Page 6 of A Dangerous Heart (Wind River Mail-Order Brides #4)

The water from this little tributary off the river was bitingly cold as she scrubbed the tin plates.

She didn’t have to close her eyes to imagine Isaac sitting on the log near the fire with his face turned away.

The man’s rangy body might have been hunkered by the fire with his brothers, but his mind and heart had been miles away.

Her hasty plan to prove her worth, to convince this McGraw brother to give her a chance, wasn’t working.

The man was immune to every smile she’d turned his way.

While his brothers had downed heaping plates of her stew and bread, he’d only finished half his dinner.

Clare held the handles of three forks and wiped the water from the tines with a cotton cloth.

What was she going to do now? Her eyes moved along the river, taking in the pines and the rocky outcrops. She could grow to love this rugged land. She liked the McGraw brothers, who seemed to be caring and protective men, nothing like her brothers.

She bent to wash one last plate. A bright flash of sunlight over the mountain flared and glinted off a small copper tube half buried in the mud.

Was that…An uneasy prickle climbed up her spine.

She dug out the copper blasting cap and rinsed the sand off.

What was a dynamite blasting cap doing here?

She slipped it into her pocket. Abandoning the tub of clean dishes for the moment, she wandered along the water’s edge, searching for more copper before the sun disappeared behind the mountain.

She’d walked for several minutes when a boy’s fearful shout echoed over the river. Clare froze.

“Eli!” she shouted. “Ben?”

Ben appeared, several yards upriver, his face filled with terror as his boots slipped on the wet stones and mud.

“Eli and David are—” He sucked in a shaky breath, tears brimming in his eyes. “There’s a b-b-bear!” The sobs came hard and fast, choking off his words.

Clare gripped Ben’s shoulders, her gaze jerking up at a sudden movement nearby.

Isaac. He appeared with a rifle in hand. Where had he come from? Without hesitation, he gave a quiet command.

“Ben, go find Drew and Nick. Tell them about the bear. Lead them to us,” Isaac ordered. Ben’s terror-filled eyes locked on Isaac, his head bobbing in obedient agreement. He pulled away from Clare and rushed toward camp.

Isaac jogged off in the direction Ben had come from. She followed, lagging as he traveled along the river and over small boulders.

“Climb faster!” Eli’s cry came from upriver.

Clare’s legs felt weighted as she trailed Isaac up a small slope.

The rank stench of rotting fish and damp fur permeated the air, along with the low grunts, sharp snorts, and heavy breaths of the angry animal.

David scrambled up a trunk just a few feet from a growling young grizzly.

The bear rose on its back legs and extended its powerful arm to swipe at David’s right boot.

Isaac raised the gun and pointed toward the sky.

Crack!

Clare recoiled.

“What are you doing?” she screamed, crazed with fear. “Shoot the blasted bear!”

But Isaac was frozen, staring at the bear. His ashen face was coated with a layer of fine perspiration. He drew the gun up into firing position, ready to take the shot, but his hands trembled so violently that the gun barrel swayed.

“Lift your foot!” Eli screamed from his perch several feet up the trunk. The paw clawed at David’s boot heel as he lifted it to a higher branch. Enraged, the bear slashed at the branch where David’s foot had been.

The thick lower branch of the tree snapped and hit the ground. The bear dropped to all fours for a perfect broadside shot. Why wasn’t Isaac pulling the trigger? This bear was roaring angry and wasn’t giving up.

Isaac lowered the rifle, a guttural keening tearing from his lips. There was no time. She snatched the rifle from his hands—he let her—and held it against her shoulder, sighting between the bear’s neck and midsection, and pulled the trigger.

The shot rang in her ears as the recoil slammed into her shoulder.

It knocked her back a step. She bumped into Isaac.

The bear stopped, shook its head as if stunned.

It opened its mouth and released a roar that ripped right through her chest and captured her breath.

Then the beast dropped to the ground with a thud. Was it dead?

Someone was sobbing. Eli!

She shoved the gun at Isaac, didn’t care whether he took it or let it hit the ground. She lifted her skirt and ran past the bear to the tree.

Drew, Nick, and the dog burst from the trees into the clearing. Nick carried Ben on his shoulders. Her nephew was still sobbing.

“Look.” Nick directed Ben’s attention to the fallen bear.

“You can come down now, boys,” Drew said as he approached the tree where Clare was standing. The boys warily made their way down, branch by branch.

David stumbled when his legs hit the ground.

His father caught him and drew him to his chest. The boy clung to his father.

Eli climbed down. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he lunged forward, throwing himself at Clare.

His head collided with her tender shoulder.

He was shaking so violently she gritted her teeth and hugged him back just as fiercely.

“You’re okay now. You’re a brave and smart boy, climbing up the tree so fast.” She smoothed her hand over the back of his head and down his back and arms. He seemed fine.

“What were you boys doing so far from camp?” Drew demanded.

“We didn’t realize—” David’s eyes flew to Eli. He bit his lip. Was he hiding something? “We were playing a game.”

Eli pressed his cheek into Clare’s breastbone. His tears seeped through her dress. She glanced over to see Isaac watching them with shadowed eyes. He turned away before she could say anything.

Nick eased Ben from his shoulders but held his hand as they stood over the bear.

“Not a breath left in her. We’ll put up the meat for the winter,” Nick said.

Drew nodded, still frowning. “Let’s get these boys settled.”

They’d almost left the clearing behind when Clare glanced back to see Isaac still standing in place, staring at the bear, his shooting hand flexing at his side.

She wanted nothing more than to get away from the bear and this place. She’d almost lost Eli.

The boys were riled up after the bear incident. It took a long time before they quieted in their bedrolls. Clare was too anxious to sleep. Curled in her bedroll, she watched the flames dance as the men spoke in low tones from across the fire.

“I’ll take the first watch,” Nick said as he took his rifle and a sharp knife from the chuck wagon and disappeared into the night.

Isaac sat near the fire, slowly breaking tiny pieces from a stick and tossing them into the flames. Drew stood slightly behind the circle of bedrolls, and Clare saw how he watched Isaac, not the flames.

“That was a lucky shot,” Drew said quietly.

There was something behind the words, something between the two brothers she couldn’t understand.

Isaac hadn’t looked her way once since they’d returned to camp.

Until this moment, she hadn’t realized no one had seen her take the shot.

The boys had been too focused on the near danger, and Isaac had been holding the gun again by the time his brothers had made it to the clearing.

Isaac’s gaze jumped to her, and for a moment, his mouth opened as if he might say something more—reveal the truth. But then he pressed his lips together, a muscle in his cheek twitching. His voice dropped, low and strained.

“Yeah. Lucky.”

Drew’s chin dipped. “If you hadn’t been there, the bear might’ve killed the boys. I’m grateful today that you weren’t away chasing some outlaw with the Marshals.”

For the first time since they’d met, Isaac didn’t look away.

Something burned deep in his eyes. It wasn’t anger but some other emotion she didn’t recognize.

Why didn’t he tell Drew that he hadn’t made the shot?

Was he ashamed? Swift Draw McGraw. If Isaac was with the U.S.

Marshals and was some kind of gunman, why hadn’t he pulled the trigger? Why didn’t he carry a revolver?

He’d nearly lost his lunch after the bear had fallen. She could still see him half bent over, his hands on both knees, shaken and terrified, just before his brothers had appeared. Now he lifted his chin as if daring her to speak.

The secret seemed to shimmer in the air between them. Clare didn’t care whether anyone knew she’d killed the bear. It was Isaac’s show of weakness that had her holding her tongue. And the knowledge that her instincts had been right. He was a lawman.

Finally, he swallowed hard and glanced away.

He rose. “I’ll go help Nick,” he said before disappearing into the night, leaving her unsettled and sleepless.

Isaac kept everyone at arm’s length, even the family he clearly loved. Whatever demons were haunting him, they were his alone.

But now she and Isaac shared a secret.