He meant to do just that. In fact, he’d planned to set out this morning, the instant he could get Janna into Caitlin’s care—though Cat had jumped the gun by showing up on his doorstep at the crack of dawn. He couldn’t bear to lose Heather. He didn’t know precisely where she’d gone, but he would tear Denver apart with his bare hands to find her if he had to.

“You’re not going to let Randolf have your wife without a fight?” Jake prodded more gently, mistaking his silence.

“No.”

“We’ll care for Janna,” Caitlin offered. “Heather told me she has an interview at one o’clock with her prospective employer … Mrs. Phoebe Sharp. And I think Randolf was staying at the Windsor Hotel. That’s probably where you can find her. If you go now, you can get there before they leave.”

“Go,” Wolf pressed, “and bring your wife home.”

Sloan looked at them, his family. The people who loved him, urging him to salvage his future.

His hand shaking, Sloan raked his fingers through his hair. What if it was too late? What if he had destroyed Heather’s love?

For a moment he was struck again by the raw panic that had filled him when she’d left. He rose to his feet, desperation running through him like a knife.

He had driven her away. The knowledge kept ricocheting inside his skull as he turned toward the door.

Chapter 20

THE WINDSOR HOTEL looked much as she expected, with its ornate gilt trappings and elegant gold and crimson furnishings. Yet Heather was blind to her surroundings as she sat numbly on the brocade chaise longue in her room.

Evan had been quite kind to leave her alone after luncheon, allowing her time to collect herself before her interview. The problem was, she couldn’t manage it. She couldn’t stop crying.

Despairingly her fingers closed around the gold piece Sloan had so contemptuously given her. Tears slipped down her cheeks as painful memories flooded her, each more cruel than the last. Sloan declaring he could never love her. Sloan seducing her body that last time, proving how quickly her resolve faded at his slightest touch. Sloan making no effort to prevent her from leaving.

Her throat closed on a sob. A soft rap on the door made her lift her head with a start. Swallowing hard, she called, “Come in.”

A bellboy peered inside the room. “Beg pardon, ma’am, but Mr. Randolf says he’ll be waiting for you downstairs in the lobby.”

“Thank you. Would you tell him I’ll join him in a moment?”

She sat there after he’d gone, her stomach clenched in knots. This step was so final. Denver was so far away from everything and everyone she had grown to love….