“You can try again another day,” Hale replied.
Izzy laughed. “Ican try again. I suppose that means you didn’t take to fishing?”
“Well . . .” Hale trailed off but there was no mistaking the expression of utter boredom that crossed his face.
“It’s quite all right. The look you made when I baited the hook was entertainment enough for me.” Izzy slung the rod over her shoulder, and without thinking about it, slipped her hand into Hale’s. She froze the second she realized what she’d done.
He stiffened, and she knew she’d caught him by surprise. She’d caughtherselfby surprise. What was she doing? Why would she be so bold? She’d never so much as had a beau before, and now here she was, grasping Hale’s hand instead of letting him—
The runaway train in her head screeched to a halt as his fingers threaded through hers. He didn’t look at her, and perhaps that was for the best. Izzy might have fainted from sheer embarrassment if he had.
They walked down the bank in silence for a bit, and slowly, Izzy began to feel more comfortable with her hand in his. It was nice, actually. Comforting. It brought back memories of her parents walking hand in hand across their land when she was small. And now she was grown, and she was the one walking hand in hand with her husband.
Life certainly took strange turns. And Izzy found herself wondering what her mother would have thought of Hale. She hoped Mama would have seen him as she did—strong, intelligent, kind, and handsome. Every time his fingers flexed against hers, her heart sped up.
Don’t lose your head, Izzy Sutcliffe, she scolded herself. She’d married for a reason. And if all she did was moon about how nice Hale was to look at and how much she enjoyed talking with him, she’d never be able to accomplish what she’d come here for.
Money.
The question that had plagued her in those moments she wasn’t busy learning how the boardinghouse ran and letting her mind wander dreamy paths with Hale, was how she’d get what she needed to hire another lawyer.
Stealing it was out of the question. Hale and Tansy were too kind, and Izzy was no thief. It was bad enough that Papa and her brothers—and her, if the law ever figured out who and where she was—were now branded as such. In her heart, Izzy knew it wasn’t true. Papa was doing people a kindness.
The only other option for her was to simply ask him for the funds. And that meant either telling the truth about why she needed money or concocting some story. Every time she began to think of a story, the guilt became too much.
Izzy had no real plan, not yet. But she still needed to keep her wits about her. She needed to—
A yelp fell from her lips as her foot went out sideways. It slipped across a patch of mud, and the other one quickly followed.
“Isabella!” Hale shouted her name as he reached out to grab her other hand. The fishing rod fell from her grasp as she grabbed hold of his hand, but it was too late. She was already falling—and Hale was coming with her.
The water was unexpectedly cold when she landed. It soaked through her dress, drawing goose pimples from head to toe. But Izzy barely noticed as Hale landed beside her, sending up a splash that entirely drenched the both of them.
“Are you hurt?” he asked as soon as he sat up.
Izzy shook her head, the water sloshing back and forth around her ears. The creek was even more shallow at this spot, which was a blessing. But it was also more muddy, Izzy realized as she pressed her hands into the slimy creek bed to sit up. “Are you?” she asked Hale.
“I’m fine.” He stood and rubbed water and dirt from his face. His clothing dripped, and streaks of mud ran from head to toe down his back. He uselessly wiped his hands against his trousers before reaching out to help her up.
Izzy took his hands—and immediately slipped from his grasp before falling backward with a splash. She sat there for half a second in shock. Hale still stood over her, looking more like a boy playing with his friends than a man who ran a boardinghouse. Izzy could only imagine what she looked like. The entire situation was so ridiculous that she started to laugh.
Hale’s lips twitched upward, and soon he was laughing too.
“Let’s try this again,” he said when they both finally caught their breath.
Izzy gripped his hands, and this time, she made it to standing. “At least the weather is warm,” she said. “Or else we’d be shivering.”
Hale reached down to scoop up the fishing rod that, thankfully, had caught against a large stone. “We’ll make quite the spectacle coming into town.”
Izzy grinned and took the arm he offered. Water dripped down her neck, and it felt as if she were wearing weights for skirts. Yet somehow, she was happier than she’d been in a long time. “This is the most fun I’ve had in months.”
Hale raised his eyebrows as they threaded their way through the trees that lined Silver Creek. “I admit that’s the last thing I thought you’d say.”
Izzy didn’t know how to respond. She knew, deep down, that she was unlike other women. What if Hale was starting to figure out that he didn’t want someone like her? After all, he came from a city and was probably used to ladies who wore impeccable dresses and disliked dirt and—
“It’s the most fun I’ve had in some time too,” he said, interrupting her thoughts.
She looked up at him to find he was giving her that disarming smile again, and all the fearful thoughts she’d had flew away.
