Beverly Jenkins Read Online Free Page A

are finished.”
    Hoping the humiliation she felt did not show in her eyes as she looked at Jefferson, she added, “Have a safe trip to Texas, Sergeant.”
    She heard him call her name as she walked away, but she didn’t turn.
    “Ah, so you do know that handsome devil,” Sybil said. “Just look at that mustache, those thighs. That man could make a woman break every code she’s ever lived by.”
    Scandalized, Cara laughed. “You should beashamed of yourself, trying to corrupt the schoolteacher.”
    “I’m not corrupting you. I see a superior model of the Lord’s handiwork eyeing a friend who is college-trained, beautiful, and—he’s coming this way. Are you ready?”
    Cara watched as Chase stepped off the opposite walk and into the street. The closer he came, the faster her heart raced. She had to turn away from those dark eyes. “You, Sybil, my friend, have been in this sun too long. I’m not going to jeopardize my position for a Yankee soldier. I’m going inside. I have papers to correct.”
    “Coward. Oh, well, you’re saved. He’s been sidetracked.”
    Cara glanced over her shoulder. Chase had been waylaid by a reporter from the Nicodemus Cyclone. Chase caught her eye for one last, searing look that shook her to her toes.
    “My, my, my,” Sybil muttered. “So things are that way, are they?”
    A very flustered Cara excused herself from the reverend’s wife and fled into the safety of Sophie’s boardinghouse.

Chapter 2
    W hat a party they were having at Sophie’s downstairs. There were fiddlers for dancing, good drink, good food—really good food. Cara knew, for she’d help set out the buffet. Everyone was having a wonderful time—everyone except her. She sat at the desk in her room on the second floor, the strains of the celebration drifting up through the wooden planks beneath her. The music distracted her, making her tap her toe instead of grading the children’s essays. She finally gave up, stood, and stretched.
    She’d stayed away from the celebration for a number of reasons, most important her grandfather. Union soldiers were responsible for his death. Although the men downstairs had played no part in the tragic event, she couldn’t bring herself to go down there. Seeing the blue uniforms brought back memories of the land she’d never walk again, the grandfather who’d been lost to her, and the nightmares that still haunted her from that terrible day.
    The second reason she wouldn’t go downstairs was Virginia Sutton, head of the school board, and her morality clause. Virginia owned everything of note in Henry Adams—the bank, the mercantile, the grain exchange. She’d made it plain the dayCara came to town and interviewed for the teaching position that she was reluctant to hire such a naive and inexperienced young woman. Virginia had said flat out that she was concerned about Cara’s unmarried state and her possible influence on the children; she insisted Cara be held to the highest standards of morality and conduct enforced through a clause written into her contract. Sophie termed the clause nothing less than Virginia’s way of making sure Cara had no fun at all, but Cara had signed without a murmur of protest. Not only had she needed the job, she wanted it. There was nothing she liked more than teaching.
    Because of the clause, though, Cara had to be very cautious about her every social contact, especially if unmarried men were to be present. Chase and his soldiers presented lots of problems for her—especially Chase, whom she’d learned was staying in Sophie’s boardinghouse. But even the most innocent encounter could be misconstrued—by Virginia Sutton, if no one else.
    The sounds of laughter and conversation brought a smile to her face; the music seeped into her pores and caused her body to sway to its tempo. She felt lighthearted, younger than she had in ages. It was a strain to hold back, not to join the party and enjoy herself . . . enjoy the company of the most