Page 26 of A Dangerous Heart (Wind River Mail-Order Brides #4)

“A lmost there,” Isaac called over his shoulder to Clare and Ben. His hat was pulled low over his brow, shadows obscuring his eyes and accenting the tension in his shoulders.

The wagon crested the top of the hill, and the homestead came into view.

But the once comforting sight of the house, barn, and squatty bunkhouse didn’t bring a sense of peace and safety.

Instead, as the last light faded, the shadows deepened, turning the familiar buildings into looming shapes, and a sense of dread clung to her.

Sitting with Ben in the back of the wagon bed, on a pile of blankets to cushion their ride, Clare had struggled to keep Ben’s leg from being jostled about while scanning the landscape for any sign of Victor or one of his men.

Ed had ridden Bullet alongside the wagon for most of the trip, leaving Rebekah with their cousin Merritt in town. They’d been about an hour into the journey when Clare had overheard Isaac disclose her true identity in hushed tones to Ed.

“She’s a Barlow, then?”

Clare had felt Ed’s penetrating glance but hadn’t been able to look up, afraid of the censure she would see in his face.

“She’s a McGraw now.” Isaac’s gruff reply reminded her of the promises he’d made at the parsonage.

The fresh start she’d hoped to find with a new name was a pipe dream.

Isaac had sent Ed on ahead when they’d been a few miles from McGraw land. Would Ed tell everyone the news about their marriage before they arrived?

A deep, unsettled pit formed in her stomach as she realized that everyone in the family would learn about her past. Would they be angry? They had a right to be. Clare had piled more trouble onto an already teetering stack. Tears threatened.

The wagon rolled up to the barn. Jo and Tillie leaped off the porch and began to whoop and holler as they sprinted to the wagon. Ben perked up. He used his arms to lift himself so he could peer over the wagon side rails.

“Look who’s glad to see you, Ben,” Clare said, a little surprised by their joy.

A wide smile spread across Ben’s wan face, and Clare let out a breath of relief. He had been close-mouthed all day—a sure sign something was off.

Drew ambled out of the barn, offering her a hand down, then wrapped her in a warm embrace. “Welcome to the family,” he said before shooting Isaac a look that said We’ll talk later.

Kaitlyn pulled Clare close. “So good to have you back.”

Nick and Eli lagged behind Kaitlyn. Nick embraced Clare gently for a few brief seconds but kept his expression guarded.

Eli climbed into the wagon, positioning himself beside Ben.

Leaning into his brother, he whispered in his ear while glaring at Clare.

Her hope for an easy evening wilted. She bit her lip and narrowed her eyes at him.

She needed to speak with him about his father.

Eli was as capricious as the wind, and he would be conflicted. He idolized his pa.

Without missing a beat, Isaac stepped closer, his voice low as he addressed the two brothers. Clare couldn’t hear the words, but the look on Eli’s face suggested a kind of reluctant acknowledgment.

The girls circled round Clare. Jo gave her a quick hug.

Tillie threw her arms around Clare’s waist, pressed her cheek against Clare’s ribs and squeezed. “Pa said you got married. We didn’t even get to see the wedding.” She pouted for a moment before her expression brightened.

Clare’s gaze shot to Isaac. Their eyes met briefly. Her heart kicked up. What should she say? Had it only been this morning they’d recited their vows?

“We didn’t get to wear our Sunday dresses and throw flower petals,” Tillie added. She lifted her chin and kept her arms around Clare’s waist. Clare smiled and brushed a loose chunk of hair back from Tillie’s forehead.

“Yes, well, it only happened this morning.”

“That means it’s still your wedding day,” Jo announced seriously.

“Can we bake a wedding cake? I love cake!” Tillie’s voice amped up until she was fairly shouting “cake.”

Isaac rounded the wagon.

“Whoa there, girls,” he said, like he was settling wild horses. “It’s late. Let’s get Ben settled inside before we start baking.”

Clare was surprised the girls were planning to bake a cake this late in the day. Kaitlyn stepped in.

“Girls, clear the way so Uncle Isaac can bring Ben into the house.” Kaitlyn paused to let Tillie skip ahead while she and Jo strolled up to the porch and into the house.

Clare met Eli at the back of the wagon as he climbed down. As he stood waiting for Isaac to lift Ben, Clare reached out to hug him, but he pulled away and crossed his arms defensively. The rejection was a sharp pinch to her heart.

Eli was growing up. He was every bit like the dynamite they’d found. No telling what would set him off.

Isaac pulled on the blankets so that Ben was scooted to the tailgate. He carefully gathered him in his arms and carried him to the house, Clare and Eli trailing.

Kaitlyn met the group at the door and held it open to allow Isaac to pass.

“Ben here is going to need to stay in the main house.” Isaac’s gaze went to Ben’s leg. “Obviously he won’t be climbing the stairs anytime soon. Think we can put him in David’s bedroom?”

Kaitlyn sent him a reassuring smile. “Of course. David can bunk with Nick until Ben heals up enough to stay at the cabin.”

Before Kaitlyn turned to lead them to a small bedroom off the kitchen, she flashed Clare a reassuring smile.

Anxiety twisted in Clare’s gut again. Kaitlyn didn’t know about her past. This wasn’t the joyous homecoming expected of a newlywed couple.

Her marriage was hardly a real marriage at all.

Isaac didn’t love her, but he had offered her refuge and his family name, which to the McGraws, meant something.

Stop clinging to girlish dreams, Clare Barlow. No. She was Clare McGraw now.

She would play the hand she was dealt.

“I’ll get Ben settled,” Kaitlyn volunteered. “Go, take a moment to freshen up.”

Exhaustion pulled at Clare’s shoulders, her whole body weighted down with fatigue and stress.

She drifted to the kitchen to pump water to wash with but paused outside the dining room, hidden from view.

The brothers were hunched over the dining room table, sketches and notes, even legal papers, scattered across the tabletop.

Clare’s eyes lingered on one of Isaac’s hand-drawn maps from his scouting work on the ridge.

The river and the bridge were sketched from a bird’s-eye view, long, dark vertical lines representing the rails, with shorter horizontal lines for the railroad ties. Icy dread seized her.

Nick said, “I rode out there yesterday to take a closer look at how far the digging has progressed. Those dunderheads are digging so close to the bridge that one major rainstorm might wash the bridge supports out.”

Maybe that’s what they want, Clare thought. But why?

“One thing’s for sure, the bank will be ambushed with angry patrons if their shipment of cash gets delayed,” Ed said.

Bank . As if the word was the missing piece, everything clicked into place. Victor was here for a robbery. He could use Quade’s dispute with the ranchers to stage a train robbery, then walk away, no one the wiser.

She stepped into the dining room. Drew’s shoulders tensed. Ed and Nick exchanged quick glances with each other, caution written on their faces. Isaac moved toward her, his brows furrowed, his green eyes concerned.

“Clare?” he asked. Placing a comforting hand at her elbow, he drew her farther into the room. Kaitlyn entered behind her. Sensing the tense atmosphere, she slipped quietly into Drew’s side embrace.

Clare took a shaky breath. “Ever since we saw Lyle in town, I’ve been trying to figure out how Victor found me. I’m certain I didn’t leave a trail.” She sucked in a breath. “What if he didn’t come to find me? What if he’s here for another reason?”

“What do you mean?” Nick asked.

“The train…he likes to rob trains.” Her voice trembled.

“And he has a fondness for dynamite.” Clare swallowed hard against the growing terror.

“What if he’s using Quade’s dispute with the ranchers to stage a train robbery?

Blow up the bridge. Help Quade divert the river.

Rob the train. And ride away.” She could see it so clearly—the whole thing unfolding—and it made her skin prickle with dread. His brand was stamped all over this.

Isaac’s lips turned down in a grim frown. “We saw Quade’s men unloading crates at the train station the day I met Clare and the boys.”

“You really think that’s why he was in town?” Ed asked Clare.

“Yes, I do. Lyle, the man Marshal O’Grady is holding, was surprised to see me. He said he and the gang were coming for Eli and Ben, but he was lying. They’re coming for the gold and money.”

“Working with Quade,” Nick added absently as he leaned over the table to riffle through some old newspapers on the sideboard. It was the only thing that made sense.

He blew out a long whistle as he lifted a newspaper and began scanning below the fold. “You may be onto something. The Union Pacific coming from Cheyenne passes through here in three days. There’ll be passengers on that train along with the gold and bank notes in the safe.”

“Victor isn’t just a thief,” she began, her voice wavering despite her best effort. “He does more than hold up banks or coaches or trains. Sometimes, for the right price, he takes on other jobs. Breaking someone out of prison, stealing a safe from your enemy—if the job’s worth it, he’ll do it.”

Isaac’s brow furrowed. “That’s not common knowledge about the Barlow Gang.”

Clare nodded, her throat tight. “Victor has a network of outlaws across the West. If Quade wanted him, all he had to do was talk to the right people.”

Isaac’s hand tightened on her elbow. He muttered under his breath, “Everything lines up—the crates, the timing. Quade’s up to something more.”