Patchwork Bride by Jillian Hart

Author:Jillian Hart
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2010-10-24T22:00:00+00:00

Hitching up Sweetie had not been nearly as difficult as she feared, not with Shane teaching her. She pulled the last strap through the buckle, securing the buggy’s traces to the mare’s thick leather collar.

“Did I do it right?” she asked.

“Perfect,” Shane praised from the other side of the horse. “How does it feel to have hitched up your first buggy?”

“Liberating.” The floor bit into her knee, so she stood and dusted off her skirt. Bits of dirt and scraps of hay tumbled off the cotton, swirling like dust motes in the sunshine. “Thanks to you, all the lines and buckles and pieces are no longer completely mystifying. Now I can hitch up any horse, no problem.”

“You’re one step closer to your plans.” Over the top of Sweetie’s broad back, he tipped his hat to her. “Well done. Soon you will be driving your own buggy across the plains.”

“I wish. I still have examinations to pass, and they are usually very hard.” The mare nickered as if wondering why she was standing still if she was hitched to go somewhere, and Meredith rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. “It’s getting closer, and I’m getting more nervous. What if I don’t pass? I’m starting to see doom. All the ways things can go wrong.”

“Don’t worry. You will do fine, the same way you do everything.”

“You’re just saying that. You don’t know me that well.”

“I know you’re smart and hardworking.” He laid his arms across the horse’s back and leaned close, resting his chin on his hands. “I know you enough to guess you are at the top of your class.”

“Earlee always gets the top grades, but I come close.” Just thinking about it made nerves settle into her stomach, hopping around like trapped grasshoppers. “I’ve been wanting this for so long and suddenly it’s almost here. If I pass the exam, I can have my own little schoolroom this summer.”

“Summer? Doesn’t school usually start in the fall?”

“Yes, but some areas can’t afford to pay a teacher or there are too few students for a district. Summer school helps to bring education to the rural areas. It’s a great place for a beginning teacher.”

“You light up when you talk about it. Why do you want to be a teacher?”

“Because education can better a child’s life. I believe everyone should have the chance to learn.” A curl tumbled into her eyes, as one always did, and she brushed it away, totally unconscious of the adorable gesture. She tucked the lock behind her ear. “I took my schooling for granted until I moved here and saw life from a different perspective.”

“My move to Charleston to live with Grandmother did the same thing for me.” His throat closed, full of so many things he couldn’t admit or felt too bashful to say. It was fine to have material things, but a man could not build his character accepting inherited money that he had not earned. That was another reason he had walked away from his family. He

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