Amily closed her eyes.
“You'd survive.”
He shook his head.
“That's not the same as living.”
Her breath caught.
Harlon lifted one hand toward her face.
Then stopped.
“May I?”
She opened her eyes.
“May you what?”
He smiled sadly.
“Hold you.”
Amily felt something warm and painful move through her chest.
She nodded.
“Yes.”
Harlon stepped closer.
He placed his enormous arms around her gently, giving her room to move away if she wished.
She didn't.
Instead, she rested against him.
Her cheek touched his chest.
His beard brushed her hair.
And for the first time in years, Amily allowed herself to lean on someone without apologizing for her weight or worrying that she was asking too much.
Harlon held her as though she belonged there.
Not as a burden.
Not as an obligation.
As a woman he wanted close.
For several minutes, neither spoke.
Then Amily whispered, “You're not allowed to die over those papers.”
Harlon gave a shaky laugh.
“Not allowed?”
“No.”
She looked up.
“I've only just found a man who knows how to make decent bread.”
He laughed softly.
“That the only reason?”
Amily smiled through tears.
“Not quite.”
Harlon's expression changed.
Their faces were close.
Very close.
For one suspended moment, Amily thought he might kiss her.
She wanted him to.
But beyond the kitchen window came the sound of approaching horses.
The moment broke.
Harlon turned toward the road.
His expression hardened.
“Company.”
Amily stepped back.
They secured the documents.
Then moved toward the rear passage.
Outside, the demolition supervisor shouted for his men to return to the wagons.
A new group of riders had arrived.
At their head was Silas Vale.
He was fifty-five, broad-shouldered, with a handsome but severe face, silver-streaked dark hair, and a long black coat trimmed with fine fur.
He rode an expensive chestnut horse and wore polished boots that had never seen the kind of hardship most local families endured.
Beside him rode Gideon Pike.
Two additional company guards followed.
Amily watched through the window.
Vale dismounted.
His expression was furious.
He demanded to know why the demolition had stopped.
The supervisor explained that a woman claiming an interest in the property had appeared with documents, and that armed men had been threatening people near the building.
Vale turned toward Pike.