Free Heart of Gold (A Gold Rush Romance) by Ali Olson

as quickly as he could, astounded once again at her effect on him.
    The air was cool and refreshing, and he breathed deeply, hoping it would calm his body down a little as he wondered when he would next see this beautiful mystery of a woman. She was far too enchanting for this to be the end.

Chapter Four
    Alice grabbed the doorframe to steady herself. What was it about this man that caused her to lose her ability to be rational? She had no idea how to even begin answering that question, but that didn’t change the facts of the matter. Around him, she melted into a puddle of sensations and desires. When she had finally found herself free of his presence, she had spent several minutes trying to calm down, and now here she was back in the same spot as before.
    He would be back in a very short time, and there was nothing Alice could do to gird herself against him. She thought of one thing that would be a good diversion, and could even be a help to others. There was still someone else in this house, after all, somebody who might need her company. She walked softly up the stairs and through the hallway, carefully avoiding Thomas’s room. When she had accidentally entered it the first time she walked this path, it had been sufficiently unnerving to make her keep her distance.
    She could picture it perfectly, still see his clean white shirt hanging on a hook jutting from the wall, a neatened desk against the far wall, looking out the window, and the bed waiting expectantly in the corner, but mostly she remembered the smell. The smell of him, musk and some piney scent she could not explain, had beckoned to her from the doorway, inviting her in. She had been tempted to lie on the bed and press her face into the pillow, breathing him in. That was not a good avenue for her thoughts to follow at all.
    Thinking about it was enough of a reminder to hurry her steps toward Joe’s door. When she knocked, his thin voice called out for her to enter, and she opened it to find the little boy sitting on his bed where she had left him, his eyes red and raw.
    She felt a lump in her throat. The poor little fellow. “Hello, Joe. I will be leaving in a couple of minutes, but I wanted to see if you needed anything from me before I went. How are you?”
    Joe tilted his head somberly, as if considering what exactly to say. Finally he answered, “I think I’ll be fine. Thank you, Miss Crenshaw.”
    She knew he was being brave for her, but was convinced nonetheless that in time he would be fine. He was an intelligent lad, independent and confident enough to turn those words into truth. She had one last important question to ask before she left, though, to ensure that she had completed the task she’d gone there to accomplish in the first place. “Are you going to be nicer to your uncle now? You know he is only trying to help.”
    His eyes flashed with anger for just a moment before he hung his head. “Yes’m. I’ll try.”
    It wasn’t perfect, but promising. It would take time and effort, but he seemed to be on the path to mending his heart. Alice nodded and gave him her most encouraging smile. “I will see you tomorrow, Joe. Speak to me if you need anything.”
    As she turned to leave, Joe piped up quickly, “Miss Crenshaw?”
    She turned back to him. “Yes, Joe?”
    “If you marry Uncle Thomas, that’d be all right. It would be nice to have a girl around.”
    Alice froze and stared at the little boy. Did he see them kiss, hear them talking downstairs—both of which were mortifying in their own right—or was it so obvious that she liked Thomas that a nine-year-old was able to figure it out?
    She wanted to dash away as fast as she could and disappear into a hole. But she needed to hold her ground and say something to her student, something that might repair this mortifying turn of events. After a moment she spluttered, “Thank you, Joe. That is not going to happen, but thank you for thinking so much of me.”
    Probably not the best way to