foreboding that gripped him. Somehow he’d known they wouldn’t come back. The next morning brought news of the accident, and with it the entire world had turned on end for him and his two sisters. He’d tried to step up and be the man of the house, but at such a young age there was so much that he couldn’t do to help his eighteen-year-old sister, Kate, manage the farm, besides try to keep eight-year-old Ellie out of trouble.
The next two years had passed with him in such a state of stress that he would lie awake at night listening to his rapid heartbeat pound in his ears thinking for sure it would burst from his chest. He never told anyone that, especially not his sisters. To them, he’d remained stalwart and dependable until his brother-in-law Nathan had stepped into their lives.
The burden had suddenly lifted from Sean’s shoulders, and he’d thought that would be the end of the waves of panic that occasionally took over. It wasn’t. Even now he could feel his breath shortening. It always did when he found himself in a situation like this where he could do nothing but wait. He forced himself to pray.
Lord, You know I’m trying to be patient, but I need to get back to Peppin. This isn’t what I bargained for when I agreed to bring her home. Help me change her mind. It took a few minutes for his body to settle down. Relief filled him. He shouldn’t have another one for a while now. He’d just go on as if it hadn’t happened…like always.
He slowly felt himself leaning toward sleep. Suddenly a small fountain of water poured over the sides of his hat and settled around his ears before soaking into the ground. Letting out an exaggerated roar, he sat up. His Stetson tumbled to the ground, and Sean found himself face-to-face with a six-year-old. Hosea stood in what would have appeared to be paralyzed terror if not for the delight sparkling in his round eyes. His hand clutched a large tin cup now emptied of the water he must have carried from the nearby brook.
Sean quickly surveyed the situation and realized that, while Hosea may have been the culprit, he was only a small part of a much larger plot. Watching with just as much glee were the rest of the children and one very naughty nanny.
* * *
Time seemed to stop for the seconds it took Sean to slowly rise to his feet. Perhaps that was simply because all the children froze when he pinned them with a calculating stare. Then his gaze caught hers. His smile said one thing. William yelled it. “Run!”
Suddenly the world was a blur of motion. Hosea tried to make a break for it, but Sean was too fast for him. He scooped the boy under his arm like a sack of potatoes. Henry managed to evade his grasp, but Sean lifted William with his other arm and spun the boys around just enough to make them deliciously dizzy before he set them down. He repeated the process with Julia and Lacy.
Meanwhile, Lorelei casually meandered in the direction of the camp. She should have moved faster, but she couldn’t help lingering to watch the sight before her. Sean was always so serious, so stern—it was fascinating to watch him grinning and playing with the children. It wasn’t fair of him to look quite that…handsome. Not when she was trying so hard to ignore him.
Too late, she realized she’d missed her chance to escape. Her opponent caught sight of her and stalked toward her. He smiled predatorily. “Sending the children to do your dirty work, is that it?”
She widened her eyes innocently. “Now, Sean. It was all in fun.”
“Was it?”
She glanced around for help, but the children had abandoned her to stagger laughingly toward camp. “Sean, don’t…”
Sean swept her into his arms and spun her in a tight circle. She let out a small scream that lasted from the first rotation until he set her feet back on the ground. Her eyes finally opened to focus on his. The trees continued to sway perilously behind him. He gave her a pointed look. “There. Now, we’re even.”
“That’s what you think,” she muttered and tried to step around him, but he refused to release her.
“That’s what I know. Unless you want me to haul you back to the Peppin jail for assaulting an officer.” He gave a low whistle. “Now, there’s an idea.”
She glared at him. “Oh, why won’t you just go away?”
He leaned toward her, meeting her challenge with his own. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
She pushed away from his chest, then wiped her suddenly wet hands on her skirt. “Yes, I certainly would.”
“Tough.” His green eyes captured hers. “You won’t get rid of me until I drop you and your problems back in your father’s lap. I gave him my word—and Lawson, too—which means I’m going to stick to you like glue.”
“You mean fleas,” she muttered as she brushed past him and walked back to camp. She wouldn’t let it bother her that nothing short of a promise to her father and his best friend would tempt Sean to stick close to her. She hated being his duty, and he certainly didn’t want her to be anything else, so the smartest thing for her to do would be to stay as far away from him as possible.
True to form, he followed her back a few minutes later and took a seat near the campfire to whittle as she helped Marissa prepare supper. She ignored him and was grateful when Marissa struck up a conversation. “Tell me more about Peppin, Lorelei. It sounds like a charming town.”
“There really isn’t much else to say,” she said as she felt Sean’s gaze resting on her. “It’s small but not stiflingly so. The people are friendly and really care about you. There is always something going on, so you’re hardly ever bored. You can just go to the mercantile or the café to find someone to talk to or about, in some cases. It’s just a normal everyday Texas town. The only thing special about it are the people.”
“It sure is a good town,” Sean said wryly. “I guess that’s why most people are content to stay right where they are.”
Lorelei refused to meet his gaze. She’d never said Peppin wasn’t a good town. It was her home. Nothing would change that. She’d only left to get away from Sean, and that hadn’t done any good. Why, she could do a better job avoiding him in Peppin than she could in this wilderness. So it was decided. She was going home. She dreaded the victory she knew she’d see in Sean’s gaze when she told him, but it couldn’t be helped. She’d tell him tomorrow.
* * *
Sean ignored Lorelei’s quelling stare as he propelled her through the evening shadows that painted everything in dark smudges of color. The Brightlys must have made very close ties with the people in this area. An inordinate amount of them were still around more than an hour after the service was over. Lorelei stopped short at the sight of the large crowd of people waiting to speak with the Brightlys. “I can wait until these people leave.”
He shook his head. “I’m not going to give you that much time to change your mind. Besides, we’ll both need our sleep. We’re leaving at first light.”
She rolled her eyes. “I know. You keep saying that.”
“That’s because I like the way it sounds,” he said in satisfaction. Placing a hand on her back, he guided her forward until they took their place at the front of the line.
“You’re going to get us shot,” she whispered.
“This will only take a minute,” he said loudly enough for the others in line to hear. “I’m sure the Brightlys won’t mind
