Lydia awoke feeling much better. The pounding in her skull had lessened, and she felt as though she had more energy. Was this the Lord's way of giving her the strength she needed to leave Nick?

She moved out of bed and walked to the mirror hanging on the wall. Groaning, she touched the bandage still around her head. She looked like death warmed over. Then again, Nicholas has been worse when she found him lying on the side of the road. Although she shouldn't complain about how she looked since it didn't compare to Nicholas, she prayed he would look past her sickly appearance and remember how she had been before.

Combing her fingers through her hair that wasn't covered by the bandage, she tried to bring some normality to the way she looked. She would love nothing more than to take a bath and dress in clean clothes, but given the situation, she was grateful for a soft mattress to sleep on, a sturdy roof over her head, and fresh food in her belly. And for now, she was very thankful for the man who unselfishly helped her toward the healing process. She would never forget his kindness during this time or the words he'd said to her last night and this morning.

Thanks to her criminal father, Lydia would lose the only man she had ever loved. She wasn't a vindictive person, but at this moment, she knew if she saw her father, she would whack a board over his head and repeat the gesture many times until she was satisfied. But she wouldn't. Doing that would turn her into the spiteful person her father was.

The soft tap on the door made her heartbeat quicken. It was time to confront Nicholas. She wasn't ready, but she couldn't put it off, either.

"Come in," she called out.

He opened the door and stepped inside. His gaze moved to the bed first, but when he saw her across the room, he smiled.

"How are you feeling?" He stepped in and closed the door behind him.

"Better. I'm sure I'll still need a doctor to look at the wound to see if I need stitches, but for now, I don't feel like I'm still being beat with the piece of wood."

He moved to her and loosely took hold of her hands. "I will get you to a doctor soon, I promise."

Promises promises... They were always meant to be broken. Just like her heart was doing now.

Gently, he pulled her back to the bed, where they sat on the edge. He held her hands and softly stroked them as his gaze watched his fingers moving across her skin.

"While you were asleep," he began, "I had a visitor." He briefly glanced at her before looking back at her hands. "Mr. Edmund Fox co-owns the Pacific Railroad. Apparently, a few years back, Jakeson had stolen railroad plans from Mr. Fox. After that, Mr. Fox had an investigator try to find information about Jakeson."

Panic rose inside her. She knew where this conversation was heading. Nicholas knew.

She cleared her throat. "What did he discover?"

Nicholas sighed heavily and looked into her eyes. "The outlaw's real name is Jack Swanson."

Her hopes sank. Nicholas' expression told her all she needed to know. He wasn't going to fall in love with a criminal's daughter.

"I was wondering," he continued, "if you are related in some way?"

The tears she wished would stay away came forth and filled her eyes. She pulled her hands away from Nicholas and wrung them in her lap. "Jack Swanson is... my father." Her vision blurred, so she dropped her gaze to the floor. Nicholas' body stiffened, so she continued. "I didn't know until you were telling Mr. Easton about the star scar-burn on his neck. Then I knew."

Taking a deep breath and praying for more courage, she lifted her attention to his face, which was now etched with sadness. "Nicholas, I swear to you that I didn't know until then. I haven't seen my father for many years. I probably wouldn't recognize him if I passed him on the street. But that burn mark... I was the one who gave that to him when he was beating my younger sister." She wiped away the tears falling down her cheeks, but the tears wouldn't stop. "I'm sure you are shocked, just as I was this morning when I realized this, but I assure you, I won't be a burden to you any longer. I feel much better now, so if you would return me to Victoria and Alan's house, I'm sure they can take me home to Woodville. I will understand if you never want to see me again."

Without giving him a chance to say anything, she stood and walked toward the door. She cleared her throat again. "We can leave now if you'd like. I don't want to embarrass you any more than I've already done."

His footsteps quickened behind her, and he grasped her arm, turning her around to face him. Concern was his expression now as he cupped her face.

"Lydia, I don't know why you are thinking this way, but this is not what I feel. You are not a burden to me, and I will never be embarrassed to be with you. And..." He brushed his lips across her wet cheek. "I will always want you with me, so stop talking nonsense." He pulled away enough to meet her gaze. "Although you haven't told me much about your parents, I realize that you thought your father dead since you consider yourself an orphan." He wrapped his arms around her. "My darling, Lydia. It's not your fault that Jakeson is your father, and I'll have words with anyone who looks to you for blame. But you can believe me, I love you, and I will protect you no matter what."

Happiness rushed over her, making her sob against his chest. She clutched to his shirt, never wanting to let this wonderful man go. "Oh, Nicholas..." She cried harder.

He kissed the top of her head. "Now that we know Jack is the man we are after, I will move Heaven and Earth to find him and lock him in jail. I hope he hangs for his crimes – all his crimes."

Nodding, she tried to control her tears of joy as love blossomed in her chest. She tilted back her head and looked into his eyes. "Nicholas Drake, you are one in a million. I've never known a man like you. Thank you for returning my love."

His eyes widened. "You love me, too?"

She hiccupped a laugh. "Yes, I do. I love you so very much that I was willing to leave you as so not to burden—"

His kiss stopped her from saying any more. She slid her arms around his waist, meeting his wild kiss with an urgency she had never felt before. From on, there would be no further talk of leaving. Instead, she would work beside him to help capture the man who wasn't worthy to carry the title of her father.

* * * *

Nick had never been happier in his life. Yet, all he did today was cuddle with Lydia on the couch next to the fireplace in the front room as they talked about their childhood. He now had more reasons to hate Jack Swanson. Putting that man behind bars wouldn't be good enough, in Nick's opinion. But it would be up to the judge to decide the man's fate.

He enjoyed holding Lydia like this, and he especially liked the way her touch heated him up. It seemed she couldn't stop rubbing his chest. It was pleasurable agony, but he loved it. Hopefully, she enjoyed how he stroked her arms and caressed her face and neck just as much.

Married life with this woman would be amazing. He would love it so much he wouldn't want to leave her side. Being a Pinkerton agent would take him away for several weeks at a time. Unless he brought her along. He was sure his supervisor wouldn't mind Nick training her to be an agent, too. He'd heard of man and wife teams, so why not him and Lydia?

They hadn't spoken for a few minutes, but he was content with their closeness as they stared into the fire. Although he didn't know what else to talk about, for some reason, he still felt very comfortable with her.

Closing his eyes, he rubbed his cheek against her hair. Earlier, he had taken off her bandages and rewashed her hair. Thankfully, there was no new blood, and now that her hair was drying, it felt so silky against his face.

He kissed her forehead and slowly trailed his lips down the side of her face. As he neared her mouth, she turned enough to touch her lips to his. The kiss was so very tender and sweet. Finally, he was able to kiss her without her shedding tears. The emotion inside him expanded in his chest, and he loved her that much more if it was possible.

She lifted her hand to his neck and slid it around to caress his hair. There was no urgency in kissing her this time, yet going slowly was just as powerful. He wished they were already married so he wouldn't feel guilty about scooping her up in his arms and carrying her into the bedroom. Yet, he had too much respect for her to do anything to ruin their wedding night just because she kissed with so much passion right now that he couldn't think of anything else.

Tilting his head, he deepened the kiss. She hitched a breath, but it was soon followed by the sweetest moan he'd never heard. He kept her in his arms and laid her back on the coach to make their position a little more comfortable – and a lot more intimate. But kissing her this way only made him realize that they needed to get married tomorrow, if possible. The wait would kill him.

He raised his head slightly to gaze into her beautiful face. Lydia's eyes fluttered open, and a smile graced her lips that had been swollen from his ardent kisses.

"Lydia? Will you marry me?"

Her face brightened, and she smiled. "In a heartbeat."

He chuckled lightly from her quick answer. "Wonderful. If I can find a preacher by tomorrow, do you think that's too soon?"

Lydia's grin widened. "As long as we can get Racheal here before then, I think tomorrow will be plenty of time."

He drew his fingers along the side of her face and down to brush against her very tempting lips. "I love you so much. It'll be difficult to wait until tomorrow."

"Yes, it will." Her gray eyes twinkled. "But if I can do, surely you can too."

"We'll have to help each other, you know."

"I shall try, my love."

His heart melted, just as it had been doing since he kissed her when he was still at the hotel. "We'll invite the whole town to our wedding."

She shook her head. "Only family and a few close friends."

"Are you certain? Most women want large weddings."

"Not this woman. All I want is you."

He groaned and kissed her again. How had he been so fortunate to find such a loving and kind woman like Lydia? He would vow to show her every day for the rest of their lives how much she means to him.

Beneath his chest, he felt the erratic rhythm of her heartbeat. And hearing her pleasurable sighs nearly drove him insane with wanting her that much more. Nothing else mattered at this moment. It was just the two of them, and he would make this day almost as perfect as their wedding night would be.

Yet, the distant sound of footsteps on the floor warned Nick that they weren't alone. Then came the clicking of a pistol. His heart sank. He didn't need to look up to see who had walked into the cabin without Nick hearing him. Now he prayed that he would keep his promise to Lydia by protecting her from the man they hated the most.