Faith

by Peggy McKenzie

  The expression on his face told her the moment he realized there was some truth to what she was saying. It was his truth. And it broke her heart.

  She had known from the very beginning there was never any chance for the two of them. She might as well get it all on the table. “There will never be happiness for someone like me. And there won’t be any happiness for you either, Liam. Not as long as you have so much hate in your heart.”

  Tears blurred her vision as she rose to leave. She needed a place to hide until she could gain control of her emotions. She couldn’t face this man she loved with all her heart, knowing he would never see her for who she was. He would always see what she represented.

  She turned to flee. She made it as far as Liam’s office door before two strong arms turned her and pulled her against his chest. She didn’t struggle. She didn’t have the strength.

  They stood there for some time, her cheek resting against the warmth of his chest, the coarseness of his vest rubbing against her cheek. She could hear his heart beating steady against her ear and then his voice when he spoke.

  “Faith, I admit some of what you say is true. I did blame you for what happened to my family. It wasn’t reasonable. Or rational. I see that now. I’d like to start over. Maybe try getting to know one another better. A good friend once told me we are more alike that different. Perhaps we can start there.”

  Her heart hiccupped inside her chest. What was he saying? Before she could question him, he pulled her into his office and closed the door behind them.

  And then he kissed her.

  Liam didn’t care if his behavior was inappropriate. He didn’t care if Hiram or a client could walk in at any moment and find him and Faith in a most compromising position. And he damn sure didn’t care if he was acting contrary to his vow of revenge against someone he had no chance at making pay for the atrocities committed against his parents and sister.

  A loud noise in the street startled them both and they pulled away from each other, breathing as though they had run for miles.

  “I won’t apologize. For that.” Liam struggled to articulate through the desire rushing through his veins. The look of longing in Faith’s sultry dark eyes hit him hard, way down south. He knew he still possessed some self-restraint somewhere deep down but at the moment, it seemed the desired attribute was absent from his moral compass.

  “I would hope not. I think I would consider that most insulting.” Faith, once the fragile, shy, young woman living in the shadows of society, smiled. And the sight stole his breath away.

  Liam was speechless. For a moment. And then he pulled her roughly into his arms and took the kisses she offered. Her soft curves melted into his need and he was lost.

  He tangled his needy fingers into the lush depths of her extraordinary hair. Thick. Heavy. Midnight-blue. The pins in her hair could not withstand his assault. He tangled his hands deeper into the mass and pulled her lips closer to his mouth.

  Her small hands rubbed his back and shoulders. The exquisite feeling her touch elicited tore at every thread of his self-restraint. He knew this needed to stop. Hiram could come in at any moment. And yet—he couldn’t seem to stop himself.

  Liam released Faith’s hair with one hand, tracing her spine to her ribs and then to the soft curves of her breast. He cupped her firmness in the palm of his hand, sending delicious tingles down south. This had to stop or he was certain he would take her right there in the middle of his office. He would not disrespect her in that way. Especially since he hadn’t completely made up his mind where their future would lead them.

  He pushed himself away from her, creating space between them. The spell was broken. He could see her unease in the smoldering depths of her dark eyes.

  “I think, considering our current circumstances, we should probably get back to work.”

  Faith had no idea when she rose that morning her day would go from contented to deliriously happy. Perhaps there wasn’t even a word to describe the complete and utter joy she was experiencing, but she vowed to find it and use it every single day, thanking the good Lord for his blessings.

  In the quick span of time when she excused herself to re-pin her hair before Mr. Hanover caught sight of her disheveled condition, Liam had set out all the documents for the Mitchell case and invited her to work with him, going over them with a fine-tooth comb. So, he remembered what she’d said about her talent for sorting information. It pleased her more than she could say that he was willing to give her a chance to prove herself. After an hour or so, she caught something.

  “Liam, this may be something. Look here.”

  She pushed a couple of documents to Liam sitting next to her. He picked them up and compared the two.

  “I don’t see anything out of order. What am I missing?”

  Faith leaned in to look at the documents while Liam held them. His warmth created a pool of desire unlike anything she could have imagined. His clear blue eyes met hers and his heated look stole her breath away.

  He leaned in and kissed her, his soft lips caressing hers, teasing hers to open to him. His tongue pushed into her mouth. She wasn’t certain what to do but it wasn’t long before her own tongue followed his lead. The rough scrabble of his beard raked across her face, but she didn’t care.

  She was still trying to decide if she should end the kiss when Liam made the decision for her. He pulled away, and the heat in his eyes melted her core to a puddle of yearning. She wanted more. So much more.

  “I’m not sure this is what the court meant when they sentenced me to work in your law office, but, I will admit, I’m not opposed to it.” Her bold words were in conflict with her shy delivery. She couldn’t help herself. Her cautious side demanded she take things slow and keep some part of her heart from harm. But her deliriously happy side shoved doubt aside and dove headfirst into love.

  Liam laughed at her humor. She nearly swooned with desire. He was so handsome, and she loved him so much.

  “We’d better get back to work on this case, even though there is nothing I would like more than to spend the rest of the afternoon doing something other than work.”

  Faith’s heart leaped with anticipation. She would like that too.

  Liam reached over and gave her another kiss on her mouth, his lips lingering just a bit. Then he sighed and pulled away.

  “Now tell me what it is about these two documents that has your attention.”

  If she were Charity, she probably would have pushed the man to the floor and had her way with him. The thought of making love on the library floor in broad daylight sent shivers coursing over her skin. Desire pooled at her core.

  But deep down, she was still a timid little mouse, braver than the frightened young woman living above Rosie’s saloon but not enough to take something she wanted. Sigh. She leaned in again to look at the documents he was holding.

  “See here. The signatures are a little bit off. This one has a swirl on the first letter of Travis Markham’s signature. This one does not.” She pointed to the other document.

  She watched him ponder her observation. He looked back and forth at the two signatures. He nodded.

  “You are absolutely right, Faith. They are off ever so slightly. I’ll be honest. I wouldn’t have noticed that slight discrepancy at all. But what could it mean? People don’t write their signatures exactly the same way each time they sign their name.”

  “No, but look at this.” Faith separated all the documents on the table into two piles. When she was done, she directed Liam’s attention to the pile on his right.

  “These documents are the ones Travis Markham’s attorney provided, correct?”

  Liam flipped through the papers in the stack. When he reached the bottom, he nodded.

  “Yes, these are all the papers Markham’s attorney presented through discovery of the facts. They are all here.”

  Faith directed him to the other stack. “And these are the documents Lavinia Markham gave you to exact her revenge on her husband, correct?�
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  Liam frowned his confusion, but a quick glance at the documents and he nodded in agreement.

  “Yes, these are the documents Lavinia, I mean, Mrs. Markham, gave me as proof against her husband.”

  Faith’s stomach lurched at Liam’s familiarity with that woman, calling her by her first name. She chastised herself. Reverend Baker always told her she needed to have more faith that people would love her for who she was. Perhaps it was time to start believing in people. She met Liam’s gaze. Open. Honest.

  “Good. Now look at the signatures on the documents. This pile is Markham’s. They are all signed the same and there is no swirl on the first letter.”

  Liam looked through the entire stack again. A frown marred his handsome face.

  “You’re right.”

  He had already surmised where she was going to lead him next. He flipped through the documents provided by Mrs. Markham. When he finished, he looked at her in astonishment.

  “These all have the swirl on the first letter. Markham’s do not. Lavinia is not only seeking revenge against her husband, she’s willing to commit fraud to do so. Now all we have to do is figure out if Markham did, in fact, steal the mine from Mitchell. And if he did, how did he do it?”

  Liam turned to her, grinning from ear to ear. Was that respect she saw shining in his eyes?

  “You are an extraordinary woman, Faith No-Na—I mean, O’Malley. You do have a knack for arranging facts. I never would have thought this case could take such a turn. But, thanks to you, I can plainly see what Lavinia Markham is trying to do. She’s a con artist and she would have completely fooled me if it hadn’t been for your amazing talents.”

  Her breath hitched in her chest when she saw the heat in Liam’s eyes. Breathless, she said the only thing that came to mind. “You were fooled by her beauty. Men think because a woman is beautiful on the outside, she must be beautiful on the inside too.”

  “Like you?” she heard him whisper.

  Thank goodness she was sitting down because she was certain her knees would not have kept her standing. He leaned in and kissed her. One hand tangled in her hair, and the other pulled her out of her chair and into his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her, feeling the hard muscles of his chest press against her breasts. The sensations were exquisite, and she wanted more.

  Deepening her kiss, she grew bolder, pushing her tongue into his mouth as he had done to her. It must have been exactly the right thing to do because he pulled her even closer. She wished he would suggest they go to his house like he mentioned before. She would die of embarrassment if anyone—

  “Is this a private party or can anyone join in?”

  Liam was still fuming when Travis Markham left his office half an hour later. The man’s timing for his ill-advised meeting couldn’t have been worse. He and Faith had been caught in a very compromising situation. He needed to think about the consequences to his impulsive actions. If he knew Markham, it wouldn’t be long before the whole town knew. And that would include Lavinia Markham.

  What did the woman hope to gain by deceiving him? She already had her finances in order—if she could be believed about that. He wondered.

  Was she as well off as she proclaimed or was that subterfuge to keep everyone from suspecting her if her divorce or Mitchell’s lawsuit against her husband went south?

  Damn, that arrogant ass. How far would the man go to get what he wanted? He wished Hiram had been here to give the man a taste of his razor-sharp tongue. Hiram could cut a man off at the knees and never draw a blade.

  Markham started their meeting with blackmail, insinuating there was something going on between Liam and his wife. He said Lavinia had bragged about her affair with Liam. But, as was obvious by his intrusion of their amorous interlude, that was a lie. A fact Liam pointed out several times.

  The despicable miscreant said he could still use the rumor to ruin him and Hiram Hanover. Who would believe he preferred a murdering Indian half-breed over the beautiful Lavinia? Underhanded bitch that she was, he admitted under his breath.

  But rumors were one thing. Violence was quite another. Travis Markham issued veiled threats against the Hanovers and how it would be such a shame if something happened to the jolly old couple.

  Liam escorted the man out of his office and told him not to poke his head anywhere close to their building again. But injury followed insult when the arrogant ass raked his predatory gaze over Faith, sitting at her desk, as if he had the right to take what he wanted. When he wanted it.

  “I hear the young lady ran into trouble outside this very door. Under your nose, Mr. O’Brien. It would be a shame if something untoward happened to the little lady while on her way somewhere. Unaccompanied. This is a wild town as you well know. It would be unimaginable what an ill-advised ruffian might do if he got the chance. After all, there would be no retribution for attacking someone like her. Who would care? Besides, maybe the squaw has a taste for things you can’t satisfy.”

  Liam’s blood boiled and he told the pompous reprobate to go straight to hell. He seethed when Markham laughed and left his office. The man was unconscionable. No wonder his wife wanted her own brand of revenge.

  Liam needed to calm down so he could think. Pacing helped work off some of his anger, but he still needed to talk to Hiram to make sure every precaution was taken to protect him and Mrs. Hanover. He was certain Travis Markham was a coward who hired other people to do his dirty work. And, with his kind of money, he could hire a lot of trouble.

  He also needed to deal with Lavinia’s underhanded tactics. He refused to be a pawn in her dirty deal, whether it won him his case or not.

  Faith had moved to her desk in the corner when Markham showed up. He hadn’t liked the looks the ass was giving her so he moved their conversation into his office, putting a solid wooden door between Markham and Faith.

  He needed to warn her and the Hanovers to be careful. He found her sitting at her desk, staring out the window.

  He pulled her into his arms and held her against him. “I’m so sorry Markham dropped by and—caused you embarrassment. Really. I regret that it happened.” Reluctantly he let her go.

  “Are you saying you regret ‘we’ happened?” She searched his face for the answer to her question.

  He reached out again, this time pulling her against his chest and holding her there, staring down at her beautiful face, watching her dark brown eyes, so expressive with raw emotions. He was giving her a chance to leave.

  He could tell she was afraid. Not of him hurting her physically. She had to know he would never hurt her in that way. But she had lived her whole life in fear. Trusting someone meant taking a risk. And why would she take a risk on someone like him? Someone who had already hurt her numerous times. Deliberately. But things were different now. Or they could be if only she would give him another chance to show her his true worth. He would do his best to convince her.

  “No, Faith. I can never be sorry we happened. I can’t promise you everything will be perfect for us, but I can promise you that no one will be worthier of your trust than I am.”

  Liam watched tears fill her eyes, spill over, and run down her cheeks.

  “I know I’ve got a long way to go, but I’m hoping you and I can work together to bridge the gap that separates our two worlds. Can we try? Please?”

  Overcome with emotion, Faith didn’t speak. But that tiny nod of her head was all the encouragement Liam needed. He gently pulled her chin up so he was certain he had her undivided attention. He smiled and kissed her tears from her face. First one cheek and then the other.

  She leaned her head against his chest, and they stood silent, holding onto each other for a few moments more before Liam finally broke their embrace.

  “I would really like to kiss you now, if that’s okay with you.” He peeked down at her and was overjoyed to see her smile.

  “I’d like that very much,” she whispered.

  He pulled her close and gently br
ushed his lips across hers. Her breath hitched. He kissed her again, this time with the promise of so much more to come.

  They stood locked in each other’s arms for a few moments, relishing the possibilities. Liam knew he needed to warn Hiram about Markham’s threats, but for a few moments he wanted to savor the feel of this beautiful, special woman in his arms.

  It had been a long, long time since he had any notion there could be a chance for happiness. There was a time when he didn’t give two cents whether he lived or died after his family was brutally taken from him. And even now, he wasn’t naive enough to think he would live happily ever after. He still had a lot of work to do to reconcile his horrific past with the possibility of a future—with Faith.

  But he could see glimpses of a brighter horizon. They would have to take it slow. One day at a time. And he should have an answer soon from his friend in Washington about his suspicions. He hoped he could give Faith the new beginning she wanted. The legacy she desired. The love she craved.

  Finally he knew he needed to get going. It was early in the day, but he wasn’t comfortable leaving Faith alone after Markham’s threats. The looks the vile degenerate pinned in her direction made Liam’s blood chill in his veins.

  “I think we should get on over to the Hanovers’. It’s a little bit after two so Hiram should be done with Mrs. Benson’s hearing and home with Aggie. I need to speak with Hiram about Travis Markham’s visit. It can’t wait.”

  “I can stay and lock up,” Faith offered.

  “No. I don’t know how much you heard of Markham’s conversation, but I don’t want you going anyway alone. Understand?”

  “I didn’t hear anything that was said, but I am aware enough to know you were very upset after he left. Was his conversation about me? Should I be worried?” Her forehead wrinkled, and he sensed her unease.”