'I don't thinkt' She wouldn't let him finish. 'Either help me or stay
out of my way.
Understood? ' Daniel was astonished by her burst of anger. This was
the second time he'd seen her lose her composure. Lady Winthrop, he
decided, definitely had a dark side. The discovery made him smile.
Between the two of them, they were able to get most of the medicine
down him. She then pulled a chair up next to Cooper's side and began
to apply cold compresses to his forehead.
'Your fever was just as high as his, ' she remarked.
'Maybe, but I didn't have a bullet hole in my side, and I wasn't
riddled with infection. The doctor says that's what's going to kill
him.'
'When did you become such a pessimist? ' she asked.
'When my wife and daughter were gunned down in a bank.' The horrifying
admission stunned her. She dropped the compress she was holding and
watched Daniel restlessly pace in front of the window. She didn't know
what to say to him, and all she could think about was not crying in
front of him because she knew her reaction would make him angry.
Neither one of them spoke again for almost an hour. Then Grace finally
broke the silence. 'Do you blame yourself? ' 'Yes.'
'Why? ' 'I wasn't there to protect them, ' he whispered. 'That's
why.'
'I see.
' 'Aren't you going to argue? ' She picked up the soaked cloth from
the basin, wrung the excess water out, and gently placed it on Cooper's
forehead.
'What would you like me to say, Daniel? You've already made up your
mind and condemned yourself because you couldn't stop it from
happening.
Isn't that right? ' 'I wasn't even in town when they died.'
'Were you working? ' 'Yes.'
'But if you had been in town, then you would have gone to the bank for
your wife? Would you have done that? ' 'I don't know. I don't want
to talk about it.' He sprawled out in the chair on the opposite side
of the bed. 'I should have been there, and I wasn't. It's as simple
