Depending on the Doctor (Nevada Bounty Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

time.”
    “Why does it matter to you?”
    “I care about Lydia. We all do. I want to know what sort of man we’re trusting her with.”
    “The kind of man who honors his debts.”
    He nodded. “Fair enough.”
    I hoped that would be the end of it, but I doubted it would be. He didn’t seem like the kind of man to let things go that easily, and the last thing I needed was for a small town sheriff to start digging into my past. These were the kinds of snarls that resulted from getting too involved, from getting too mixed up in other people’s lives. Another reason why traveling and the solitary life suited me just fine.
    By the time we could see the lights of town, my mind had wandered to travel plans for tomorrow. The stage left town at eight, so I wanted to make sure I arrived at the ranch to pick up Lydia fairly early.
    “Well, when you bring Lydia back home, give that job some thought,” Wyatt said, reining his horse to a halt and turning to head for the other end of town.
    I stopped my horse in its tracks and considered Wyatt in the light of the moon. I couldn’t read his expression. “What are you up to, sheriff?”
    He chuckled and tipped his hat. “Have a good evening, Emmett, and if I don’t see you before the stage leaves in the morning, safe travels. Take good care of Lydia, and bring her back to us.”
    He nudged his horse and headed off toward town.
    “I won’t be back, sheriff. And if Lydia wants to come back, she’ll have to do it on her own,” I called after him.
    He didn’t say a word, or even turn to acknowledge me, just gave me a salute and continued on his way.

I arose before the sun to pack and pace while I waited for Emmett to show up and take me away. To be fair, I’d never really gone to bed. After Emmett and Wyatt left, Beth and Daisy wanted to talk, but I needed to be alone so I’d excused myself and gone to my room. I’d spent the rest of the night wrestling with my thoughts, and struggling not to give free rein to my emotions. I couldn’t win that battle, and it didn’t matter anyway because the decision was already made, regardless of how I felt about it. I’d deal with the feelings along the way.
    Shortly before the sun came up I reached the limit of my patience and I needed to move. Now that my plans were made, I just wanted to leave, but short of taking off walking, hauling my suitcase with me, in hopes of meeting Emmett along the way, I didn’t have much choice than to wait. Unfortunately, by waiting, I guaranteed an extended and involved goodbye, which would only be painful and confuse me even further.
    I tiptoed downstairs carrying my valise and sneaked out the front door to wait on the porch.
    I found Isaac sitting in his favorite chair, wrapped in a warm coat and smoking a cigar.
    “Mornin’ Lydia. Trying to sneak out of here without saying goodbye?”
    “No. If you’re up, I’m sure Beth is, too. I know they won’t let me leave without goodbyes.”
    “You don’t have to leave at all.”
    I put my suitcase down and went to the railing to look out over the yard between the house and the barns. A layer of frost covered all the surfaces not already buried in the few inches of snow, and the very first hint of dawn lurked just outside the shadows. “I think I do. I don’t belong here.”
    “Why would you say that? You belong here as much as any of the rest of us.”
    I turned to face him, leaning back against the railing and pulling the fur collar of my coat closer against the early chill. “I miss the homestead, and I miss it being just the four of us. I’ll never be able to make up for what I did to you. I can see it in Beth’s eyes every time she looks at me. I broke our relationship, so I owe it to her to remove myself.”
    “For my part, I don’t blame you. You did what you thought was right, protecting your family. I understand that. Of course I’m glad things turned out the way they did, but if I’d been in your shoes I might have done the same