Free Dorothy Clark by Falling for the Teacher

his frustration, he’d ruin the work. And it was likely he would never know the answer to the questions that haunted him anyway. It was sure Payne would never return to this area. His older brother was too smart to do that...or maybe he was only clever and cunning, like their drunken brute of a father.
    He finished the vee, picked up his rasp and smoothed the work he’d done, then ran his hand over the gear to feel for any rough spots. Pounding on the chisel against the hard wood had made his bruised hand swell again. His fingers wouldn’t fit into the bottom of the vee. He made a couple more passes over them with the rasp for good measure, then loosed the wedge and took the gear out of the vise. It was ready, unless the square center hole needed more work.
    A quick comparison to the squared-off ends of the thick, round piece of walnut on the bench showed the fit was perfect, tight enough so that when he drove the gear onto the shaft there would be no slippage. He laid the shaft and gear back on the workbench and brushed his hands together to rid them of the clinging wood dust. Tomorrow he would drive the wagon into Pinewood and see if Nate had the wheels made. He needed them before he could do more on the chair.
    The tension across his shoulders eased; excitement tugged his mouth into a smile. If this experiment worked... He quashed the thought, sat on the edge of the deck, removed his boots and socks and dangled his feet in the icy water. Shiver bumps prickled the flesh on his legs.
    Could Sadie swim? She’d lived by this millpond all her life.
    He frowned, pulled one foot from the water and leaned his back against a post, giving up his effort to keep thoughts of Sadie away. She sure had looked different tonight, all mussed and flustered and embarrassed over being frightened of that bat. And beautiful. Her cheeks had been flushed by the heat, that awful paleness that washed over her whenever he came near gone. If only she would really look at him—meet his gaze. Of course, it was probably best that she didn’t. He could get lost in her brown eyes....
    He scowled, leaned down and scooped up a handful of water and splashed it over his face and neck. He’d best keep his thoughts on business. He’d no right to be thinking wishful thoughts about Sadie Spencer.
    * * *
    The letters ran together and the words blurred. Sadie shook her head, laid the book on her bedside table and rubbed her eyes. It was useless to try and read to stay awake.
    She slipped out of bed and crossed to the washstand, lifted her long, thick braid of hair off her neck and coiled it on top of her head. If only there were a cooling breeze. Or a hard rain. That would break the heat.
    Her mind leaped back to that day in the stable with the rain drumming on the roof and the lightning flashing outside the window. She’d been cold and shivering then. Of course, she’d also been facing Cole alone in that dark building, with no one to come to rescue her if she’d screamed. She’d been terrified. And then he’d left her the umbrella and his rain jacket and gone out into the storm. She had been there all alone and defenseless, and he had walked away.
    I am not my brother, Miss Spencer. You’ve nothing to fear from me.
    The words Cole had spoken her first day home flowed into her head, stilling her hands. She could hear his voice as clearly as if he were in the room. She shook her head and reached for her hairpins. She’d be a fool to trust his words. Still, she’d been alone, and he’d walked away. And then again, on the porch...
    She held that thought close for a moment, then jammed pins into her hair to hold the coiled braid in place, dipped a cloth into the pitcher of water and wiped her face and neck. The water was warm. So were the floorboards beneath her bare feet.
    Even a small breeze would give some relief. She started toward the window, spotted bats darting and swooping through the moonlight outside and changed her mind at the thought of one of