Heart of Gold - By Tami Hoag Page 0,65

That sounded like a good place for ghost hunting. Faith could only wonder what else Bryan had found there to catch his fancy.

“I can’t open it,” she said, frowning at her bandaged arm. “I don’t have enough hands.”

Alaina dispensed with the small box’s wrapping and opened the square jeweler’s case inside. Faith gave a little gasp. Nestled on a bed of frayed green satin was a man’s ring. Hesitantly she lifted it out. It was obviously very old. The gold had mellowed in color with time and wear. Inside the band was an inscription in what Faith presumed to be Gaelic. But the most remarkable feature of the ring was the crest it bore—two intricately intertwined hearts. They were so worn, parts of them were nearly gone, but there was no mistaking what they were.

They were identical to the pendant that seemed suddenly warm against her skin.

The note inside the box read:

Dear Faith,

I found this in Kilkenny and thought you should have it. I think you’ll want it when you find the end of your rainbow. I envy the man you give this to. He’ll be getting a heart more pure and bright than anything made of gold.

All my love to you and the rest of the Fearsome Foursome,

Bryan

“It’s lovely,” Alaina said softly. “But why would he send you a man’s ring?”

Faith didn’t answer. She merely stared at the ring, then closed it in her hand when a knock sounded at her bedroom door.

“Come in.”

Shane opened the door but came only halfway through it, as if he were uncertain of the reception he would receive. Faith’s gaze met his, and a hundred unspoken questions sang in the air between them.

Alaina glanced from the hard-bitten warrior in the doorway to her friend’s tightly closed fist, and shook her head. “Uncanny,” she muttered, then cleared her throat delicately. “I’ll leave you two alone.”

Shane moved into the room but didn’t so much as glance at Alaina as she left. All his attention was focused on the woman who lay in the canopied bed. She looked so fragile, so vulnerable. Her pale skin almost matched the prim cotton nightgown she wore. Shadows lingered beneath her shining dark eyes. Shane’s heart ached at the thought that she was in that bed because of him.

Faith’s heart was pounding as she took in every aspect of Shane’s appearance, from the tips of his black shoes to his elegantly cut dark trousers, the dress shirt that spanned his broad shoulders and tapered to his trim waist. His handsome, aristocratic face wore a carefully closed expression, but it didn’t quite mask the emotions in his eyes.

What she read in those silvery depths frightened her. Regret. Pain. A tortured anguish that seemed to reach out and clutch at her heart.

She had gotten her wish. Shane had come to see her, but she knew with an ominous sense of foreboding that she didn’t want to hear what he had come to say. Digging down deep, she found she had a little scrap of strength left. She wrapped herself around it and prayed it would get her through whatever was to come.

“Hi, stranger,” she said, a soft smile curving the delicate bow of her mouth. She gripped that bit of courage a little harder when Shane didn’t return her smile with one of his own. Lord, she’d have given anything to see his mouth quirk up on one side in that devastatingly sexy way of his, to have him reach out and caress her cheek with his elegant musician’s hand. But he merely stood, a half step back from the side of her bed, out of reach both physically and emotionally.

“How are you feeling?”

“A little woozy.” But not woozy enough to dull the pain that came from looking into his eyes.

“I won’t stay long. You need to rest,” he murmured, stuffing his hands into his pants pockets. Every inch of him ached to hold her, to feel her soft warmth against him one last time, but he wouldn’t allow himself the pleasure. If he touched her now, he’d never be able to let her go—and that was exactly what he had to do. “Banks spoke with the prosecuting attorney in Washington. He said he could push back the date of your testimony. He can get a continuance—”

“No,” Faith interrupted. “I’ll be fine by then. I don’t want him to delay anything. The sooner it’s over, the better.”

The sooner I’m out of your life, Shane added silently. It was astounding how much that