“Thank you, Mr. Robertson,” she said as he straightened and dusted his hands together.
“Deputy,” he replied, turning so she could see the tin star pinned to his coat. He didn’t know what he hoped to gain from giving her that information, but some part of him was dying to show her that he was a legitimate sort of man.
“Yes,” she said, surprise lacing her voice, even though it was clear she was trying hard to suppress it. Those pretty blue eyes moved from his chest back to his face. “I’d heard Sheriff Granger had hired on a deputy. I didn’t realize it was you.”
Cole grinned at her. “He was impressed with the way I rescued a certain young lady from a thief.”
“You didn’trescueme.” She lifted her chin in an indignant manner. “You prevented that man from running away with my reticule, that’s all.”
“That’s all?” Cole raised his eyebrows. “It must take a lot to impress you, Miss Scott.”
“Are you trying to impress me?” She tilted her head, eyeing him as if she couldn’t figure him out.
“Do you want me to?” he countered.
When she said nothing, he held out a hand. “Can I offer you lunch, at least?”
“Absolutely not.” She flipped around, stalked to the front door, opened it, and stood there waiting for him to exit. “Thank you for assisting me and good day, Deputy Robertson.”
He followed as slowly as possible. And when he reached the door, he paused in front of her. He leaned forward—just a little too close—and waited a beat. When Miss Scott drew in a confused breath, he gave her a lazy smile, tugged at his hat, and said, “Good day, Miss Scott.”
The door shut hard behind him, and Cole’s smile grew wider.
There was something about Miss Scott that made him want to toss out his resolution to avoid women altogether. She was different than any other lady he’d ever met—fascinating, assured, and determined not to like him at all.
And he wanted to take her to dinner more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life.
Chapter Five
Marian smiled as shewaved at little Bonnie Denton’s mother. With no other children or parents waiting outside the school, she took Bonnie’s hand and led her inside to join the others.
There weren’t many, not yet. Both the mayor and Marian’s own mother had mentioned that it might take time for the families in town to start sending their children. But once those attending began talking about it with others, more children would arrive to attend daily.
Marian found a seat for Bonnie next to Rachel Bell and Beth Ashworthy, who were around the same age. The girls smiled shyly at each other as Marian silently counted the number of children present. Eight was a good number to begin with, she thought as she crossed to the front of the room where a table from the old hat shop served as her desk.
“Good morning, children.” She gave them a bright smile. “I’m Miss Scott, your teacher. Can you all stand and say, ‘Good morning, Miss Scott?’”
