arms. He carefully lowered her legs to the ground but trapped her against his side in a one-armed embrace entirely too close to be proper.
This man was determined to meddle with her head. She was too smart for it this time. She wouldn’t let his protective instincts or plain orneriness put ideas in her head or a silly feeling like hope into her heart. He could hold her as uncomfortably close as he liked, but from the looks of James’s rifle, this situation was about to become just as uncomfortable for Sean. She vowed to enjoy every moment of it.
* * *
Sean kept Lorelei tucked against his side so close he could feel her shaking. Was she shivering from her plunge in the river? The water hadn’t been that cold. Perhaps she quaked from fear after nearly drowning to death. He glanced down at her and found the answer in her mirth-filled eyes. She was laughing at him.
He narrowed his eyes to stem her mirth, but that only seemed to increase it. She dropped her head so the preacher couldn’t see her smile as her body continued to shake in silent suppressed laughter. Annoyance led his hand down to his revolver. It probably wasn’t any good as water-soaked as it was, but it was nice to have some reassurance while staring down a shotgun. He widened his stance to stare at the man intent on defending Lorelei from him. “Look, I don’t know who you are or how this is any of your business, but the only protection this woman needs is from herself.”
That got her riled up. She gave a pretty fierce little growl for a woman her size and in her situation. He tried to fight back his smirk but wasn’t quite successful.
“I am Pastor James Brightly and that woman is under my care. I insist you release her this instant.”
“This instant, huh?” Sean glanced down at Lorelei. Her dark blue eyes stared back at him, making him realize there was a lot of sanity in doing just what the preacher commanded. He let go of her. She took a few wavering steps away from him but somehow managed to stand on her own.
The preacher waved his shotgun. “Now, be on your way.”
Sean shook his head. “Oh, no. I’ve been searching for this woman for days. I’m the sheriff of the town where she lives. I’m not trying to hurt her, but I’m not leaving until she and I have a little talk, Preacher.”
“Lorelei, is this true? Do you know this man?”
He met her gaze squarely. He watched her tilt her head thoughtfully as she considered her next step. He could almost read the thoughts running through her head. All she had to do was tell the preacher that little two-letter word. If she did, he’d be dodging bullets and receiving a nice little prayer for safe travel courtesy of the preacher. Her smile grew.
He frowned at her. “Oh, come on, Lorelei. I just saved your life. The least you could do is save mine.”
Her expression changed to one of reluctant resignation. “I know him, Pastor James, but I’d also like to know what he’s doing here.”
Sean hid his relief when the preacher lowered the rifle to his side. Lorelei didn’t bother to hide her disappointment when the two men shifted into a less combative stance. She frowned at him. “Well?”
“You know very well why I’m here.” He shook his head like a wet dog, then pinned her with a look. “Your father and Lawson sent me to bring you home, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Lorelei stiffened. “Oh, no, you won’t!”
“Oh, yes, I will.” He stepped closer to her. “Do you have any idea how worried your parents are right now?”
“I left them a note.”
“That only compounded their fears. They knew that you were traveling alone with very limited finances, no supplies and hardly any idea how to get to California, let alone reach your great-aunt’s estate.” He caught her arm, hoping to somehow transfer a little good sense. “Anything could have happened, Lorelei!”
She wrenched her arm from his grasp but lowered her voice. “Don’t you think I’ve realized that?”
“Then come home with me.”
She crossed her arms. “No. Not when I’m so close to getting away from—” she seemed to catch herself and changed the sentence “—getting to California.”
“Have you looked at a map lately? You aren’t even close to making it out of Texas.”
Her hand made its way to her hip. “I will. Marissa and James are paying me a fair wage. As soon as I have enough saved up, I’ll take the train.”
“Alone? Haven’t you been preyed on enough?” He nodded in response to her suspicious look. “I know all about your reticule being stolen. That just proves I’m right. A young woman traveling without protection will warrant the attention of every outlaw and charlatan from here to California.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“That’s not enough.”
“Well, it will have to be enough because I’m certainly not leaving with you!” She flipped her wet hair away from her face and stormed off.
He’d nearly forgotten the preacher was still there until the man spoke. “Do you know why she ran away?”
“I know enough to say she should stop this foolishness and go home. Like I said, I’m Peppin’s sheriff, it’s my responsibility to keep the town’s citizens safe—even when they’re being too pigheaded to see sense.”
James nodded patiently. “I understand that you’re trying to do your duty, but that is her choice to make. You can talk to her about it, but you can’t force her to return. In the meantime, you may want to think more carefully about trying to bring her back to the situation that was uncomfortable enough to make her leave.”
Sean hid a grimace at the preacher’s advice. There was nothing wrong with the situation Lorelei was in that she hadn’t caused. His job was to find her and bring her home. Her parents were supposed to deal with her after that. Somehow he didn’t think the esteemed Pastor James would find his reasoning particularly favorable, so he kept his mouth shut and nodded in agreement. He needed a place to sleep after all and a way to keep an eye on Lorelei since she had gotten into the habit of disappearing.
* * *
The leaves of the towering oak tree quivered above Sean’s head as he placed his Stetson over his face. Four days he’d waited for Lorelei to come to her senses. It seemed as if she was just sliding deeper into her joyous little cloud of insanity. He could hear her now. She was playing with the children in the gurgling brook and having a wonderful time while he tried to cool his temper and not let the sound of her laughter set his teeth on edge.
He was glad James decided to give his family a day of rest from traveling. Sean was pretty tired himself. He figured this was the perfect time to craft a plan to change the mind of a stubborn young woman bent on getting herself to California. If he didn’t figure out something soon, he’d be stuck trailing her halfway across the country.
The ground beneath his back seemed to sway slightly. He caught his breath. This couldn’t happen. Not here. He needed to ward off the panic now before it got worse. Nevertheless, his heart began to quicken into a familiar staccato rhythm.
The
