“Just hold me, Dalkar.”
He was gently stroking the dark tendrils of hair at her temples. She was no longer afraid. How wonderful that love could banish fear. She knew a stab of poignant regret, and then that also faded away. It was not the end. Love did not end and there had been the promise…
Her gaze fastened dreamily on the silver filigree drapes at the balcony door. The curtains were glittering in the candlelight, the fretwork forming lacy patterns against the indigo of the night sky. She heard the faintest tinkle of sound, as if the heavy draperies were being stirred by an errant gust of wind. But there was no wind on this hot summer night… not the slightest breath of a wind.
1
June 12, 1870
Hell’s Bluff, Arizona Territory
“Rein in! This is a holdup!”
As the deep-voiced command had been preceded by four gunshots, one of which skimmed the brim of his hat, Ben Travis decided it behooved him to obey… and fast. He glanced with longing at the shotgun beside him in the boot of the stagecoach, then reluctantly pulled up the horses just short of the lone bandit standing square in the center of the road ahead.
A thrill of panic darted through Elspeth MacGregor, and her hand unconsciously tightened on the black grosgrain reticule she carried. She mustn’t be forced to give up the little money she possessed. If Dominic Delaney wasn’t still at Hell’s Bluff, where her father had last made contact with him, she would have to search for him. Heaven only knew how long it would take and how much it would cost to find him.
“Do not be frightened, mademoiselle.”
Those slightly accented words were the first the plump young man across from Elspeth had spoken since the stage had left Tucson. Her fellow passenger had appeared to be dozing continuously since their early morning departure, and Elspeth had felt relieved to be ignored by him and left to her own thoughts. Now, however, the man’s dark eyes were blazing with excitement.