by Caroline Lee
Anticlimactically, the door swung open, and Cora stood so fast her chair fell over. The black shape in the doorway resolved itself into a man the same moment Shannon snapped, “You’re letting the cold in,” and Cora recognized him.
“Father!” Lucas shouted and launched himself across the kitchen.
Verrick stepped into the house and pulled the door closed behind him, and Cora felt her knees go so weak, she had to slam her hands down on the table to support herself.
He was just as tall, just as trim, just as handsome as he’d been fifteen weeks, three days, and nineteen-and-a-half hours ago. His jaw was just as smooth, his trousers just as neat, and the snow piled on his shoulders and hat and caked on his boots was shockingly white against his habitual black.
But his eyes…
There were lines around his eyes which hadn’t been there before. There was something in his eyes which wasn’t there before. And Cora’s stomach went all wobbly, trying to figure out what it could be.
Lucas reached the other man and grabbed his hand, only long enough to shake it once, before pulling Verrick in for a hug. They stood like that for a frozen moment before—miracle of miracles!—Verrick slowly lifted his arms and returned Lucas’s hug.
And not once, not once since he entered the house, did he break eye contact with Cora.
She felt weak and dizzy, not sure if she was ready to faint, or to rail at him. In fact, it seemed as if the strength of his gaze was the only thing holding her upright at that moment.
“Father,” Lucas repeated as he straightened and thumped the other man a few times on the shoulder, “it’s so good to see you. We’ve been worried about you.”
Verrick’s eyes finally released Cora, and she was able to breathe again. He glanced at Lucas and gave his son a little nod. Still, he hadn’t said anything.
It was Shannon who interrupted their reunion, nudging her husband aside and smiling up at Verrick. “Thank you so much for coming back, Verrick. We’ve missed you terribly.”
Something not unlike surprise flickered across his expression, which was a surprise in and of itself. Cora couldn’t recall any time he’d ever allowed himself to be startled, much less show it. His golden eyes flicked back to hers, as if asking for the truth.
And Cora could do nothing more than stare.
Shannon reached up and patted Verrick’s cheek, and he didn’t flinch, didn’t move. Then she wrapped her arm through Lucas’s and smiled hugely.
“Come along, husband. As happy as I know you are to see him, I doubt very much you’re the main reason he’s returned to Sunset Valley. Let’s give them a little privacy.”
“Wha—?” Lucas frowned as his head swiveled between Verrick and Cora. “What? Cora? Cora and Verrick—? I thought that adventure was over.”
She was giggling as she dragged her husband out of the kitchen. “Sit with me in the parlor for a few minutes, and I’ll fill you in on all the moping you’ve apparently missed.”
The parlor door swung shut with the two of them whispering fiercely to one another, and then the kitchen was left in silence. Absolute silence. Verrick hadn’t said a thing since he’d stepped inside, but it was impossible to miss the wariness now in his eyes as he stared at her.
Was he worried?
Why would he be worried?
He’d entered the house like he had so many times before, completely sure…but now, alone with her, he didn’t seem as confident.
Ironically, that realization gave her strength. Cora straightened and inhaled, not sure if her heart was ready for this confrontation, but not sure there was any way around it.
She took a step around the table, then another one, towards him. “I’m sure Shannon’s wrong,” she managed to say. “I don’t know why you’ve returned, but I’m the reason you’ve stayed away, aren’t I?”
Without dropping her gaze, Verrick inclined his head slightly. A nod. An agreement. He’d stayed away because of her.
What could she say to that? How could she possibly fight that kind of dislike? Why should she bother?
But still, she found herself still moving, walking towards him. She stopped when she was just out of arm’s reach and stared boldly up at him, willing him to say something.
He pulled off his hat, the snow cascading off the brim to land on the floor, but neither of them noticed, or cared. Under it, his hair was just as neatly trimmed, just as perfect as before, but the iciness which had always accompanied that description was gone. Instead, there was…
Heat.
“Verrick,” she whispered and found herself leaning forward slightly, aching for him.
He dropped the hat. “I stayed away because of you, Cora,” he said in a rough, unused voice. “But I came back because of you too.”
Taking another hesitant step, she had to stop herself from reaching for him. “What do you mean?” she whispered.
“You—” He broke off, a look of anguish in his eyes, and glanced away. Taking a deep breath, he met her eyes once more. “You broke me, Cora.”
The accusation, the pain, nearly dropped her to her knees. “I don’t—I don’t understand.”
“I’d lived my life. I knew who I was. But then you… In such a short amount of time, you made me feel.”
In one explosive move, he reached forward and grabbed her cheeks in his palms, pulling her towards him. Cora didn’t have time to gasp, didn’t have time to ache over the torment in his gaze, before he was growling at her again.
“You made me feel, and I hated it.” He shook her slightly. “And I hated that I hated it.” His golden eyes flickered back and forth between hers, as if trying to make her understand. “I thought if I left you, if I forgot about you and this part of my life, I could go back to the way things had been. I could go back to not feeling.”
Without really thinking about it, her hands crept up to lay on his chest. “Did you?” she whispered harshly, already knowing the answer.
“No.” His shoulders slumped, the anger leaving him, although he didn’t look away. “No, and it got even worse. I thought the way I felt when I was with you was bad, but without you…”
He finally closed his eyes, and his forehead dropped to hers.
“Without you, Cora, God forgive me!” He took a deep breath and managed to pull her even closer. “Without you,” he whispered, “I can’t stand the pain.”
And despite the tears leaking out of her eyes and across his fingers, Cora smiled. Her fingers clenched the leather of his jacket, and she knew. She knew. For fifteen weeks, she’d been waiting for something, and this was it. Everything was so clear now.
“That’s because I love you, Verrick,” she whispered. When he opened his eyes and pulled back far enough to stare into hers, her smile grew. “And you love me.”
“Loving causes this pain?”
She felt silly, explaining this to him. But… “Remember your fear when Lucas was hurt? Remember your anger when you realized he and Shannon were in danger?” She took a deep breath. “Remember your rage that day you found Baker with me? That’s because you loved us. You still love us.”
“I killed him.” Verrick’s voice was harsh with some kind of emotion. “It wasn’t a fair fight; I didn’t wait for him to draw. I’ve never killed a man like that.”
“In anger?”
Acknowledgment flickered behind his eyes. “I don’t like being angry.”
It was a simple truth, but it seemed profound. “I’m sorry.”
He took a deep breath. “But I think I might have to get used to it. I’ve spent fifteen weeks and three days trying to forget how to be angry. Trying to forget how to feel. Trying to drive away these emotions. But you’ve broken me, Cora Montgomery. I thought I was a hunter, but I’ve become your prey, my vixen. I can’t not feel anger, and pain, and sorrow. But now I’m with you, I feel…” He shook his head. “I don’t know.”
After that gut-wrenching admission, she could only think of one thing to say. “And nineteen-and-a-half hours.”
“Fifteen weeks, three days, and nineteen-and-a-half hours,” she corrected him.
And then, for the first time ever, Verrick’s lips curled into a smile. It wasn’t a big smile, and it wasn’t particularly pleasant, but for Cora, it was earth-shattering.
He looked exactly the way he looked in her sketchbook, from that long-ago day she’d been silly enough to try to draw him smiling. It had been her imagination, but seeing him like this was so much better.
She tightened her grip on him once more and pulled herself closer to his chest.
“I think you might be right,” he murmured, his gaze flickering over her face. “I think I might love you.”
“Good,” she whispered.
Then she dragged him towards her, and it seemed perfectly natural for their lips to meet, as if nothing had come between them. As if he hadn’t pulled away the last time she’d tried to kiss him. As if Baker hadn’t touched her, and he hadn’t killed a man in cold blood. As if he hadn’t faced his demons—was still facing his demons.
They kissed the way they had one autumn evening months ago, beside a fire, where no one could bother them. They kissed as if they had their whole lives in front of them.
It was ages before they pulled apart, and they were both breathing heavily. Her lips—and her throat and that sensitive spot behind her ear—were swollen from his kisses, and she felt as if she were floating on air.
Until he exhaled, and said, “I’m sorry, Cora. I can’t stay.”
She jerked back. “What?”
His expression was stoic again, except for the wariness in his golden eyes. “I can’t stay here, I can’t give you the home you deserve. As much as I lo—” He glanced away. “I just can’t. I’m sorry.”
“Because you were meant to wander?” She felt herself smiling slightly when his chin jerked in agreement. “But remember, I was too.”
When he met her eyes again, she let her smile grow. “I was just sitting here, not a half-hour ago, thinking I needed to get out of here because I was so bored.” Her expression softened again as she placed her hand on his cheek. “You were meant to wander, Verrick, but so was I. Sunset Valley is lovely, and I look forward to returning often, but I can’t stay here forever either.”
His golden eyes searched hers. “You are being truthful?” he said so doubtfully, she had to chuckle.
“I am! I’ve run out of white paint because the only thing to do here is practice baking and paint snow!”
His lips twitched once more. “In Arizona, you’ll run out of red paint.”
“Arizona?”
He nodded. “That’s where I’ve been. Studying the law.”
It was time for her eyebrows to shoot up in surprise. “You’re taking that back up? That’s wonderful!”
“I needed to know if what I did, how I killed Baker— I needed to know the ramifications.”
She smiled and blinked innocently. “It’s the strangest thing, Verrick. There was so much excitement, no one is quite sure what happened to Baker, if you could believe it.”
Verrick frowned, his eyes narrowing, and she nodded.
“Shannon dragged me away, right after you left, and one of the girls hurried us out the back door. We went to Doc Vickers’ house.” She pushed away the memory of how despondent she’d been, and how young Regina had spoken of her attack as the reason. “Sheriff McNelis finally got around to investigating, and Shannon testified to how Baker kidnapped her and how Blake was shot in the middle of committing a crime. Even a few of King’s cronies in the saloon remembered Baker taking me upstairs.”
Verrick seemed to be holding his breath. “And?”
She shrugged. “And not a single one of them could recall who it was who followed us upstairs, and who must’ve been responsible for his death. The sheriff declared it was a falling out among thieves.”
He was silent for a long moment, searching her eyes, and Cora realized his thumbs were stroking her cheeks. She liked that, through her explanation, he hadn’t let her go. It felt prophetic.
Finally, he said, “And you, Cora?”
She knew what he was asking. “Shannon and I stayed with Blake through the night and the next day. When Lucas and the men returned from Helena, they rode through town and picked us up.”
“That’s not what I meant,” he whispered.
“I know.” She shut her eyes. “I offered to exchanged myself for Shannon because I knew you would come to save me, I just had to stall for time. But to have his hands on me, when you and I had so recently—” She broke off with a shudder, knowing it would still be a while before she could think about that day without fear. “And then you were gone.” She opened her eyes, and willed him to see the truth. “I missed you, but I also knew I had driven you away.”
“I am sorry, Cora.” He swallowed. “I’m sorry it took me so long to realize caring for you won’t break me. I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I should not have left.”
Even though she had tears in her eyes, she managed a smile for him. “No, you shouldn’t have. You didn’t just break my heart, but Lucas’s too, you know.”
It hadn’t been what he’d expected to hear, judging from the way his brow shot up. “Lucas loves me too?”
She chuckled and slapped his chest before grabbing his jacket once more. “Of course he loves you, you fool. So does Shannon.” She tugged him closer. “But not the same way I do,” she whispered, before their lips met again.
It was another lifetime before they broke apart, and Cora was surprised to find herself sitting on his lap in one of the kitchen chairs.
How had they gotten there? And how had his fingers become so tangled in her hair, and when had the top button of his shirt come undone?
She smiled at the realization, and at how dazed he appeared.
“You’ve made me very happy by coming back for me, Verrick.”
He smiled again—not as wide or as long as last time, just a little twitch of his lips, which showed his teeth. “You know what? I believe I do love Lucas. And Shannon.” He pulled her closer and bent his head to nuzzle at her neck. “But not the same way I love you, Cora Montgomery.”
Her breath caught at the casual admission. “You do?”
Humming teasingly, he kissed her ear. “I must. Six months ago I knew exactly what I wanted out of life and how I was going to get it. Then I received a telegram from my son, and I met a remarkable woman who turned me on my head and taught me how to feel.”
“Are we talking forever here, Verrick?”
He straightened, serious once more. “I’m talking about however long you’ll have me, Cora. I know I’m a struggle. I’m bound to be angry, and angry at being angry.”
She smiled softly. “As long as you also love being in love.”
“I’m willing to try.”
“Forever then,” she agreed.
He dipped his chin solemnly, which was so quintessentially Verrick she thought her heart might burst, and she wiggled happily against him.
“Now.” He cleared his throat. “I’ve returned. I’ve stated my feelings, I’ve kissed you properly. I will soon explain to my son and his wife why I’m stealing you away from them, but in the meantime…”
When he trailed off and lifted his brows expectantly, Cora frowned a little. What else could there possibly be?
“Yes?” she asked expectantly.
“In the meantime,” he repeated, with the faintest trace of a smile, “do I smell chocolate cake?”
Epilogue
Four months later
The drive to the ranch had never seemed so long before, but Cora had to admit it was probably because the wagon had been converted into a sleigh. Up front, Lucas gestured expansively as he explained what he had in mind for the upcoming year, and Verrick occasionally asked a leading question or offered insight.
She smiled and snuggled down deeper in her nest of blankets in between her traveling trunks. Although Verrick didn’t often admit it, he’d missed his son and
the camaraderie they’d found during the last year. It was going to be nice to spend a few weeks at Sunset Valley again.
In her pocket, the telegram from Black Aces crinkled. She had it memorized, of course, because it was the notice they’d been waiting on for weeks.
Beautiful baby girl born last week, Shannon doing well. Only one baby, despite your threats. Come meet her.
They didn’t have to be told twice, and Cora had already had most of their things packed, along with gifts for the baby and Shannon. Cora and Verrick had spent the last three months in Washington, where he’d spent his time in a law library, and she’d been painting the monuments. But before the week was out, they’d been on a train heading for Montana once more.
Thank goodness Lucas had been able to get into town more frequently, despite the late snows. He’d met their train, loaded them up, and now Cora was about to meet her niece!
Once they reached the ranch house, Verrick seemed to understand her need for haste, because he threw himself off the sleigh in time to help her scramble out the back. With the colder temperatures, she’d taken to wearing skirts again—with trousers underneath, of course—and the sight of her trying to negotiate life in skirts always made his lips twitch, which made her smile as well.
This time, they were both smiling as they climbed the steps where they’d first met. She felt his hand tighten around hers, and when she glanced at him, she knew he was remembering that moment almost a year ago, when she’d stood right here and let him know she wouldn’t back down.
Lucas opened the door, and as soon as Verrick had helped her out of her coat, Cora pushed past both of them, and burst into the parlor. There, sitting in a rocking chair, smiling down at a little white-wrapped bundle in her arms, was Shannon. And all Cora could think about was the fact her little sister had not only finally had the child she’d so desperately wanted for so long, but she’d also found profound and lasting happiness with a man who loved her.
