Authors: The Courting Campaign
Regina Scott (24 page)
Sarah’s eyes narrowed on his face as if she didn’t recognize
him. She’d finally stopped shaking, and some color had returned to her
cheeks.
“Miss Hansen!” a male voice called out, somewhere outside the
periphery of this small enclosed area.
She glanced warily over Oscar’s shoulder and shuddered.
“Sounds like they’re looking for you. Think you can get up
now?”
She didn’t answer verbally, just struggled to stand. He kept a
hand under her elbow to assist, but she pulled away as quickly as she’d gained
her feet. “Just keep that beast away from me,” she demanded softly, brushing at
the dirt and debris from her skirt.
She swung around and bolted out of the alley, not waiting for
him to check on or untie the mare. So much for catching up with an old
friend.
* * *
Still shaken, Sarah walked slightly ahead of the men as
they traversed the rutted dirt road that was the town’s main thoroughfare. She
kept one eye on Oscar White’s horses at all times, but they appeared docile
enough as he led them with loose reins.
Appearances could be deceiving. She needed to remember that,
especially with the jolt of attraction that had surprised her upon seeing the
horseman again after so many years. He might be handsome, and he might’ve
shocked her with his kindness toward an abused animal, but he was still an
irresponsible cowboy at heart.
She’d returned to the train yard and retrieved her schoolbooks,
a little worse for wear after she’d dropped them in her haste to get away from
the horse. Now she clutched them to her midsection, willing the men to hurry
along so she could get in Mr. Allen’s wagon and head for home.
“You’ll want to steer clear of the schoolmarm,” Mr. Piet, the
local carpenter, said quietly, but not so quietly that Sarah couldn’t hear him.
She pretended to glance into one of the storefront windows, catching a glimpse
of Oscar leaning close to him, listening earnestly.
“Everyone in town knows it, but she’s on the hunt for a
husband. Wouldn’t do for you to get caught just because no one warned ya.”
Sarah’s face flamed. She kept her gaze on the street in front
of her, unwilling to see laughter in the horseman’s face. It was true she wanted
to get married—wanted it more than anything—but she had
some
standards. Not a foolish man like her father, for one.
She wanted a caring, unassuming man for a husband. Possibly one
who operated a business. Businessmen were safe, reliable. They didn’t chase
every whim and endanger themselves.
They wouldn’t leave a family without its provider just for the
sake of a thrill.
Cursing her fair skin, which she knew had turned the shade of a
ripe tomato, she kept her face averted and waited for this torturous walk to
end. There was Mr. Allen’s wagon, parked near the end of the street. She’d have
to bear the horseman’s company on the way to Mr. Allen’s spread outside town,
but then she could escape to the room she shared with Mr. Allen’s daughter.
“She’s pretty enough,” Mr. Piet went on, “but she’s got some
unusual notions about husbands and she’s right bossy.”
Now she was sure she heard Oscar cover a chuckle with a cough.
“And a little long in the tooth,” the horseman said under his breath.
She didn’t care if it was rude. She refused to listen to the
men poke fun at her. She hurried toward the wagon, leaving the men behind to
their chuckles.
She didn’t acknowledge the tears burning behind her eyes. She
wouldn’t let Oscar White know his jibes could still hurt her. She wasn’t fifteen
anymore, but a grown woman capable of keeping order in a classroom and providing
for herself.
But that didn’t mean she couldn’t have someone, a husband, to
take care of her. She just had to find him.
ISBN: 9781460317341
THE COURTING CAMPAIGN
Copyright © 2013 by Regina Lundgren
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