Romancing the Schoolteacher by Mary Davis Page B

appreciate you picking those up for me.” Mr. Miller nodded to her. “Can I help you?”
    â€œN-no, thank you.”
    â€œYou came in for something.”
    â€œNo. No. I’m fine.” She hurried out the door and closed it. Glancing both ways, she crossed the street, her pace very unladylike. She peeked over her shoulder every few seconds until she reached her little house and entered.
    She turned the lock on the door and heaved several breaths. She had been foolish to think she wouldn’t be found out. After three years, she had become complacent, thinking a strip of water would keep her hidden. She pulled back her pink gingham curtain, peered out, but saw no one.
    What should she do?
    She strode to her bedroom and then back out to the front window. Her shoes beat heavily on the wooden floor as she moved from one room to the other and back. Stopping, she glared at her feet. Someone might hear her. That was silly. Just the same, she walked on the balls of her feet, making as little noise as possible.
    Finally, she sat on the edge of her bed and buried her face in her hands. How could she have been so foolish? As she had suspected, Lindley Thompson was no miner. How could she let herself fall in love with him?
    It was simple. She would leave. She opened her trunk and tossed in two of her dresses. She wrapped her French clock in one of her petticoats. When the trunk was nearly full of her belongings, she stared at it. She couldn’t haul the trunk. Not if she left in a hurry. The carpetbag. She would be able to carry the carpetbag. She plopped it on the bed and sorted through the trunk, figuring out what to pack.
    Why had he waited so long? Two months? If he knew who she was, why wait?
    What about her students? She couldn’t leave them before the end of the term. If Lindley had waited this long, maybe he would wait until school was out. But could she risk it?
    She pictured each of her students. Every one eager to learn. Daniel, Suzanne, Faye, Jill, James, Aggie, Carol, Donita, Heidi…Troy. If she left, he would have no chance at a better life. None of them would.
    Regardless of the risk to her, she would stay until the end of school and slip away during the night.
    If Mr. Thompson tried to take her away before then, she would appeal to his better nature to let her finish the school year. She would even use his children against him as he had used them to gain her trust. Were they even his children?
    She wanted to back out of supper but didn’t know how without making him suspicious. Maybe this evening was when he would tell her she had been caught.
    Her heart ached that he was not who he said he was. She tried to muster anger at him for lying, but her fear kept it at bay.
    Lord, please let me be wrong about him being a Pinkerton. Let him be the simple miner I’ve come to care for. Come to love.
    Her heart refused to see anything except the simple miner and loving father. But her head screamed for her to run, that he had tricked and manipulated her.
    And threatened her very existence.

Chapter 10
    T wo hours later, when the knock came on Bridget’s door, she jumped, unsure if she should answer it. Pretend she wasn’t home? Or go to her doom? And so had gone the afternoon, back and forth. Heart or head? Head or heart? But, in the end, her heart needed to know who he really was. And if he was going to betray her or not.
    Taking a deep breath, she smoothed her dress, prayed he was in his miner’s clothes and opened the door.
    Her heart plummeted like a ship pitching in a stormy sea. His fancy suit from earlier. He could have gotten it from a missionary barrel like his children’s Sunday clothes.
    She forced a smile. “My, don’t you look dapper.”
    He stared at her a moment. “And you look lovely. Are you ready?”
    She pulled a shawl from the peg by the door and wrapped it around her shoulders. She was cold, even though the day had been warm.