Free The Cactus Creek Challenge by Erica Vetsch Page B

veins.
    Knowing she’d do something stupid like rise up on tiptoe and brush his lips with hers if she didn’t put some distance between them, she planted both palms on his chest and shoved him back. The curtain rod clattered to the floor, and he stumbled, ramming his hip into the corner of the desk and letting out a yelp. Cassie scooted away from the window, trying to calm her pulse.
    “What’d you do that for?” He rubbed his hip, his brow scrunched.
    “I don’t like to be crowded.” It sounded lame, even to her ears.
    Ben shook his head as if she had rocks for brains. Which she very well might, if she couldn’t get a better grip on her behavior than this.
    “Regardless, the curtains can’t stay.” He held up his hands. “Now, before you sock me or something, just listen. You can’t keep the curtains because they interfere with closing the shutters.”
    “I don’t care. The shutters are ugly. I don’t even know why you have them, especially on the inside of the building. If you want shutters, hang them outside like a normal person.”
    His patronizing laugh grated on her like a squeaky slate pencil. “You really have no idea, do you? The shutters are on the inside for protection. If someone tried to break into the jail, we can close them up. If they were outside, they wouldn’t do us any good during an assault. We’d get shot up if we had to run out and close up the shutters. And if you’ve got frilly curtains and fancy brass rods in the way, we could get shot before we could rip them down and close things up.”
    Understanding dawned, and she hung her head. Another stupid mistake. She picked up the fallen curtain rod and laid it on the desk.
    He walked over to the cells and peered through the bars. “New straw ticks? New blankets? What’s next, feather pillows? Cushions for the chairs? You’re going to have this place so swanky, folks’ll be breaking the law so they can spend a night in here.” The teasing lilt had returned to his voice, flicking her oversensitive feelings.
    “You’re not funny. You do know that, don’t you?” Cassie slid the desk chair deeper into the kneehole to hide the cushion she’d sewn.
    Seeking to change the subject and put him on the defensive for a change, she asked, “How did it go at school?”
    He flipped his hat expertly onto the rack on the wall. “No trouble at all, unless you count a bird hidden in the desk drawer, a primer class that won’t say a word, a schedule not even Clara Barton could organize and complete, and two holy terrors that look like little angels and lie like serpents.”
    “Oh my, a bird?” Her heart lifted. She didn’t even try to quell her laughter, remembering well her own shock when the twins had pulled that stunt on her.
    “Flew up and scared me rigid. I had to chase that dumb bird a couple of miles around the room. Kids were screaming, books and pencils flying everywhere. I was a one-man stampede. Finally got it shooed out the window, after which I wanted to take a nap.”
    “I guess I should’ve warned you. The twins can be … creative … when it comes to pranks.”
    “I gathered that. I only stood them in the corner for a while, but I have to admit, cuffing them to their desks started looking like a good idea, especially after they put a tack on Mary Alice’s chair, tied Pierce’s shoelaces together, and dropped the water dipper down the privy. I did
not
retrieve it. They’re going to bring money from home to get a new one tomorrow.”
    Her laughter filled the room until she had to wipe tears from her eyes. “All on the first day? They weren’t pulling their punches, were they? Maybe teaching school isn’t as easy as you thought.” She couldn’t resist giving him a saucy grin.
    “It would be easier if I wasn’t bogged down trying to stuff so much useless information into their heads. I can’t believe you make them learn such a load of … nonsense. No wonder the twins are up to mischief every day. They’re bored