His Tempting Bride (The Brides of Paradise Ranch - Spicy Version Book 5) by Merry Farmer

that’s sort of like a farm,” the boy sitting next to him said.
    Madame Kopanari held up her finger again, and once again, the children were silent.
    “The young woman was a beauty, rich beyond measure,” she went on. “She could sing so beautifully that it was said the birds were her tutors.”
    Miriam blushed and pressed her fingers to her lips. Madame Kopanari loved her singing. There was no doubt in her mind that she was the heroine of this story.
    “The young man and the young woman were betrothed…” Madame Kopanari sat straighter for a moment with a happy smile, then sank into her seat, her face growing dark and mysterious. “But there was a shadow chasing them.”
    Prickles broke out along Miriam’s back even as the children gasped in anticipation.
    “The young woman ran to escape the shadow,” Madame Kopanari went on, “but shadows are difficult things to run from. They seep into cracks. They creep under doors. They spread out in the night, and they conceal themselves around every corner in the day. A person can grow to spend their whole lives running from shadows.”
    The very suggestion had Miriam’s feet itching. She wanted to pick up her skirts and run right then—run from the story, run from the things Madame Kopanari could see, run from the complacency of feeling as though she might just be happy in Haskell. She wouldn’t be. If she stayed, the shadows would catch up with her.
    “The young man ran from the shadows too.” Madame Kopanari held up her other hand. Her two index fingers clearly represented the young lovers, and at that moment, the largest space imaginable separated them. “He ran from his farm, ran from his family. He even ran from happiness, because it was unfamiliar and he did not think it was for him.”
    Beside her, Cody crossed his arms and scowled. His feet danced with restlessness on the floor. Miriam blinked. Had Cody been running too? What was he running from?
    “They ran and ran.” Madame Kopanari shook her fingers, moving them to show the two lovers running. “Until one day, what do you think?”
    “They ran into each other!” the red-headed boy exclaimed.
    The rest of the children laughed. Madame Kopanari laughed along with them, but as she did, she brought her fingers together and twined them around each other. Miriam caught the message as if Madame had looked her in the eyes and told her everything would be all right.
    If only she could be so certain.
    She clapped her hands, praying that the shaking in her heart would go away. “All right, children. Say thank you to Madame Kopanari for telling you a story. It’s time to practice your song now.”
    The children scrambled to their feet, thanking Madame. Some even hugged her, which brought a wide smile and a laugh to Madame’s face.
    “Interesting story.” Cody leaned close enough to whisper as the children got themselves organized. “Wanna go for a drive later and talk about it some more?”
    Miriam’s heart rolled in her chest like thunder on a hot summer day. “I…I…” What did she want?
    She wanted to run. She wanted to fight the urge to run, the same urge that had kept her from getting off the train that first time. What if Madame Kopanari was wrong? What if that soothing voice in the back of her head was wrong? She’d trusted a man before and regretted it. And Cody had betrayed a woman once already. But would he now?
    She wanted to run to him, even if a huge part of her thought it was a terrible, frightening idea.
    “Well?” Cody said with a laugh, though his eyes were deadly serious. “It’s a simple question. Will you go for a drive with me?”
    “Yes,” Miriam answered before she could think too much and change her mind. “Yes, I will, thank you.”
    She tore off across the room, fleeing from him and the tangle of fear and longing that threatened to bind her like a net. The children needed her. The show was her first and only priority. Her heart and her hopes and her fears could