Page 7

SADIE

If Sadie had thought buryingwhat was left of “Deputy” Eli and hiding that metal thing that’d killed him in the shed had been enough for one day, well, she was mistaken. Thing was, she could size a man up in two shakes of a horse’s tail, and this man was about as far from Eli as one could get. Hell, he was as far from any man I’d met as one could get. She’d never been to Washington, but suddenly, she regretted that she likely never would. And a smart man, at that—someone her son Teddy could actually learn a thing or two from, unlike the shitheads in town.

Maybe the whole thing with Eli had shaken her up more than she’d thought. That had to be it. She felt kind of guilty about keeping the thing that killed Eli, or what appeared to be this…Wally’s invention. But good judge of character or not, no way she’d put her boy in danger over some careless man. Even if said inventor was the handsomest one she’d ever laid eyes on.

Damn it, Sadie, keep those thoughts in your bloomers.

“I don’t have time to help you go on some wild goose chase. Go on, git.” She nudged him with a jerk of her head and a wave of her shotgun.

“Please, Mrs. Rogers, this isn’t just a hobby, it’s important to the lives of over a hundred people.” Wally’s big eyes pleaded with her. Damn those big, coffee-colored eyes. A woman could drown in them feeling all warm and satisfied.

Sadie hesitated. Her nose twitched like it always did when she was indecisive, so she rubbed a hand over it to cover it up. A hundred people? He had to be exaggerating.

“You can keep looking for your thingamabob. Just stay away from the house. It ain’t over this way or I’d have seen it.”

“Thank you.” Wally’s face lit up with gratitude and her chest tightened.

Sadie chased away the guilt as she turned back toward the house. What she needed was a good bath and to fix some breakfast for her and Teddy. Lord knows what mischief that boy is into already.

“Thank you, Mrs. Rogers,” Wally called after her.

Sadie paused. “Call me Sadie.”

Without glancing back, she hurried down to the house to warm up some water for a bath. Her skin had started to itch like crazy, stuck to the material with a combination of muck and probably pieces of Eli that she didn’t want to think about.

“Hey, Ma. What happened to you?” Teddy asked the moment she stepped inside and leaned the shotgun against the wall.

He was at the table, tinkering as usual with some spare parts he’d scavenged from the shed. It had been James’s favorite spot, and she smiled when she saw his familiar features on Teddy’s freckled face, hair mussed the same careless way his father’s used to be. At eleven years of age, he still had his baby face, but she couldn’t deny he’d been stretching long and lean.

“Never you mind that. Somebody has to take care of this place while you work on your mechanical toys.”

Teddy rolled his eyes. “They aren’t toys.”

“Don’t do that, or they’ll get stuck that way.” Sadie ruffled his hair and handed him a biscuit out of the covered basket on the counter. “I’ll be back inside after I clean up, and I’ll make us some eggs and bacon.”

“Mmkay,” he mumbled, biscuit in one hand and concentration back on the mess of knickknacks on the table in front of him.

Smiling, she made her way out back to the big barrel they used as a tub and poured in the fresh, warm water. Considering the weather, she didn’t bother getting it too hot. She stripped down and grabbed the scrap of soap she’d been nursing for a good few months, today being the kind of day that called for a generous scrubbing. Sadie set to work, enjoying the feel of the water against her sore muscles and wishing she could leave long enough to swim in the creek without worrying about someone finding Teddy alone in the house. Doing chores was hard enough, but doing something for pleasure with him left unguarded was unthinkable. Sucking in a breath, she dunked herself beneath the water and scrubbed at her hair before surfacing again. Her stomach rumbled, and she knew it was time to fix some food for both of them, though she wasn’t sure how well it would sit if she kept picturing what happened by the well.

She dried herself off and pulled some clothes from the laundry line, leaving her old ones in a heap on the ground where they’d already attracted too many flies. She sighed. If she could afford it, she’d bury them along with Eli. As it was, she’d have to risk a trip into town to buy some more soap and supplies soon.

One nice thing about being on her own land was the freedom to wear a shirt without a corset or other confining garments underneath, a fact Sadie appreciated as she entered the house, fastening the bottom button on the soft, clean shirt she’d pulled off the line. She and it smelled a hell of a lot better than she had when she’d come in the first time.

She froze, smile dropping from her face as her gaze fell on Wally, now seated at the table across from Teddy, a piece of metal dangling forgotten in his hand as he stared openly at her bare breasts, still exposed.

Heat filled her cheeks as she spun around, fumbling with the rest of the buttons, her back to him and his stammering apology.

“I didn’t expect—”

“No, I didn’t expect you,” she said, anger lacing her words. “In fact, I’m pretty certain I told you to not come to the house.”

“This is Wally,” Teddy said, seeming not to notice either of their embarrassment.

“Yes, we met.” Sadie finished buttoning and turned, marching forward until the shotgun rested within snatching distance.

“I’m very sorry for intruding,” Wally said. Then he licked his full, chapped lips, and Sadie had to bite her tongue to prevent herself from thinking about tasting them.

Why was she such a mess today?