Pulling only inches away, he spoke just above a whisper. “You wanted to talk, before you could say yes to my proposal. Now we have. Will you marry me, Molly?”

She looked into his eyes. Hers wide with hope and unshed tears.

“Just say yes and help me find a horse.” Rachel cut into the touching moment. “I need to go back to the RHR or somewhere and collapse.”

They both turned to see a very pale Rachel. They’d forgotten about her.

“Are you all right?” Molly let go of Wyatt, rushed to her, and slid an arm across her back. “You were unconscious when they brought you in.”

“John sent me to hunt for you. He caught a bunch of horses. He’s bleeding, but it doesn’t look serious, and the sheriff got both outlaws loaded. Win and Kevin have already headed out with the outlaws, John and Corly riding with them. We need to get back to Bear Claw Pass. I can put off collapsing for a while, but it’s already been a long day, and it’s not half over.”

“Let’s go.” Molly started walking off with Rachel.

“Wait a minute.” Wyatt caught up to them. “Aren’t you going to say yes?”

“Kevin, I can’t, not with a killing in my past.”

“Tell me what you did.” Rachel, in her typical straightforward fashion, seemed the perfect person to talk to.

After Molly told her tale, Rachel said, “You didn’t break any laws. It was self-defense.”

“No, you don’t know how I felt. You can’t know the anger in my heart when I pulled that trigger.”

“I’ve never killed a person, Molly,” Rachel said. “But I’ve been in a tight spot a few times and thought I might have to. It leaves a wound on your heart, in your mind. You think about being executed for it because it’s such a bad feeling that you think you deserve to be punished. That feeling is something you’ve just got to live with. A nine-year-old shooting her father who’d just killed her mother and was coming at her, that’s self-defense.

“If Kevin disposed of the bodies, that’s against the law. But it’s not a real serious crime. If it’d been murder, then he’s aiding and abetting. But since it’s self-defense, no one will kick up a fuss. We should tell the sheriff, and when he doesn’t arrest you, you’ll feel better.”

Molly flinched when she said sheriff.

“Or we could just go on keeping it a secret for the rest of your life. I won’t tell.” Wyatt slung his arm across her back and said, “Whatever you do about the sheriff, marry me first.”

They reached the clearing with the cabin. Four horses remained.