Page 34 of A Dangerous Heart (Wind River Mail-Order Brides #4)

T he breaking dawn chased away the last of the shadows, like the truth Drew had told him had chased away the doubts that had haunted him for years.

A quiet steadiness had settled in Isaac—a peace he hadn’t felt since boyhood, or maybe ever.

Fog hovered over the surface of the frigid water as Isaac swam alongside his horse up the center of the river.

He was soaked and freezing, but every sense was razor sharp.

Drew was right behind him. They approached Victor’s camp slowly, keeping low in the water and trusting that the tall banks would hide their approach.

Nick and Ed, along with two neighbors, were supposed to make a wide circle and come at the camp from the opposite side.

Danna, Jack, and another deputy planned to cross the train bridge on foot.

Isaac caught sight of a shadow moving on the bridge. They were in place.

Drew paused as they edged to the end of the bluff. Any farther and they’d be in plain sight of Victor’s camp. For a moment, there was only the sound of water lapping around them as it rushed past.

Then a voice rang out. One that had become so dear he’d know it anywhere.

Clare.

Isaac couldn’t help himself. He grabbed Bullet’s halter and urged him out of the water and onto the riverbank. The camp came into sight—the smoke from the fire, the tents, and the chuck wagon.

Where—

Everything happened in an instant. Isaac saw Clare on the ground, Victor standing over her with a gun drawn. Someone shouted from the edge of the camp. Nick’s whippoorwill whistle trilled out.

Chaos unfolded.

Isaac vaulted into the saddle and spurred Bullet into a gallop toward the camp, Drew on his tail.

Gunshots rang out from the camp, answered by shots fired from the bridge.

A bullet whizzed by Isaac’s ear. Realizing he was too easy a target on horseback, he slid off Bullet’s back and hit the ground at a run, slapping the horse’s flank. Bullet bolted for the trees.

Danna and Jack rushed toward the camp on horseback, hooves pounding as their rifles fired from the saddle. Drew wheeled off in another direction.

Isaac crouched low, still running. He’d lost sight of Clare.

Closing in on the tents, he scanned the chaotic scene.

Danna and Jack had taken control of the camp’s far edge, their rifles cracking with precision.

A few of Victor’s men were fleeing toward the trees, their shouts fading into the night.

Drew’s gunfire echoed from the opposite direction, pinning down the stragglers.

Hope surged. They were winning.

Closing in on the tents, he saw a man’s head and shoulders lean out of the nearest one, gun aimed.

Isaac didn’t think. He drew and fired, intentionally hitting the tent pole.

The man ducked back inside, the pole toppled, and the tent folded in on him.

Isaac looked beyond the collapsed tent, but the place where Clare and Victor had been was now empty.

Guns fired. Bullets flew. A howl of pain erupted from nearby. He turned on his heel, searching the area?—

Another tent flap opened, and a shadow moved inside.

Clare?

Isaac dove inside, gun at the ready.

And came face-to-face with Eli—pale, wide-eyed, and terror-stricken. A bruise darkened one cheek. The boy fought to keep his composure, but the moment Isaac whispered “Hey, kid,” Eli’s face crumpled.

Isaac held out his left hand, and Eli threw himself into Isaac’s embrace, burying his face in Isaac’s ribs.

Isaac lowered his head to press his chin against the boy’s hair, holding his shaking body tightly.

Memories of Cody surfaced anew, this time without the sharpness of the guilt and grief Isaac had carried so long.

He’d always have a place in his heart for Cody. But right now, Eli needed him.

“I’m sorry,” Eli choked out.

“Shhh,” Isaac whispered. “I’m gonna get you out of here.”

“Is Ben all right?”

Isaac was so focused on listening for noise outside the tent that he barely heard Eli’s quiet murmur. Was that cry Clare’s voice?

“Come out, McGraw!” Victor shouted.

Eli’s body jerked.

They couldn’t stay here. Isaac knew it. The canvas offered no protection. If Victor started shooting, he and Eli would both be easy enough to hit.

“I know you’re in there!” Victor called.

The pop of gunshots had tapered off. What did that mean? Had Danna subdued most of the gang? Or perhaps not.

Not if Victor was still free.

Had Victor’s men prevailed?

Boots scuffled in the dirt outside the tent. He had to get Eli out of here. Isaac’s gaze swept around the small tent. The call of a whippoorwill broke the eerie quiet. Not a particularly good call—Nick was losing his touch. But he was out there somewhere, thank God.

Eli pulled away, lifting his hand to reveal the rusty knife in his tight grip. “Pa’s a bad man.” He blinked away tears. “I’ll help you fight him.”

Oh, Eli.

Isaac put his hand on Eli’s shoulder. “You’re a good boy. And you’re gonna grow to be a good man. One I would be proud to call my son.”

Eli pulled in a mighty sniff, fighting to hold back more tears.

“Your job now is to stay safe. Leave Victor to me.” Isaac took the knife from Eli, moved to the back of the tent, and quickly slashed the canvas. He lifted a corner for Eli.

“Drew will be watching for you. Look for his horse, Solomon. Go!” he urged.

Eli scrambled out and fled.

As Isaac crawled out of the back of the tent, a volley of shots rang out, pitting the tops of the tents.

Must be Danna.

“Call them off, McGraw!” Victor shouted. Isaac peered around the tent to see Victor standing in the open, one arm around Clare’s neck and shoulders, holding her like a shield. In his other hand, he held a gun pointed under her chin.

Nick and Drew sat on horseback a few yards away, rifles trained on Victor. Eli was in the saddle with Drew. The way Victor was holding Clare, jerking her close, neither brother had a clear shot.

Heart pounding in his ears, Isaac stood tall and stepped out into the open.

Clare was his wife. And this was his fight.

* * *

Clare’s eyes locked onto Isaac’s as he emerged from behind the tent. Her heart surged with a mixture of surprise and terror—he’d come for her! His face was set with grim determination, not pale and shaky like before. Her eyes darted to the gun, still in its holster at his side.

What did it mean? Was he bluffing?

He stepped forward, and Victor dragged her one step back. The two men were in a standoff. Clare’s mind shuffled through her limited options.

“I have the blasting caps,” she said quickly, desperate to stall. “I can take you to them.”

He jabbed the barrel deeper in her neck. She gasped for breath.

“What am I gonna do with them now?” he snarled in her ear. “You’ve ruined everything.”

Clare skimmed the scene around her. Victor’s heist was well and truly foiled.

Two men were sprawled out, dead on the ground, their blood staining the hard dirt.

Danna and Jack stood near the fourth tent with their guns on Shorty and Tom Crow, the outlaws’ hands raised above their heads.

Ed and a man she didn’t know had given chase when the two others had ridden away from the camp.

“Run,” she told Victor. “You can still get away.”

His arm tightened around her neck. In addition to the McGraws and Danna and her deputies, two men on horseback were patrolling on opposite sides of what was left of the camp. Victor wouldn’t escape. And he seemed to know it.

“Let her go, Victor,” Isaac called.

She felt Victor’s rising desperation in his jerky breaths and erratic movements. His arm tightened around her neck. Victor would never give up. He’d once said he’d never go to prison. He’d die first. He was in this to the death. His or hers.

Isaac’s eyes were shadowed as his hand hovered over his holstered gun.

Anguish tore at her heart. She didn’t want to give him another reason to punish himself.

Her mind flashed back to the first time they’d met, at the train station. What had she thought then? That he was dangerous and handsome? Now she knew his heart. She raised her chin, feeling the gun barrel jab into her neck.

Isaac’s eyes narrowed. “It’s no use, Barlow,” he warned. “You’re surrounded.”

Victor’s finger twitched on the trigger, and Isaac went very still, eyes locked on the movement.

I love you , Clare mouthed. She saw his eyes widen as the words registered.

Victor’s hand slid to her throat and squeezed with choking force. She reacted instinctively, going limp, hoping the fall would loosen his hold.

She caught the flash of metal from Isaac’s gun in the gleaming sun.

His gunshot split the air. She flinched, waiting for the pain.

Victor’s hold loosened and his body fell away, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

Thrown off-balance, she dropped to her hands and knees.

The acrid scent of gunpowder drifted on the air.

And then Isaac was there, drawing her away from Victor’s unmoving body. Someone rushed in.

Nick.

She couldn’t bear to look at Victor’s fallen body, so she let Isaac turn her face into his chest and enfold her in his arms.

“It’s over,” he said into her hair.

She could barely believe it. Maybe she wouldn’t if it weren’t for her palms, taking in his warmth through the fabric of his shirt. Or her cheek, relishing each breath he took where she pressed close.

“I…I don’t know how you did that,” she whispered, her voice shaky as she looked up at him. “It all happened so fast. How did you make the shot?”

Isaac’s gaze softened, his expression humble, his eyes shadowed with something deeper. “I didn’t know if I could do it. I prayed that God would make my aim true. And I trusted.”

Her heart felt impossibly full, as though it were expanding beyond its limits, leaving her breathless with gratitude—for him, and for God’s faithfulness to rescue all of them. Especially Isaac. The haunted look in his eyes was gone, replaced by a quiet strength.

“Oh, Isaac.” She slid her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.

“Danna’s got her deputies tying up the last two. Eli’s safe. Drew’s got him. Taking him home,” he said, his voice rumbling through his chest.

Somehow, he’d known how to calm the storm of fear inside her. But she couldn’t quite calm the storm of tears that came on like a cloudburst. He didn’t seem to mind that she clung to him.

“Ben will be wanting you,” he murmured.

It almost felt as if he pressed a kiss into the crown of her head. But that couldn’t be right.

He held her until the camp had gone quiet, until it was just the two of them. Until her tears were spent.

When she pushed away from his chest, she couldn’t meet his eyes. She’d blurted out her feelings, albeit silently, but nothing between them was resolved. There were still doubts between them. She couldn’t forget the look in Isaac’s eyes when Victor had claimed she was still working for him.

He didn’t let her get far, stepping forward to close the distance when she tried to step back. He gently tipped her chin up with a finger. His eyes held an unexpected warmth.

“What were you thinking, running off in the night? Coming here alone. And what was that about blasting caps?” he chided gently.

Chagrin turned down her lips. “I had to.”

He shook his head. She didn’t know this teasing Isaac, with one corner of his mouth drawn up in a partial smile. “McGraws don’t ride alone. Trust me. I keep learning that the hard way.”

She saw it again, that settled look, the peace in his eyes. He glanced over his shoulder to Ed, in the distance, sitting on horseback. Watching over them.

Her heart warmed for Isaac. He had his family back.

McGraws don’t ride alone.

“I’m not really a McGraw,” she murmured.

“Yes, you are.” His reassurance came swift and fierce.

I meant those vows I said.

He’d told her once before. But she hadn’t been able to believe it. Not totally. Not with how they’d started, with mistrust and lies and a bargain-struck marriage.

He’d come for her. Fought off the demons of his past to be able to draw against Victor.

She was shaking.

He wasn’t finished. “And I’m sorry that I left. Sorry you felt you didn’t have any other choice but to come for Eli alone. I’m not living in the past anymore. I want to be a real family, like you said.”

New tears welled in her eyes. Joyous tears, for him. For what he was offering her.

Her heart was full to bursting. “You do?”

He nodded gravely. “I love you, Clare. You came and brought my heart back to life. Brought me back together with my family.”

She reached a hand up to cup his cheek. “Oh, Isaac, I love you too.”

Maybe he’d needed to hear the words spoken out loud, because the vulnerable light in his eyes faded, giving way to a deep, abiding joy.

He pulled her back into his arms, close to his heart, and kissed her. She met his kiss eagerly, pouring all her overflowing emotions into the moment. Isaac loved her. She’d found the place she belonged, right here in his arms.

She’d come searching for a new name, a way to protect herself. But at Isaac’s side, she’d faced her own demons and found the home her heart truly craved.