“Let me help you.” He didn’t wait for an answer but knelt and joined her efforts. “You go on inside. I’ll bring them in.”
“Well—”
Again, he didn’t wait for her, but stood and grasped her elbow, then gently pulled her to her feet. “Permit me to assist you, Mrs. Benoit.” His formal address and tone did little to comfort her, and he looked down at her with a courteous but uninterested expression.
“Thank you.” She grabbed her small dinner hamper and a pail of cleaning supplies and hurried inside the building. After setting the basket on her desk, she rubbed her arm where he’d touched her. Such a firm grip. And yet, what should have been a reassuring gesture only made her nervous. Surely no criminal could escape his grasp.
As she propped the door open so he could enter at will, she noticed how easily he lifted the first heavy box and gave herself permission to admire his strength. After all, she supposed a sheriff should be strong.
Such admiring ruminations would not get her work done, so she turned her attention to the shelves. If she organized the books as planned, they’d fill less than a fourth of the dark-stained pine planks. Too bad she must keep her location a secret or she might consider writing to potential benefactors for donations. In the meantime, she already knew she wanted her desk closer to the window so she could catch all possible daylight.
She shoved the heavy oak desk, or rather, shoved at it. The beautifully carved monstrosity refused to budge.
“I’ll do that as soon as I bring in the last box.” Justice set his load down and returned to the buggy for another.
The final remnants of the happy energy that had infused her earlier disappeared. She’d be foolish to turn down his help, but from his frown, she could see he disliked this forced contact as much as she did. Of course he would be a gentleman and help her. Yet his distant, austere demeanor was very different from the laughing, fun-loving manner of the young man with whom she’d grown up.
“That does it.” He set the last box on a table beside the others and removed his hat and jacket. “I’ll send Adam Starling over to take your horse and buggy to the livery stable. Can’t have the little mare standing outside the library all day.”
“Oh. Of course.” Evangeline never considered such a thing. Servants had always taken care of the horses and conveyances for her. Then, after losing everything, she’d walked wherever she needed to go.
“Where do you want the desk?” Justice glanced about the room.
“About two feet from the front window.”
“You sure?”
Suddenly annoyed by this uncomfortable meeting, she snapped, “If you don’t approve, put it wherever you think is best.” Shame filled her. She had no reason to be snippy, especially since he was being helpful.
He huffed out a sigh. “As the winter wears on, it gets mighty cold sitting so close to a window. You’d be better off doing your work closer to the stove.”
“Oh—”
“Here.” He took her by the hand. “Step over to the window and feel the glass.”
His gentle touch sent shivers up her arm and down her back. He didn’t seem to notice her response, but tugged her to the window and placed her hand on the glass. Even through her gloves, she could feel the cold.
“Oh, my. Not the best place to sit.”
“Yep.” He dropped her hand as though he realized how tightly he’d been holding it. Or maybe that he’d been holding it at all.
She decided to rescue them both. “Well, then, I’ll take your advice. Can you move the desk by yourself? Or will you need help?”
He cast an amused glance her way. Then, with the strength of the biblical Samson, he easily shoved the heavy desk across the wooden floor without so much as taking an extra breath. “This all right?”
“Fine.” Did her voice actually squeak? Oh, my. Justice might not have required a deep breath after moving the desk, but she needed one after being so close to his imposing presence.
He gazed down at her for a moment, and she stared up at him, unmoving.
“Where do you want the tables?” An odd softness flickered in his eyes.
“Um, well.” She broke the visual contact and stared blindly around the room. “They’re fine.”
“Fine,” he repeated. Even so, he began to move the tables and chairs into a more sensible configuration. “What do you think?”
“Fine.” She couldn’t think of a different word. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He gave a firm nod before glancing at the door in the back wall. “You want to see the village?”
“Oh, yes.” How could she be standing here talking with Justice Gareau as though eleven years didn’t stand between this moment and all the good times they’d enjoyed so long ago?
Justice broke the mood by stepping over to the back door and pulling a key from his pocket. “We have to keep it locked so the youngsters won’t get nosy.”
“That makes sense.” She followed him into the dark chamber.
After he lit the kerosene lantern on a table, the room filled with light, revealing a rough but exquisite array of four-by-five-inch buildings. Although unpainted, each had a clear identity. A church, numerous houses, a livery stable and more. He’d carved people, horses, trees, all with remarkable detail.
“They’re beautiful, Justice.” Again she looked up into his once-beloved face. “You’re truly a gifted wood carver. I know the children will love their little village. I’ll be happy to help in any way you need.”
His eyes displayed a pleased expression. “I’ve been thinking about it. Could you paint everything?”
“I’d love to.”
“Good.” He ushered her toward the door. “I have some rounds to do this morning. I usually work on the village in the afternoon while my deputy is on duty at the office.”
“Oh. Very well. But first, please sit down and have some coffee.” Other than her sandwich, she had only Susanna’s cookies and some cold coffee to offer, but her Southern manners demanded some form of gratitude for his help.
He grimaced and huffed out a sigh of obvious resignation. He sat at the table across from her desk.
They partook of the refreshments in silence until Evangeline’s sense of etiquette took over. One simply did not sit quietly under these circumstances. She considered several topics of conversation. As unwise as it might be, she could think only of one.
“I’ve often wondered about your Grand Tour. Did you enjoy it?”
His deeply tanned face turned pale around the edges, and his lips formed a grim line.
Oh, yes, indeed. That was the wrong question to ask.
* * *
Stricken more than he wanted to admit, Justice could only stare at Evangeline, dumbfounded. Why would she ask about an event of so long ago, a trip he could barely remember because of the horrible home situation to which he returned? From the way her dark blond eyelashes fluttered, he could see she regretted asking about it.
“I’m so sorry.” Her blue eyes filled with tears. “I shouldn’t have—”
He waved a hand dismissively. “I suppose if we’re going to live in the same community, we should address the past and, well, get past it.”
She nodded and gave him a wobbly smile. “I suppose.”
He swiped a hand down one cheek before remembering the informal gesture wasn’t appropriate for a gentleman visiting with a lady. But then, so many of the elegant manners he’d been taught by his gentlemanly father had gone by the wayside as he’d adapted to the less formal West.
“Paris was beautiful. Rome was educational. Venice was breathtaking. London interesting, especially St. Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey.” In his own ears, he sounded like an uninspired tour guide, but she nodded politely as he spoke. Manners dictated it was his turn to try a polite inquir
y. “Did you go to Europe after your marriage?” Somehow he managed not to choke on the words.
“N-no.” She looked away, perhaps to hide the odd hurt in her eyes.
He should press her for details. Should ask why Lucius Benoit hadn’t taken his beautiful young bride abroad to show her off. Instead, he cleared his throat. “I’d better go. I’m late to finish my rounds.” He stood and picked up his hat and jacket.
“Yes, of course.” She rose gracefully from her chair. “Thank you so much for your help.”
She reached out to him, and he took her small hand in his larger one. Against all that was sane, he bent to brush a well-mannered kiss across her fingers. A tremor shot from his lips to his neck and down his back. Then he caught a whiff of her expensive gardenia perfume, saw her exquisitely styled widow’s weeds and recalled she’d chosen to become a wealthy man’s wife so she could have a lifetime of such luxuries. The memory cut like a knife through his chest. By the time he straightened, he’d managed to paste on his no-nonsense lawman face.
“I’ll be back later to work on the village.” He donned his hat and walked toward the door on wooden legs. Despite her betrayal, this woman still had a strong effect on him.
“Thank you.” She closed the door behind him.
As he strode toward Main Street, a glance over his shoulder revealed she continued to watch him through one of the front windows. Oddly, it pleased him. He’d have to get over it, and fast.
Chapter Four
When Justice glanced back at her, Evangeline resisted the urge to step away from the window. She’d been caught, plain and simple. But then, he’d looked back and seemed to smile, so she’d caught him, too. Maybe it wasn’t a smile, but a grimace over her ill-advised question about his European travels. Or maybe, like her, he was discombobulated over their strange situation. Did he also wonder why the Lord brought them together in this remote town? Instinctively, she lifted a hand to wave at him, but he’d already resumed his purposeful stride toward Main Street. Soon he was around the corner and out of sight.
She sighed. My, he cuts a fine figure and—
“Of all things, Evangeline. Stop it.”
Mortified by her thoughts, she could only be thankful no one caught her admiring a man only a year after her husband died, especially since she’d never admired Lucius. From the moment he’d entered her mother’s drawing room all those years ago and Evangeline had been forced to endure his inappropriate gazes, she’d felt queasy every time he’d come calling. After Mama died and Papa declared Evangeline must marry his new business partner, her life had been a torment. No matter how much she begged Papa to let her wait for Justice to return to New Orleans, he’d waved off her pleas, at last confining her to her room with no way to escape. Even the servants who’d known her since childhood refused to help her escape for fear of Papa’s wrath. Certain of Justice’s love, she’d prayed he would rescue her, but alas he never came.
She truly must stop such ruminations on the past. She had a library to organize.
She found the cleaning supplies Susanna sent with her and pulled out a dust cloth for the shelves and a feather duster for the books. It had taken only a weekend for her to realize that dusting was an ongoing chore in the San Luis Valley. Wind swept over the landscape almost every day, leaving fine grit on every surface. She must find a way to seal the windows to keep some of it out.
After she’d cleaned the shelves and swept the floor, she sorted through the books, placing them around the room according to type. She didn’t find many children’s books, but each one looked delightful; Mother Goose and Brothers Grimm, Heidi, Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, Treasure Island, Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates, along with several others. And of course McGuffey Readers. She imagined the children would get enough of those at school, but she still placed them on a lower shelf so smaller children could reach them.
As she shelved the books, she put two to the side—Rio Grande Sheriff and She Wore a Six-Gun, both by A Cowboy Storyteller, whoever that might be. Those she set on her desk to read, hoping they would help her understand how people in the West lived.
Shortly after Justice left, the young groom, Adam Starling, came for the horse and buggy. He entered the library and removed his hat before introducing himself. Then he cast a longing look at the books.
“Do you like to read?” Evangeline noticed his shabby but clean clothes.
“Yes, ma’am.” He touched the spine of Volume I of Edward Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, which sat on an upper shelf. “Once you open, I’ll be one of your first patrons.” He looked at the children’s bookshelf. “I’ll bring my younger brother and sisters, too. They like to read, too.”
As Adam drove her buggy away, Evangeline’s heart went out to him. Obviously poor, the young man was well-spoken and hungered for knowledge. She could guide him, perhaps even help him improve his lot in life. Her growing sense of purpose filled her with excitement. More than a job, this was a true calling.
With so much work at hand, she found the morning passed quickly. When she began to feel some of the altitude dizziness Doc Henshaw mentioned, she sat at her desk to eat her sandwich. She hadn’t finished her second bite when Justice thrust open the door, his large frame filling the doorway. With sunlight behind him, she couldn’t see his face clearly, but from the hunch of his shoulders, his displeasure was evident. Evangeline’s heart leaped to her throat, and she barely managed to swallow the bite in her mouth. Had he learned of her debts? Was he here to arrest her?
Trembling, she rose to face him as he strode toward her.
“Mrs. Benoit, you need to get your son under control, or he’s going to be expelled from school before his first week is out.”
She dropped back into her chair with relief. But the scowl on Justice’s face as he approached her desk brought her up short.
“Wh-what did he do?” Surely it couldn’t be too bad.
His visage shadowed by the broad-brimmed hat he hadn’t removed, Justice sat on the corner of her desk and leaned over her. “When Miss Prinn’s class was outside at recess, he and two other boys sneaked back inside and emptied the contents of her inkwell over the papers on her desk.”
Still flushed with relief that he hadn’t come about her debts, she waved a hand carelessly. She couldn’t help but compare her son’s misdeeds to her own. “Is that all?”
“Is that all?” Justice’s eyes blazed, and he stood and fisted his hands at his waist. “The papers were essays the children wrote this morning. Now they’re illegible.”
Feeling flustered, she stammered, “B-but surely they can rewrite them.”
Justice huffed out a cross breath. “It was a test essay. The children had done their best work only to see it destroyed.”
“Well...but...” Suddenly she turned cross. She stood and returned his glare. “Who are these boys who dragged my son into this? Or maybe they did it all themselves and put the blame on the new boy in class.”
His eyes didn’t so much as flicker. “Gerard was rather proud of his leadership in the gang.”
“Gang? Little boys involved in mischief?”
“Little boys? Mischief?” Justice snorted in a decidedly ungentlemanly way. “It’s hardly mischief when it’s that destructive. Miss Prinn tried to clean up the mess, and the ink stained her white shirtwaist. I suppose you have an answer for that.”
Evangeline opened her mouth to speak, but Justice held up his hand to stop her. “Do you have any idea how much, or should I say, how little a schoolteacher is paid? Miss Prinn can’t afford to buy new clothes anytime she wants, unlike some people.” He eyed her dress.
Shame overshadowed Evangeline’s indignation. He seemed to assume she had plenty of money and could buy new clothes whenever she wished, probably because he’d seen her buying fabric at Winsted’s on Saturday. The
least she could do was make the teacher a new blouse with the material she’d bought for herself. “I’ll see that Miss Prinn’s shirtwaist is replaced.”
Justice crossed his arms over his broad chest. “What are you going to do about your son?”
Evangeline met his gray-eyed glare with one of her own. “I will speak to Gerard.”
He snorted again. “You do that. In the meantime, he’ll have to stay after school the rest of this week to clean the blackboards and erasers and sweep the classroom.”
“And the other boys?”
He’d turned toward the door and now stopped midstride. “You leave them to me,” he said as he exited the building.
This time, she didn’t bother to watch him. Instead, she sat there wondering whether she should remove Gerard from school and teach him herself.
* * *
Justice hated the days when he didn’t finish his rounds before noon because it caused a disturbance in his well-ordered world. Sometimes it took days to restore balance. Today, his extended stop at the school and subsequent return to the library meant he still needed to check in with several businesses. He also needed to visit his new house being built next door to Tolley and Laurie Northam’s.
After speaking with Mayor Edgar Jones at his barber shop, Justice walked a few yards away to Mrs. Winsted’s mercantile, where he observed the workmen installing the new front window.
“Keep up the good work, men.” It never hurt to remind these workers Mrs. Winsted had someone watching out for her. Justice felt a responsibility to see she was treated right, as he did for all widows with no man to protect them.
Does that include Evangeline?
He huffed out a harsh breath. Evangeline had her cousin-in-law Nate Northam to look out for her once he returned from his roundup.
Justice made a stop at Miss Pam’s café to purchase a ham sandwich and then headed over to his property, consuming the food as he walked.
Oddly, for the first time in many years, he recalled how his mother would have been appalled by his lack of manners. Not only had he failed to sit down at a proper table to eat, but he’d failed to remove his hat at the library. Nothing warranted such ill-mannered neglect, not even Evangeline’s ridiculous defense of her troublesome boy. She was still a lady. Justice was still a gentleman. Years of living in the less formal West shouldn’t change him for the worse. Even amid tragedy and loss, Father never lost faith or failed to treat others with respect. Nor had Justice’s Texas Ranger mentor, Jubal Tucker. He needed to remember these godly examples and try to emulate them, no matter what was happening around him. Or to him.
Cowboy Lawman's Christmas Reunion Page 6
