Page 32 of A Forgotten Heart (Wind River Mail-Order Brides #5)

Nick’s eyes cut away. A muscle jumped in his cheek.

His vulnerability touched Elsie, but—“Why did you come back to town?” she whispered.

His chin jutted out a bit, another sign of vulnerability, and then he looked her right in the eyes. “I don’t know if you said yes to Arnold…” He paused. “But I love you, and I want you to choose me. Marry me.”

His words seeped into every broken place of her heart, healing every piece of her, making her want to laugh and cry all at once.

She wrapped his hand in both of hers, feeling his strength when he clasped his fingers around hers. He really was okay.

He went on. “I know I don’t have a lot to offer. Not yet. But I’m going back to the normal school and?—”

“You are? Oh, Nick!” Elsie couldn’t contain her surge of happiness as she threw her arms around his neck.

He chuckled into her hair, his uninjured arm coming around her waist.

Someone cleared their throat nearby.

Marshal O’Grady was staring down at them. Along with several curious townspeople behind her. Merritt stood off to the side, her mouth quirked into a smile.

Elsie drew back slightly but stayed kneeling next to Nick. Her cheeks flushed with heat despite the chilly air.

This was the moment she should be worried about her reputation, but she found she couldn’t care.

Nick loved her. A wonderful thing that had once seemed impossible. Now it seemed anything good could happen.

Danna strode to them, all business. “I have some questions about how tonight’s events unfolded. Can you come to the office and give your statements?”

Nick started to push himself up off the ground but inhaled sharply. When he wavered, Elsie reached out to support him. “Nick needs the doctor first.”

Nick dragged himself to stand. Elsie stuck close to his side.

He whispered, “Bossy.”

She couldn’t keep from meeting his secret smile with one of her own.

Danna’s brows rose. “Visit the doctor, then come see me. Don’t get distracted.” One corner of her mouth twitched.

Nick grinned. “No guarantees.”

Danna tipped the brim of her hat, then headed toward the jail, signaling for the crowd to disperse. Several folks walked off.

Merritt met them at the edge of the boardwalk. “Do you need help? Should I get Ed?”

Nick scoffed. “Bullet barely nicked me.”

No, what Elsie needed was time with Nick. A moment with just the two of them. “I can handle it.”

Merritt glanced between Elsie and Nick, eyes sparkling. “I guess now’s not a good time to tell you I had an answer to one of my letters. A young lady who wants to correspond with Nick.”

Nick glanced down at Elsie, his eyes so intense they sent a flutter to her toes. “I’m not interested in answering any letters. Not anymore.”

Merritt smiled and walked away, muttering something like “It’s about time” beneath her breath.

The silence of the night settled around them as they made their way down the street, Elsie sticking close to Nick, Nick a little slow but sturdy. The shadows no longer felt threatening. Not with Quade captured.

When they made it to the edge of the boardwalk to cross the street, Nick grinned. “Maybe I am feeling woozy. You’d better put your arm around me.”

Elsie slid her arm around Nick’s waist. “Woozy, huh? We can’t have that.”

Nick chuckled. “No, darling, we sure can’t.”

Their footfalls beat along the boardwalk in the quiet of the evening.

It still held her in awe. That he’d been there. That he’d fought for her. “I can’t believe you came for me.”

Nick leaned a little closer, his breath brushing her cheek. “I’ll always come for you.” He’d lowered his tone to an affectionate rumble. “I love you.”

She looked up into his face, seeing only sincerity. “I love you too, Nick. I always have.”

Even when she had believed she’d never see him again, even when he had promised to forget her, she’d loved him.

He pulled her tighter, lowering his lips to her temple. “You’re not marrying that other guy.”

It wasn’t a question, but she answered anyway. “No. I couldn’t have gone through with it, not when my heart belongs to you. Even when you didn’t want me anymore, it was always yours.”

He drifted to a stop and turned her toward him. “Darling, that was jealousy talking. I was acting stupid. Glad my brothers knocked some sense into me.”

A snicker escaped from her lips. She could only imagine how that had gone. “I hope they didn’t knock you too hard.”

He shrugged. “I deserved it.”

She laughed again, joy bubbling from her gut.

He drew back until he looked into her face. The light from the nearby building illuminated his knit brow. “You didn’t answer my question from earlier.” He drew in a breath. “If you’ll marry me.”

Elsie bit her lip against the grin she couldn’t stop. “Technically, you didn’t ask.”

The roguish smile that always released butterflies into her stomach crossed his mouth. “El.” He smoothed her hair behind her ear, stopping to cradle her cheek. “El-Belle, will you marry me?”

Tears of joy she couldn’t contain sprang to her eyes. “Yes.”

The line of tension in his forehead relaxed. Had he really not known her answer would be yes? It had always been yes, from the moment he’d made her smile beside the Christmas tree all those years ago.

He leaned down, hesitating only a breath before he brushed his lips against hers. His kiss felt like hope. Like home. Like love.

She responded to his kiss, trying to communicate her sincerity. Her devotion. And that she would always stand by him. No matter what.

He shifted to put his arm around her, and when he did, she felt him wince a little.

She pulled away from his eager lips. “Come on. Let’s go see the doctor.”

He groaned, but she felt his smile against her cheek. “Always so bossy.”

She stifled her giggle to sound as serious as possible. “Only to you.”

He chuckled. “Merry Christmas, my darling.”

She tugged the brim of his hat. “Merry Christmas.”

He brushed one more kiss over her lips, then she turned him in the direction of the doctor’s office.

As they walked along the boardwalk, comfortable in each other’s presence, she didn’t know what the future would hold. Whether she’d be allowed to keep teaching after they married, or what would happen with the McGraw land, or even if Quade would be sentenced.

But she did know that Nick would stand beside her through it all.

And that was enough.