Remembered the way shame had burned through her, the way she'd wanted to disappear. "Is she sorry?" she asked. "She will be once I tell her what you did." "It wasn't much, but it was something." Garrett hadn't dismounted.
He sat on his horse staring at Holden with an expression Evelyn couldn't read. Finally, he said, "I came here looking to blame you for my problems. Wanted to make you the enemy because that was easier than admitting I'd failed." "And now?" Holden asked.
"Now I'm wondering why you didn't let me drown in my own stupidity." "Because we're not you." It was harsh, but it was honest, and Garrett took it like a man who knew he deserved worse. He nodded once, then turned his horse and rode away without another word. Morrison put his hat back on.
"We're having a town meeting tomorrow night to figure out how to maintain the channels, how to make sure this doesn't happen again. We'd we'd like you to be there. All of you." He looked at Evelyn. "All of you."
"We'll think about it," Holden said. "That's all I'm asking." The men mounted up and rode off, leaving the brothers and Evelyn standing in the yard watching them disappear into the distance. When they were gone, Levi let out a breath he'd been holding. "That went better than I expected."
"You expected violence?" Evelyn asked. "I always expect violence. Keeps me from being disappointed." Jonah laughed, a short sharp sound that held more relief than humor.
"They actually thanked us." "Some of them did," Cain corrected. "Garrett's still an ass." "Yeah, but he's an ass who knows he's an ass now. That's progress."
Holden turned to Evelyn. "You okay?" She nodded, not trusting her voice. "You sure? Because that man just apologized for his wife being terrible to you, which is probably the closest thing to justice you're going to get in this town."
"I know." "And?" Evelyn looked at him, at all of them, standing there in the cold with the wind biting at their faces and dirt under their fingernails. They'd risked everything for people who hated them. Had done the right thing even when the right thing was hard and dangerous and thankless.
"And I think you're the best people I've ever met," she said quietly. Caleb grinned. "Damn right we are." "Don't let it go to your head," Cain said. "Too late."