Free Hell's Belle by Shannah Biondine

"Close.
Twila," she corrected.
    He offered his
hand, and she slid her smaller palm atop his. "Honored to make your
acquaintance, ma'am." Del suddenly wanted her to keep smiling like that,
to keep looking like there was something to like, a reason to be happy in this
remote township. So he made it easy for everyone.
    "And now that
we've officially become acquainted, I hope you'll count me among your friends
in Wadsworth. Next time you find yourself down here by my spread, maybe you'll
stay to supper and let me drive you home. Ah, here's Henry, with your
chariot."
    He started to drop
her hand, but her fingers closed around his and he felt a mild tug. He dropped
his gaze from Henry seated in the buggy back to her face. "Thank
you," she whispered.
    Seconds later she'd
climbed aboard and Del watched them ride off.
    Wasn't that just
like a damned woman?
    He'd gone out of
his way to make everything smooth and easy. To give them both an out, to stage
a harmless little play…with roles so easy, anybody could fall right in and know
the lines to say. She was supposed to change her mind about staying for supper.
She was supposed to accept his earlier invitation and then let him drive
her home.
    Any other gal,
Betty Lee or one of the town fillies, would have picked up the cue and gone
along. But this one had to go and blow the whole deal to smithereens with two
words.
    She hadn't been
thanking him for the use of his wrangler or his buggy or the supper invitation.
Or learning her first name, or any of that.
    She'd thanked him
for caring enough to see the real woman behind the rotten talk.
    And that was not
playing fair at all. That was just plain lethal. Dammit!
    His gut was in such
a knot, he doubted he'd even be eating any supper now. Cause in Del's
experience, once a man began to see the real woman, he also began to see the
real possibilities. He'd glimpsed a couple, just for a second…but a second had
been enough.
    And a whole lot
more disturbing than any crazy talk of hexes and spells. Del figured an evil
spell wouldn't work on someone who didn't believe in it. Now powerful animal
attraction? That was another story. One that probably couldn't have a happy
ending.

CHAPTER 6
     
    Twila kept silent
for most of the drive back to the emporium. She'd assumed it would be easy
enough to hail Henry and speak to him privately. Indeed, he'd spotted her
immediately and gone out to meet her. But she'd attracted all the men's
attention, and the notice of Del Mitchell. Absolutely not what she'd intended. Poor
Henry had looked so guilty and miserable, she couldn't bring herself to admit
the real reason she'd suddenly appeared at the ranch.
    So she got an
update on any news he had about the Vogels, then admired the scenery. Just as
any normal girl would do during a buggy ride. She said nothing about her
distress over the visit from the local minister or the real reason she'd gone
out to the ranch.
    After Henry left
her on the front porch and wheeled away in the buggy, she unlocked the emporium
back door, chastising herself for letting her imagination get the best of her
earlier that day. She now knew the pounding out front had been Delancy
Mitchell, wanting to discuss the cost of repairs. She locked the door behind
her and headed upstairs, quickly washing up the remains of the squash bread and
tea she'd offered Reverend Phillips.
    Maybe she'd
misconstrued the whole nature of their discussion also. She'd already seen for
herself that people here seemed clannish and superstitious. Maybe the reverend
took his role a little too seriously, worked too hard at trying to sway folks
the other way.
    And then too, she
reminded herself, she wasn't used to being alone with men. Fletcher and Lucius
rarely let her go anywhere, see anyone, without constantly hovering nearby and
watching everything she did or said. She knew nothing of how to behave without
one or both of them as chaperones. Witness that uncomfortable moment today, on
the porch outside Mitchell's