Free Tracie Peterson by Forever Yours-1 Page A

up in the barn.
    As gently as he could, Nicholas pinned her arms to her side and physically carried her to the sofa. Daughtry was crying and yelling incoherently, begging him not to hurt her. Nicholas thought he’d die inside.
    “It’s all right, Daughtry. Honey, don’t do this,” he whispered. Holding her against him with one arm, he began to stroke her face with his other hand. “Daughtry!” He nearly yelled the name, and she immediately settled.
    Raising her blue eyes to meet his dark, almost black ones, Daughtry couldn’t hide the fear she felt. All of her foolishness in running away, marrying, and hiding here with a stranger had suddenly come home to her. Gasping for breath, she strained against his touch, while at the same time she heard his gentle words.
    “Daughtry, those men are outlaws—a part of my past catching up with me. They meant to hurt us. I only did what I had to do in order to protect us. I was only defending myself.”
    Daughtry let the words sink in. Reason drove out the fear, and she began to relax in his hold. “Who—who—” she stammered, “are they?”
    “It’s not important. They’re wanted by the law, and later I’ll take them into the sheriff. I have them tied up in the barn and they can’t hurt you.” He softened his expression and loosened his hold ever so slightly. “But then, you aren’t really worried about them hurting you, are you?”
    Daughtry couldn’t answer him. She felt so foolish for her behavior.
    “Daughtry, have I ever given you reason to fear me?”
    “No,” she managed to whisper.
    “I’m not a bad man, Daughtry. I know there’s things I can’t tell you just yet, but trust me. I understood about your secrets, now I’m asking you to understand about mine.”
    She felt her fears give way to sympathy, then relief. He had only defended himself, she thought. Slumping against him, completely spent, Daughtry clung to his shirt. “I’m sorry,” she said softly.
    Nicholas brushed back her hair with his hand. “It’s all right. I can honestly understand your misgivings.”
    “Why can’t you tell me about your past?” she questioned. “I told you about mine.”
    Nicholas sighed. “It’s a long story, but for now I’m just begging you to trust me and to trust God to work it all out. I love you, Daughtry. Please, don’t doubt me on that.”
    “I don’t,” she replied and sat up. She studied the worry in his eyes. It went beyond concern and seemed like something that bordered fear. Was he afraid she’d stopped loving him?
    “Oh, Nicholas,” she said and kissed his face several times, “I was so afraid you’d be killed. Then when I saw you with that gun and you were so angry—well, I just didn’t know what to think.”
    “I know, Honey, and believe me, I would have saved you from having to go through it if I could have.”
    Daughtry nodded. It was all right, she told herself. Whatever his past consisted of, she no longer cared. She only knew that she loved him and that she would stand by him no matter what.
    Leaning down to put her face on his shoulder, Daughtry spoke. “We’ll just trust God to get us through this,” she pledged.
    “That’s my girl,” Nicholas said and leaned back against the sofa.

Chapter 10
    D ays later, Daughtry had nearly forgotten the unpleasant incident. “Are we really going to get the horse today?” she asked eagerly. Securing her bonnet, she waited for Nicholas’s reply.
    “Yes, for the millionth time,” he said laughing. “I’ve never seen you so excited about anything in our two months of marriage.”
    “Well, there was the time that rat got in the house,” Daughtry said with a grimace. “Or wait, what about the bathtub? I got pretty excited about the bathtub.”
    Nicholas’s eyes twinkled. “Yes, yes, you did. I seem to recall having some very fine apple cake that evening. Wonder if I’ll get another one for buying the horse?”
    “We’ll see,” Daughtry said with a smug look of