Strong hands pulled Claire out of the path of the trotting horse, and she knew she deserved the cart driver’s ear-blistering curses. Her face burned at yet another failure to give the people at Fort Daniels the impression of being a smart, competent person. She turned to see her savior was Patrick O’Connell.
“You need to watch where you’re going, lass. Everyone’s in a hurry these days pretending to make progress in this war without an end.”
“Thank you for rescuing me,” she said and looked up at Patrick. “You moved quickly. Weren’t you just standing over there?”
“I’m faster than I look, and Chad would never forgive me if I let something happen to you.” He led her to a bench in the shade, and she rubbed her temples to stop her head from spinning at the sensation of the past trying to suck
