Wystan by Allison Merritt

Author:Allison Merritt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: demons, romance, teacher, sheriff, curses, family, siblings, old West, historical
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Published: 2014-10-20T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Rhia pushed the shovel blade into the ground with a grunt, then scraped up the tiniest amount of hard sandy dirt and tossed it aside. With her first week of school behind her and some hope for the future of her students and herself, she’d decided to do something a little more permanent. Planting seeds in Berner’s dry soil might seem foolish, but she thought it would give the children the benefit of watching tiny miracles happen. Especially since Berner’s first flower had its second bloom. If a primrose could grow at the fountain, why couldn’t she have sunflowers at the school?

“What are you up to?”

She hefted the shovel, bringing it over her shoulder, ready to strike the intruder. Blinking through the curtain of dust she’d raised, she saw Wystan watching her, hip cocked, toothpick hanging between his lips.

“Oh. I’m starting a garden.” Sheepishly, she lowered the shovel and wiped sweat from her forehead. “What are you up to, as you so eloquently put it?”

“Watching you waste time. In case you didn’t notice, not much grows here except weeds, especially the kind with thorns.” He rolled the toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other.

Rhia’s nipples hardened as she thought about his tongue. She jabbed the blade at the ground again. “Haven’t you been to see the primrose? It’s getting bigger, so I’m planting sunflowers.”

No one was going to tell her any different. She already had the seeds, brought here from their garden in Virginia, and she was going to gloat when the impossible happened.

“You could be doing other things.”

She pushed the shovel down into the earth. “I’m not a teacher right now, Sheriff. This is my own time and I’m doing what I want.”

He put his hands on his hips. “Rumor has it Eban’s courting you. Or tried to.”

The shovel hit a rock and jarred her. It almost fell out of her grip. She grasped the handle hard and willed herself to be calm. “Where did you hear that?”

“Tell’s spreading the story.”

“What!” Rhia tightened her hold on the shovel, wishing it was Tell’s neck. “Why would he do that?”

“Settle down. He only told me. I couldn’t get a word about it out of Eban. Which leads me to believe you don’t want to be courted.” He shifted his weight to his other leg and gave her a look so penetrating, she shivered.

“Schoolteachers don’t marry. I need this work. Without it, Sylvie and I will starve.”

“He has money, Rhia. You wouldn’t go hungry and barefoot with Eban for a husband.”

She glared at him and pushed the image of Wystan’s roving hands out of her mind. “For a man who’s trying to talk me into seeking his brother’s affections, you were certainly friendly the other day.”

Wystan’s eyes hardened. “I’ve been thinking about it. He’s your ticket out of here. You could convince him to leave. When Astaroth forces his way out of the Pit, all your sunflowers and book learning won’t help a damn thing. If I can get Eban to leave, I can get Tell out too.

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