Dylan's spine. This memory wasn't one of the happy ones. "Think of the van Gogh painting 'Scream.' It was like watching someone turn from a human being into a silent wail of despair."
Honor winced.
The memory of Bram's pain hurt Dylan too. "That's what loving someone can leave a man with. I'm not going to risk it, not even with Kitty, thank you very much."
Honor gazed up at him. He had to look away; there was something in her eyes that unnerved him sometimes, something that her father claimed wasn't there before her kidnapping.
He gestured defensively toward Bram. "That's what could happen, I tell you."
Something flashed in her eyes. She cast one more swift glance across the street, then looked back at Dylan. "That man's a malingering jerk."
Stunned, Dylan stared at her. "Honor - "
"Life's too short for all that drama," she said briskly. "So you could be left alone like him. But you're alone now, aren't you? You've been alone the last eight years." Her hand touched his arm. "How's that been for you?"
Detached. Impersonal. Lonely. But he smothered the thoughts and shook off her hand, stalking away from her.
Except he didn't stalk away from the long line leading to the courthouse. Instead, he found himself striding toward it. Running toward it.
There must have been a hundred people in line, all waiting to see retired Judge Tierney, who was scheduled to perform the ceremonies from 10 A.M. to 10 P.M. People stood two abreast, sometimes four, giggling teenagers, smiling adults. Starting from the back, Dylan methodically searched for Kitty. Thinking he'd found her, he grabbed the lace-edged sleeve of someone's dress, only to find himself facing a gay "bride" in satin drag. The old judge was in for one hell of a shock.
Moving quickly, Dylan continued to follow the snaking line as it turned off Main and into
Hangman Way
, the dead-end street leading to the city hall. At the bottom of the building's steps, a flower-trimmed gazebo had been erected. Beside it sat a table with cash register and cashier, and even from here he could see the MasterCard and Visa logos. Inside the structure, in deference to his age and to the long hours he'd spend officiating that day, Judge Tierney sat on a massive chair. An ancient leather-covered Bible rested atop his knees.
Dylan slowed. Eight years ago that leather had been smooth and cool beneath his palm. He'd been grinning down at Kitty as he repeated the marriage vows, bemused by the whole idea of one last hometown adventure before he left Hot Water for good.
She'd been grinning too. Drunkenly, he'd realized later, but had he known then, it wouldn't have changed a thing. He would still have wanted to marry her, because on that last night, when he'd been hiding in the darkness and licking his wounds, she'd found him, talked to him, allowed him to brood when everyone else had expected him to celebrate. The summer had been a success after all, they'd told him. Three lives saved. Only one lost.
The line shuffled forward, and up ahead, he caught sight of a waving feather stuck in a one-pin topknot. His pulse surged.
The truth was, eight years ago he'd married her because he hadn't wanted to leave. And since that time, his "marriage" to Kitty had remained his connection to home. His own secret, private link.
She'd been the piece of his heart he'd left behind.
CHAPTER TWENTY
A hot wind was picking up and Kitty took a long drink from her chilled bottle of water, sold by a member of the large Kemper family who walked along the marriage line with an ice-filled cart. Overhead, a loud slap caught her attention and she grimaced. One of the banners strung above the street had torn loose from a bottom mooring.
It flapped again, the left corner kicking up to partly obscure DYLAN MATTHEWS KEEPS OUR STREETS SAFE! Unwilling to lose her place in line, she looked around for someone she could ask to fix it.
Instead, she caught sight of Dylan stalking toward her, murderous intent in his eyes.
Without thinking, she backed away, but then the couple behind her started to swallow up her spot in line. She leaped into place again and squared her shoulders. He wasn't going to scare her off. This was what he wanted, wasn't it? What she wanted too.
She faced forward and pretended she didn't know he was nearing. It didn't work very well, because even before she heard his icy voice, telltale goose bumps were chasing