Cade blinked in shock at hearing Delancey support Paisley’s decision to join the marshals. He had been quite vocal in his objections before.
“The prisoner has a long journey ahead of him,” she said to Hawk. “Best not delay.”
Lewis was dragged into the sleigh. The largest of the deputies tied him in, then sat beside him, arms folded, mouth tight. Lewis was in for a rough trip to his final destination.
“I suspect we’ll discover he did even more than we realize,” Cade said.
“That is why I don’t care how much the territory laughs at the idea of a female deputy marshal.” She sat at the desk with her elbows propped up, her hands clasped in front of her. “The West is full of scoundrels like Ellis Lewis who are hurting innocent people. I mean to help put a stop to that.”
“I hope you noticed, love, no one was laughing just now. You’ve more than proved yourself.”
“I would have rather made that point in a less violent way.” She rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands.
“Has Stevenson’s death sunk in yet?” Cade knew of no kinder way to ask the question.
“With a vengeance,” she answered on a sigh. “I’ll likely always wonder if I might have managed the thing without killing him. And even though the answer always comes up ‘no,’ it doesn’t stop the wondering.”
“It never does.”
A sadness hung over her that tore at him. “I’m going forward with the hope that I’ll not have to shoot too many more,” she said.
“And if you do?”
She gave him a half-smile. “Then I’ll likely come running back here, begging you to tell me I’m not a terrible person.”
“I’d prefer you come running back here for happier reasons.”
She rose and crossed to him. “Cade?”
“Yes, love?”
She took a shaky breath. “I think I need you to hold me again.”
He happily complied. “As often and for as long as you’d like.”
There was a need in her that echoed a need in him. Life had treated them both badly. But they were stronger together. He knew she felt that, too. It was the reason they so easily turned to each other in difficult times, the reason they found such ready comfort in each other.
“Are you takin’ me up on my offer?” he asked.
“What offer is that?”
He pressed his cheek to hers. “To hold you any time, any place, forever and always.”
“I come with a great many troubles. I think ill of myself too often and far too often doubt others. I’ve a father who’ll only grow more ill and broken.” Hesitation sat heavy on her brow. “And I don’t take big steps quickly. Too many of those steps have tripped me up.”
He understood entirely. Life’s disappointments had taught her to proceed with caution. “I think you’ll find, darlin’, that I can be real patient when needed.”
She set her hand on his cheek. “Then you’ll understand when I ask you to make your offer again in a few weeks’ time.”
“And in a few weeks’ time, you’ll…” he prompted.
“Probably insist you ask again a few weeks after that. And then again a few weeks after that.”
“You mean to keep me waiting?”
Her eyes grew heavy. “Are you willing to wait?”
“Forever if need be, love. Forever.”
Snow blanketed the buildings on Main Street. Families walked about, bundled against the cold. Wheeled wagons had been replaced by sleighs. The shoot-out was still spoken of, but otherwise the town was peaceful again.
“My game!” Mr. Bell clapped his hands gleefully.
Andrew laughed and reset the board. A shaft of sunlight from the window glinted off his deputy sheriff’s badge. Tired of waiting on the council, and having seen what the chance to work and help out had done for Andrew, Cade hired him on himself and paid him out of his own salary. It wasn’t much, but Andrew seemed more than happy with the arrangement.
Mrs. Wilhite smiled at them fondly as she packed up more of her ribbons. She was moving her Ribbon Emporium to the millinery. She and Mrs. Carol were excited about the change. Cade was relieved. The women would look after each other.
Cade had only just returned from running a few boxes of ribbons across the street. He would miss having Mrs. Wilhite around, but Mr. Bell and Andrew would be at the jailhouse every day. Gideon came by regularly. He’d have company enough.
“Only a few more boxes,” Mrs. Wilhite promised him. “We’ll be all moved and out of your hair by the time your lady love returns.”
“Am I that obvious?” He glanced out the window like he’d been doing all day.
Mrs. Wilhite gave him a maternal hug. “You’ve missed her while she’s been gone. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, I’d say there’s everything right with it.”
“Hawk said she’d be back in a fortnight, which was extended to seventeen days. But her last telegram said she’d be home today.” He didn’t see any sign of her coming down the street. She’d promised to stop at the jail the moment she arrived from Laramie.
“Do you plan to marry her?” Mrs. Wilhite never had been one for beating around the bush.
“Paisley ain’t one to be convinced of anything quickly. But, yes, I mean to marry her once she’s ready. The instant she’s ready, in fact.”
Mr. Bell joined them at the window. “I’ve been asking my Mary-Catherine for months to marry me,” he said. “I think she might say yes the next time I ask.”
Like mother, like daughter. “It’s fortunate you aren’t one to give up easily,” Cade said to Mr. Bell. They’d agreed that going along with his mental wanderings was easiest on him.
Mr. Bell nodded. “She’s the kind of woman who’s worth waiting for.”
Cade couldn’t think of a more perfect description for Paisley. He ought to know. He’d been waiting for the woman these past seventeen days. The kind of woman who’s worth waiting for. “I know just what you mean.”
“You found one of those yourself?” Mr. Bell asked, his understated smile indicating he already knew the answer.
“I have, indeed.”
Mr. Bell nodded his approval, then wandered back to the checkerboard.
Cade caught Andrew’s eye. “All’s well?”
“Everything’s just fine,” he answered with confidence. He was a different man from the one Cade had met a short few months earlier. A smile tugged at Andrew’s lips. “And everything’s looking up for you as well.”
An odd thing for him to say, to be sure.
“This is a fine ‘welcome back.’ Nothing to greet me except the back of your head.”
Paisley. Cade spun around. There she was, framed by the doorway, her gun belt slung low on her hips as always, and a look of amused challenge on her face. Seeing her never ceased to bring him a feeling of having come home.
She set her hands on her hips and arched an eyebrow. “Do you mean to offer me a howdy at least?”
He’d fully expected to greet her with enthusiasm. He’d meant to throw his arms about her and pour every lonely moment he’d spent without her into a deep and heartfelt kiss. But having her back, hearing her voice again, froze him to the spot.
He all but sighed her name.
Her expression softened. “I’d say you missed me, you hardheaded man.”
“That I have.”
She closed the distance between them. She wrapped her arms around his neck, laying her head against his shoulder. His arms were around her in an instant. For the first time in more than two weeks, Cade felt complete again.
“You were late, darlin’,” he whispered. “Fourteen days is hard enough. Seventeen is downright cruel.”
She pressed a kiss to his jaw. “But you’re still here, just as you promised you’d be.”
“Just as I promised, love.�
�
He moved his head in order to kiss her properly. His fingers threaded through her hair. Each touch of their lips he filled with every moment of missing her. He pressed her tightly to him, trying to convince himself that she really was there with him and doing his utmost to forget that she would, eventually, have to leave again.
“How long are you home for?” he asked before lightly kissing her forehead.
“I don’t have another assignment yet. You might be stuck with me for months.”
“Perfect,” he whispered.
Cade was lost once more. Kissing her was the only logical course of action. The past two weeks had been torturous. If not for her obvious love of her work and how proud he truly was of the good she was doing, he’d likely have begged her to never leave again. As it was, he was already learning to live for the days when they were reunited.
His efforts at welcoming her home stopped short at the sound of a clearing throat. He felt Paisley’s laugh even before he heard it.
“Next time,” she said, “let’s undertake our ‘welcome home’ with fewer onlookers, shall we?”
She pulled back a bit, then settled quite comfortably into the crook of his arm. She kept her own arm around his waist.
“Is this the woman you were waiting for?” Mr. Bell asked. He nodded in approval. “She seems lovely.”
Paisley closed her eyes and took a slow, deep breath. “He doesn’t recognize me.”
Cade pressed a kiss to her temple, pulling her ever closer. He could only imagine how terrible her father’s illness was for her.
“He has been quite vague on a great many things these past days,” Cade said.
Paisley leaned more heavily against him. “Being around Papa can be painful, but he has seemed less afraid now that he doesn’t realize how lost he is. I’m grateful for that.”
Cade could do nothing but hold her close and hope he offered some comfort.
“Thank you for looking after Papa while I was away. I didn’t worry knowing you were here.”
“And I will worry less now that you’re home again.” He walked with her toward the far corner of the room. “I have a welcome home gift for you.”
“Do you?”
He brushed his hand along her hair, then slipped his hands down to her shoulders. “I’ll fix you dinner tonight, as well, so you can get settled back in.”
“Is that a threat?”
Saints, he loved her. “I can cook, you troublesome woman.” He reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a long, gold chain.
“A necklace?”
“Not just a necklace, sweetheart.” He stepped behind her and fastened the clasp. “It’s meant as a reminder each time you’re away deputy marshaling that you’ve a gun-toting sheriff waiting for you back in Savage Wells.”
She looked down at the necklace. “There’s a ring on the chain.”
“It’s a Claddagh ring, an old Irish tradition.” Not one to let an opportunity pass, he pressed a kiss to the back of her neck. “The heart is for love. The hands holding it mean friendship. The crown over the heart is for loyalty. Giving someone a Claddagh is a promise, one that’s not made lightly.”
She turned to face him, clutching the ring and chain. “Thank you. I’ll treasure it.”
“I’m glad to hear it. The ring was my ma’s.”
Her eyes opened wide. “You’d give me something that important to you?”
“Eventually you’ll realize that you are that important to me.” He kept her close, pressing his cheek to hers. “It’s a grander thing than I’ve words to explain, love, having you home again, well and whole. Life’s empty when you’re gone.”
“I missed you so much,” she said. “But I never once wondered if you would be here when I came back. I never worried that you would change your mind.” Her arms wrapped around him again. “That is a very new experience for me.”
He could have shouted with triumph. His Paisley, who doubted and struggled to trust, had faith in his promises. She believed in him.
“I will be here every time,” he vowed.
“For the rest of forever?” she asked with a smile.
“For the rest of forever.”
He kissed her. Then he kissed her again. And once more for good measure. She settled into his embrace. He had waited his entire life for a woman like Paisley.
He’d found home, and he’d found her, and he didn’t mean to ever let either one go.
With gratitude to the following:
The Wyoming State Historical Society, the Lane Medical Library at Stanford University School of Medicine, and The Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown, New York, for invaluable information and insights.
Jewel Busch, who read innumerable versions of this book and helped me sift through the bad ones to where the best was waiting. I could not possibly have done this without you.
My critique group—Annette Lyon, Heather B. Moore, J. Scott Savage, Michele Paige Holmes, and Robison Wells—who continue to be a desperately needed source of support and encouragement. And LuAnn Staheli, who is so very missed. This book was the last one she gave me her exceptional feedback on, yet I know the things I learned from her will continue to influence everything I write.
My agent, Pam Howell, who has on more than one occasion been the only thing standing between me and giving up on this entire crazy business. Your calming and reassuring influence keeps me moving forward, and your hard work and knowledgeable insights give me the confidence I need to keep dreaming big.
My editor, Lisa Mangum, for making this story so much better than I could have on my own, for your kindness and generosity, and for your dedication to creating amazing books.
To all the readers who have waited so patiently for another book. The drought is finally over!
And to my wonderful family. Your unwavering support and love means the world to me.
1.How does Paisley’s history—being forced out of her home by warfare, losing her mother and brother, coming of age in a violent frontier town, plus a broken engagement—impact her ability to trust people? Do you think that will always be a struggle for her?
2.Cade comes to Savage Wells looking for a job in a peaceful town. With the expansion of the bank and the inevitable growth of the town, do you think Savage Wells will remain peaceful? What would it take to keep the peace in a boomtown? How would that affect Cade?
3.In nineteenth-century America, women were barred from many professions. Women weren’t granted the right to vote until two decades into the twentieth century. What reasons might nineteenth-century Americans have had to justify these restrictions? What practices do we embrace today that might be considered outdated by people one hundred years from now?
4.In the 1870s, America was still recovering from the effects of the Civil War. In what ways does that conflict impact the residents of Savage Wells?
5.Do you think Andrew will ever fully recover from the impact of war? What could the townspeople do to help him?
6.Gideon tells Paisley that he’s given up on the prospect of finding love. Do you think he has lost hope because he knows single women are scarce in the West? Or do you think there is more to his discouragement than that?
7.Hawk holds a position of authority and is well respected by his fellow lawmen. How might his selection of Paisley as a deputy marshal influence the opinions of others in his profession?
8.Tansy takes up her own version of “moonshining” after being abandoned by her family. Why do you think she tries so hard to emulate them even after they were unkind and unloving toward her? Why do we sometimes seek the approval of people whose opinions shouldn’t matter to us?
9.Why do you think the attorney, Mr. Larsen, avoids coming to town? Is he hiding something? Shy? Avoiding someone?
10.What future do you imagine for the various characters in The Sheriffs of Sav
age Wells? What triumphs, hardships, or challenges do you see them facing down the road?
Sarah M. Eden is the author of several well-received historical romances, and her previous Proper Romance novels, Longing for Home, won the Forward Reviews 2013 IndieFab “Book of the Year” award for Romance, and Hope Springs won the 2014 Whitney Award for “Best Novel of the Year.”
Combining her obsession with history and an affinity for tender love stories, Sarah loves crafting witty characters and heartfelt romances. She happily spends hours perusing the reference shelves of her local library and dreams of one day traveling to all the places she reads about. Sarah is represented by Pam Howell at D4EO Literary Agency.
Visit Sarah at www.sarahmeden.com
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