child lifted a hand when their name was called as though their father was taking attendance. They stared at her as she found a seat near the rear of the wagon on a cushioned wooden chest. She stared right back at them. Five children. She was going to be taking care of five children. She hadn’t even had any siblings growing up. What was she going to do?
The wagon started abruptly, and she fell off her seat onto the wagon floor. A few stifled gasps echoed under the canvas roof as the children waited for her reaction. They looked so shocked that she burst out laughing. That somehow gave them permission to, as well. As they laughed, relief settled into her bones just as tentatively as she settled back on her seat.
She was on her way again after only a momentary delay. Although her trip had been a disaster in some ways, it had been successful in its main goal. She’d barely thought about Sean since she’d left Peppin and certainly wouldn’t have a chance anytime soon, now that she was surrounded by five children. She tried not to wonder if he even cared that she’d left or what he thought about possibly never seeing her again. He’d probably been indifferent, or worse: relieved.
No, though the decision had been made on the spur of the moment, she knew she’d made the right choice in leaving. She only wished she’d made that decision sooner. If she hadn’t wanted so badly to prove she wasn’t a flighty, insincere heartbreaker, she might have done the right thing with Lawson a long time ago. She should have trusted her instincts from the beginning instead of spending so much time overthinking things. Usually her first thoughts on a subject were clearest anyway. She shook her head. That was in the past. She could finally look forward to a future without Sean’s distracting presence. In the meantime, it seemed she had a job to do.
The chortles finally died down enough for her to ask, “Who wants to play a game?”
All five hands eagerly went up. She grinned. Her new life without Sean O’Brien was going to be a cinch.
* * *
There she was—Lorelei Wilkins. Sean slid from his mount, then put a calming hand on Jericho’s nose to keep him quiet as they crept through the woods toward the banks of the river. He ought to walk right out into the open and give her a piece of his mind. That’s what he’d been planning to do for the two days it had taken to find her. Now that he’d found her, he decided to take a moment to gather himself.
Through the green veil of leaves, he could see her peaceful expression as she sat innocently reading under a nearby weeping willow. He noticed the soft smile at her lips and the dark curve of her downcast lashes. For some reason only one thought came to mind—she hadn’t married Lawson. Relief lowered his tense shoulders for an instant before he frowned. It shouldn’t matter to him that she was no longer engaged. It didn’t matter to him. The relief he felt at seeing her came only because it meant his task was nearly complete, and he’d soon be able to return home. Nothing more.
He gave a dutiful nod and began moving toward her. Suddenly she tossed her book aside. The soft hum of a melody drifted through the air as she practically danced into the river. He froze, befuddled yet transfixed by the sight. Her well-trained soprano arched over the quiet woods into the first lilting verse of “Beautiful Dreamer.” He was barely aware of leaving Jericho to walk quietly toward the woman wading in the thick expanse of river until he stood at its banks.
She hadn’t noticed his approach since her eyes were closed, so he tipped back his hat and crossed his arms to stare at her. Now, this was a side of Lorelei he’d never seen. Oh, sure, she sang at church occasionally but never with such passion. He’d seen her smile a hundred times but never with such freedom. Apparently, a weight of some kind had been lifted from her shoulders…and placed squarely onto his. His jaw tightened in aggravation.
His horse neighed. Lorelei froze. Her lashes flew open. Their eyes met. He heard her breath escape her lungs in a startled gasp as she instinctively backed away from him. Her blue eyes changed from alarm to dismay, then she stepped back one too many times and disappeared into the clutches of the racing river.
Chapter Two
Lord, have mercy, it’s Sean O’Brien! Water swirled above Lorelei’s head as she tried to reconcile the man she’d just seen with the fact that she’d traveled all those miles to leave him behind. No, it couldn’t have been Sean. It just couldn’t. She’d been enjoying the first break she’d had after two days of caring for five exuberant children when she’d heard a sound like quiet footsteps. She’d ignored it, but then she’d heard that neigh. She’d opened her eyes never expecting to see that man standing on the bank of the river looking for all the world as though he’d been there for hours.
Her lungs began to hanker for air. Lorelei tried to swim to the surface to satisfy them. She also wanted to make sure her imagination wasn’t playing tricks on her, but her heavy skirts dragged her downward, subjecting her to the twisting, turning pull of the current. She careened through the water and away from the bank. Panic filled her. She fought the urge to gasp in air, knowing it would only drown her. Her thoughts began to muddle together. What a foolish way to die!
Suddenly an arm encircled her waist. A body came alongside hers and pulled her upward. With one last thrust of energy, they surfaced. Lorelei gasped for air. She met Sean’s vibrant green eyes as he held her tightly to his chest.
“Don’t let go,” he commanded abruptly. She was too spent to argue, so she allowed him to pull her to the riverbank. The water gave way to solid ground. They both collapsed on the grass-covered banks. She turned her face toward him and found that they were only inches apart, but she didn’t have the strength to remedy the situation.
His arm lay across her stomach barring her from flight. He made no effort to remove it. Instead, they stared at each other as they both took in gasping breaths. A few days’ worth of golden stubble covered the base of his jaw and met just above his mouth. A slight sunburn trailed down the bridge of his nose drawing more attention to his unsmiling lips. Hints of gold and light hues of green shimmered in his eyes like the sunlight reflecting off of a slow-moving creek. Despite the disapproval she found there, her heart gave a familiar thump.
What was he doing here? He couldn’t be here of his own volition. That would be too unbelievable. More likely, he had been sent by her father to bring her home. Well, that was not going to happen. She would not stand passively by as he wrecked her plans. She glared at him.
The dashes of his dark gold brows lowered into a frown as he rose onto his elbow to look down at her with a maddening smirk and finally spoke. “The good news is you made it out alive. The bad news is you didn’t get away.”
“I wasn’t trying to get away. You frightened me by appearing out of nowhere. I responded as any normal person would.” Somehow she found herself lifted into his arms as he stood and swept her up to his chest. She kicked her feet. “Put me down. What are you doing?”
“You’re in no condition to walk.”
“Yes, I am. Put me down. What is wrong with you?” She could count on one hand the number of times he’d purposefully touched her. Now, he wouldn’t let her go. She kicked her legs again. “I said, put me down!”
“Hold on, you wildcat—”
A warning shot rang through the air. Lorelei screamed. Sean froze, then whirled around to face his adversary. She peered through her wild chocolate-colored curls to get a glimpse of Pastor James standing broad-legged and determined. He cocked his gun again and aimed it at Sean. “You heard the lady. Put her down.”
The tone of his voice was deadly. Not at all what she expected from the gentle man
