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“It’ll be okay, Jade,” he said, his voice so quiet Gray almost didn’t hear him. They exchanged a long look that Gray would have to ponder more at a later time. For the moment, he needed to get out of there before his wife pitched a massive, unholy fit right there in the churchyard.
He gave one last significant nod to Jason and kicked Birdie’s flanks.
“Gray, what are you doing?” Mercy asked, hitching up her skirts to run at them.
“Stay with Sunshine,” he said as they passed her.
“Gray.” She spun on her heels and started after him. “Get back here. You can’t go out there alone, with no one but the reverend. He’ll kill you, Gray. Gray!”
She tried running after them, but before Mercy got to the fence surrounding the church, Sunshine wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her off the ground.
“No!” Mercy kicked against Jason, getting him good enough he nearly let go. Doc came over to help him hold her back. “Gray!” she screamed.
The sound tore into his heart, shredding it into pieces. But he didn’t stop.
He needed to know what they were up against, and he wasn’t going to sit around waiting for someone else to come take a shot at him that he could question. A shot that could kill someone near him. Even Mercy.
Instead of waiting, he was going to find out what Josiah had planned and stop it now. He’d always found it better to ask forgiveness than permission. Though Mercy didn’t seem the type to easily forgive. She might be angry at him for the rest of their lives.
But at least she’d be alive. His life meant nothing. But hers…
He gripped the reins tighter and rode southeast, for the first time in his life seeking out a fight.
…
Jason and Doc had managed to wrestle Mercy, kicking and screaming, into the church. She’d fought them every step of the way, until the church doors closed, blocking out the sight of the road.
The terror and anger that had fueled her seemed to evaporate, and she slumped to the floor. The men didn’t seem to know what to do. They definitely didn’t trust her not to go running off after Gray. She couldn’t blame them. Every fiber of her being screamed to chase him down and drag him back home. But even through the fear that clouded her mind, she knew doing so would be futile. Gray was every bit as stubborn as she was. More so, maybe.
The fool was going to get himself killed, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.
“Stand down, gentlemen,” Mrs. DuVere said. “She’s not going to go running off after him. And I promise I won’t let her hurt you.” They chuckled, though the sound was still a bit uneasy.
“We’ll be right outside the door if you need us,” Jason said before bowing out, letting Mrs. DuVere take over. She tucked her skirts around her and sat beside Mercy.
They sat in silence for a minute while Mercy mopped up her face and got her breathing under control. She finally took a long, tremulous breath and sat back against one of the pews.
“Sorry about that,” she said, more than a little embarrassed at how she’d reacted.
Mrs. DuVere gave her a wry smile. “Men have a tendency to bring out the best in us, don’t they?”
Mercy’s laugh ended on a little hiccup, and Mrs. DuVere chuckled.
“He’ll be fine, you know,” she said. “Samuel is with him. People get a little squeamish over killing preachers.”
Mercy raised her brows. “Really?”
“Oh, sure. Even the worst of them are afraid of God. And that man of yours isn’t exactly defenseless, you know.”
Mercy let out a long sigh. “I know. My head knows. I know he could probably take out Josiah and half a dozen of his men before anyone else had even pulled their guns.”
“Then what is all this about?” Mrs. DuVere said, waving at her.
“What if there’s another dozen men waiting? Gray acts like he’s invincible, but he’s not.”
Mrs. DuVere chuckled. “Ah, give him some credit. Our new sheriff does seem a little too confident for his own good, though even you have to admit, he’s got good reason to be. But he’s a smart man. And he’s obviously good at keeping himself alive or he wouldn’t be here at all. He wouldn’t go marching into a situation he didn’t think he could get himself out of.”
“True,” Mercy begrudgingly admitted. “Plus, he’s just too damn stubborn not to prove me right and get himself killed.”
