did you?”
He hesitated and stared down at the floor between them. The fingers of his injured arm flexed. When he looked up, reflected in his dark eyes was everything they had been through, everything they’d lost and gained and lost again. He looked as battered as her heart felt and she suddenly understood she wasn’t the only casualty in all of this.
“When your room was broken into, it scared the hell out of me.” He shook his head at the admission. “Right to the bones. The idea that you could have been in there, not gotten away. And when you showed me the ledger sheet, I recognized the writing and that scared me even more. My own father had a hand in it. My own father, Mere!”
She took a step forward and touched his uninjured arm, offering what comfort she could. “I’m sorry, Hunter.”
He nodded and took a breath. “I wanted to be sure, before I said anything. I kept hoping I was wrong. When I found the rest of the ledgers and confronted him, I realized who he really was. What he really was. He offered me a deal—if I got you out of Salvation Falls and promised to quit my job and take over the ranch, he’d ensure no harm came to you.”
Meredith’s eyes widened. That was the agreement Vernon had referred to. The news staggered her. She couldn’t imagine Hunter working with his father, knowing what he did. It was a little like selling your soul to the devil. Only he hadn’t done it for riches, or for power. He’d done it for her. To keep her safe.
Shades of her father who had sacrificed himself to save her. Because he had loved her. And she smiled again, through the pain in her heart.
One dark eyebrow arched upward. “You’re smiling?”
“Why did you agree to such a thing?”