Free Tessa Dare - [Spindle Cove 03.5] by Beautyand the Blacksmith Page B

themselves out of a future together.
    “Aaron, I know it’s unrealistic to say the differences won’t matter. To say ‘Love conquers all.’ But if you—”
    He shushed her.
    Oh, drat. She’d used the word love. She’d broken the cardinal rule of female subtleties, as her mother described them. She’d spoken That Word aloud, and he wasn’t ready for it.
    And now it truly was over.

 
    C HAPTER 8
    A aron had never been more reluctant to interrupt a lady, but in this instance, he had no choice.
    He slowed the horses to a walk and explained, “There’s someone in the road ahead. Stay calm, and let me do the talking.”
    To the side of the road, a donkey cart appeared to have lost its wheel. The driver of the cart stood in the center of the lane, wearing a patched coat and waving his hat in a plea for assistance.
    “Does he need help?” Diana whispered.
    “He might be looking for help.” Or he might be looking for trouble.
    Aaron stopped a fair distance from the cart. He reached under the driver’s box and retrieved the pistol he kept there. He’d loaded the weapon before setting off from Hastings, and now he was glad of it. This man looked honest enough at a glance—but it never hurt to be cautious.
    Patched Coat jammed his hat back on his head and approached their wagon. “Good afternoon, sir. My cartwheel’s gone off its axle, and I can’t repair it on my own. As you can see, the missus is in a delicate state.”
    He nodded toward the cart, and behind it Aaron could make out the shadowy form of a woman great with child.
    “Can I ask for a moment’s assistance, sir? With the two of us, we should have it mended in a trice.”
    Aaron hesitated. There was a canny glint in the man’s eyes and an oily quality in his smile. He didn’t like this.
    But Diana dug her elbow into his ribs. “She’s pregnant. Night will fall before long. We have to help them.”
    That settled matters. Aaron was obligated now. He couldn’t look like a callous, unsympathetic monster in front of the woman who had, just two minutes ago, danced on the verge of professing to love him.
    “I’ll be right there,” he told the man, and he directed the horses as they pulled the wagon aside.
    “You stay here,” he told Diana in a firm, low voice. He put the pistol in her lap and the reins in her hands. “Chances are, I’ll be back in two minutes. But if anything untoward happens, you drive away. If I call to you to drive, you drive away. Do you understand? If there’s trouble, I can handle myself. But I can’t handle myself and protect you and Charlotte.”
    She nodded. “I understand.”
    Aaron jumped down from the wagon, and his boots landed in the mud with a squelch. He rued wearing his finest coat now, having stupidly donned it just to impress Diana. The later the hour, the greater the dangers of highway travel grew. Any appearance of riches could put her at risk.
    “I do appreciate your help,” Patched Coat said, walking him over to the disabled cart. “This will take no time at all. Big fellow like you? You can lift, and I’ll replace the wheel.”
    Aaron ducked and took a quick peek under the cart. Though the wheel was off the axle, he saw nothing broken or damaged. In fact, the dried mud on the wheel rims suggested this cart hadn’t moved in several hours.
    “You’ll want to remove your coat,” the man said. “My missus would be glad to hold it for you.”
    Of course she would. And she’d be glad to strip the contents from every pocket while she was at it.
    Aaron saw exactly what was happening now. This couple had probably been sitting by the road all afternoon, taking that cartwheel off and then flagging down passersby for assistance in “repairing” it. While the unsuspecting travelers performed a good deed, the “missus” would relieve them of their coin.
    At least these were petty swindlers, not violent highwaymen. Aaron could get out of this easily enough.
    He played along to a point, dutifully lifting