Ghost of Christmas Past

Nine

Nine

 

Davy reached across the table and squeezed Lilly’s hands. “Everything will be fine, Lilly. Foster has no idea I’m here. If anything he probably believes I’m dead.”

“Everything is not fine, Davy. Yesterday you almost did die.” She swallowed shakily, voice quavering. “There was so much blood, and you were so pale. I-I thought you were on death’s doorstep.” Tears shone in her beautiful eyes, and she choked back a sob.

The anguish in her eyes broke his heart. “Lilly…”

A strangled sob wrenched from her throat. She jerked her hand from his and shoved away from the table. Clasping a hand over her mouth, she fledf the dining room. Every eye in the room followed her and then turned to glare at him.

Ignoring the judgmental glares, Davy rose as quickly as his injuries allowed, and followed her from the room. “Lilly! Lilly, wait, please.”

She stood by the wooden staircase in the hotel foyer, her head bent as a lone tear slid silently down her cheeks. Fortunately the entrance hall was empty, even the desk clerk was gone. Uncertain what more to say or do, Davy slowed, allowing himself to simply take in the sight of her. His heart ached. He hadn’t stopped to do that enough lately. Strawberry blonde hair fell over her shoulder in a simple, yet elegant braid, and a few wavy tendrils fell loose and kissed the milky smooth curve of her face. She was beautiful. He loved her. And it gutted him to see her so defeated. The usually confident set of her slender shoulders slumped, and even if it meant a fight he wanted nothing more than to see fire flashing in her eyes again.

“Lilly,” he repeated softly, reaching for her with his left arm. “We are going to get Foster and Jack.”

She tugged away and faced him with bleak eyes. “You lecture me constantly about the need to be careful, Davy, to think of more than myself, but what about you? Do you ever consider what I would do without you?”

He released a heavy sigh, surprised by the turn of the conversation though he shouldn’t have been.

“You are a brave man, Davy. You are a great lawman and you were a great soldier. You’ve never been afraid of death or cared what happened to you. You believed you had nothing to loose, but that is different now. You have me and we’re having a baby. I…” She slid a hand along the rise of her belly. “We need you to worry about yourself.”

Humbled and moved by her words, Davy slid his left palm across her cheek. “I told you last night, Lilly, I can’t change the past, but I can try to find balance moving forward. You are much better at having faith than I am. It’s Christmas, love, have a little faith in me.”

Locking eyes with his she searched his face for a long moment. Finally she nodded, and reached up to curl her fingers around his palm. “I’m trying,” she whispered. “I was just so looking forward to a few quiet days with you and now we learned that Foster is in Big Springs.”

“He won’t try anything in town,” Davy quickly assured. “And he doesn’t even know we’re here.”

Lilly nibbled nervously at her lower lip. It was adorable, and he knew an overpowering urge to kiss her again. “I hope you’re right.”

“Let’s go pay for breakfast and see if we can find a telegraph operator to send an emergency wire.”

* * * *

Every hair on the back of Lilly’s neck stood straight on end, and every nerve ending in her body tingled with a heightened sense of awareness as she followed Davy from the hotel.