Page 66 of The Swindler’s Daughter

“I don’t know,“ Rowan said, finally breaking the silence, “if the others realize what we’ve started.”

His words sat heavy on my heart. “I was just thinking about that.”

He turned to look at me. “And what do you think?”

The burden of our choices weighed on my shoulders. “I think our lives are forever changed,” I said quietly. “I think there may be some very hard times ahead. But I trust you.” I titled my head toward the others and smiled. “I even trust them. I believe we can do more good by continuing on our course.”

He let out a breath. “That’s good. Because I don’t think we have a choice anymore.”

“Does this make us outlaws?”

“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “Though I don’t think I’ve ever met an outlaw as beautiful as you are.”

I gave a little shake of my head and smirked. “You’re just trying to distract me from the fact that you shot a lawman,” I teased.

He shrugged, not looking proud of what he’d done, but not looking ashamed either. “I didn’t see any other option.”

My smile faltered. “What do you think he would have done with us if we hadn’t gotten away?”

He blew out a heavy breath. “I really don’t like to think on it. I can’t imagine he would have been fair or of a mind to follow the law. If he’s capable of stealing from widows and starving children, he can’t have many scruples at all.”

I leaned my head on his shoulder. “So where does that leave us? When the sun rises tomorrow, where will we go? That wagonful of gold isn’t just a pocket watch I snatched back. It’s everything.” My words shook. “We just stole everything from Reeve, and he’s going to do anything in his power to make us pay for it.”

The breath he released was unsteady.

“I’m sorry,” I said, picking up my head so I could look at him. “I didn’t mean to sound grim, but we have to face the reality of what we’ve started.”

“I know,” he assured me. “And I’m grateful you realize the severity of what we’ve done. It’s just hard to sit in that reality sometimes.”

“Yes. It is.”

The dim light on his face revealed the moment his gaze dipped from my eyes to my mouth and got stuck there.

My nerves reared up and I bit my lower lip, wondering at the thick heat that suddenly blazed between us. Just when I was sure he was going to lean in, he turned his face away, looking out at the sky again.

“We should head back and speak with the others,” he said.

I cleared my throat. “Yes. Of course.”

He jumped to his feet and offered me a hand up, which I took. I expected him to drop my hand right away and walk back to camp. Instead, he lifted it to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back of it before lacing his fingers with mine and meandering back to the others.

We sat around the fire to eat the two small animals that Rowan had caught, a sense of calm finally settling over us as the rush of excitement wore off.

“We need to gather more wood for the fire,” John pointed out as he brushed off his fingers and stood. “It’s not going to get too cold, but it will be more comfortable if we can all stay close to a good fire.”

“Plus it will keep animals away,” Rowan said.

John nodded. “That too. Everyone go find fuel for the fire.”

Once we’d each returned with a handful of sticks and branches, we got the fire started and spent the next several hours sitting around it, rehashing our escapades over and over. We were all in awe of our success, but we couldn’t see what the next step would be.

Eventually, it was time to get situated for the night.

“Gretchen, you bed down over here,” John said, pointing to a spot beside him.

“I was going to sleep over here by Ansel,” she said stubbornly, and I watched as Ansel’s face turned bright red.

“No,” John said simply. “Get over here.”