Kathryn Albright - Christmas Kiss From The Sheriff

He indicated with is hand that they could start walking and then started down the boardwalk toward the boardinghouse. The town was buttoned up for the evening. As the other members of the school board disappeared into their respective homes or rode out of town, their figures absorbing into the dark shadows, the road became deserted. Even the two saloons were quiet, although lamplight from each of them could be seen trickling through the windows at each end of the road. The miners, by this time of evening, had finished their beers and were probably too tired to stand up. If they were smart, they had headed home themselves.

With one gloved hand, Miss Starling gathered the edges of her coat closer about her neck. “It smells of snow in the air.”

He glanced upward. A blanket of clouds moved slowly in from the west, snuffing out the stars all the way to the horizon. The moon in the eastern sky still shone bright—to the point that its light cast shadows on the dirt road. Her comment at once distracted him from his agenda and what he wanted to discuss. Strolling and observing the night sky was...well, it was romantic...and at the moment not a word he would use with Miss Starling. He glanced back at her upturned face which was cast in a silvery blue as she caught the moonlight. Just what was she up to?

He was curious about the fight, but he figured it was none of his business unless one of the kids really got hurt. Kids scuffled. That’s all there was to it. And it sounded like she had handled it. ’Course, he wondered how she had handled it. Billy was her height and Duncan five inches taller. How had she stopped them?

“I’m new to the community by most counts, miss, but I gather that you’ve been here even less time than I have. At school you were talking about going out to the Odoms’ place.”

“Yes. On Saturday.”

“Have you got someone going with you? Someone who knows the way?”

She looked perplexed at his question. “Well... No. But I’m sure there is a road...or a trail. Tara and Billy—”

“Are country born and bred.”

She stepped down from the boardwalk and started across the first crossroad. “Why would that matter?”

He studied her pert nose which she had notched up stubbornly in the air. “You don’t strike me as someone who grew up in the country. For example, can you tell me which way we are headed? North or west?”

She was quiet.

“This isn’t like a city where there are names for roads and easy-to-remember storefronts. It’s easy to get lost in these hills. One boulder starts to look like another. One tree the same thing. I can’t have you walking...or riding...all over the mountain. You’ll be lost within half an hour.”

“You can’t have me walking...” she echoed, a trace of sarcasm in her voice.

Guess she didn’t care much for his interference. It couldn’t be helped. He wasn’t about to let her wander the mountains on her own. He walked another half a block with her in silence, hoping she was absorbing the truth of the matter.

Her steps finally slowed and then came to a stop. “What do you propose?” she asked, facing him.

“To go with you.”

“I don’t think...” She shook her head doubtfully. “That’s really not necessary.”

“Not. Necessary. Hmm. Then tell me which way you are facing now.”

She sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. “I can’t.”

“Well, until you can, you need an escort. I’m offering.”

She frowned. “Sheriff...I doubt the etiquette of the situation allows for you to accompany me.”

So that’s what was bothering her. “It doesn’t allow for a woman to go alone either. Sometimes out here you have to be practical.”

“Well...perhaps Mrs. Birdwell or Eileen Gilliam at the dry goods store could accompany me. I’ll ask one of them. You needn’t trouble yourself further.”

“Fair enough.” He had plenty of other things to do.

She started walking toward Mrs. Birdwell’s again “Do all the other women here know their directions?”

“If they were raised in the country they do.”

“Day or night?”

“While the sun is up for the most part. There are a few who know the stars too.” He couldn’t imagine growing up without that knowledge. His father had impressed it on him by the time he was ten. “Just where are you from anyway?”

“Obviously not here,” she grumbled.

“So...?” he prompted.

She eyed him with a speculative look. The light through the saloon window danced in her eyes. “Guess.”

He hadn’t expected that. He raised his brows. A challenge. “Big city. North, I think.”

She smiled slightly.

“Your clothes are fancier than most. Your shoes wouldn’t last more’n a day on a hike.”

“My shoes?” She stopped and looked down at her feet. “When did you check my...? Humph.”

“San Francisco? No...” he answered himself. Not with the way she said certain words. “Back East somewhere.”

“I have a feeling not knowing the answer will trouble you immensely,” she said smugly.

“It may take me a while, but I don’t back down from a challenge.”

She stared at him a moment and then dropped her gaze. “There are a lot of people here from the South. I noticed that some harbor ill will toward northerners.”

He had witnessed a few slights, and then realized she might have been a target. He sliced his gaze toward her. “Toward you?”

She shook her head. “No. But I am surprised. Especially so far away from where the fighting occurred.”

Was she really so young not to understand? “They lost everything. The War Between the States might as well have been yesterday for those that had to leave their homes and start completely over. You might want to give that some thought before you teach about it.”

They turned down the side road that led out of town. Widow Birdwell’s boardinghouse was the last house on the road. The light from her parlor blinked dimly through the rustling pines.

“It’s a good thing Molly doesn’t feel like that or I might be out of a place to stay. Thank you for the reminder to be sensitive in its instruction.” Her tone became more thoughtful. “Surely Mr. Tanner wouldn’t have hired me if he thought there would be a problem.”

“He was just relieved to have a teacher of your caliber for his kids.”

She stopped walking. “He said that?”

Craig nodded.

“Well, I suppose that is reassuring,” she murmured, looking at him with a puzzled expression. “I arrived on the tail of another teacher leaving. I thought...perhaps...” She blew out a breath. “The Tanner children have had a total of four teachers in seven years with three of them marrying. I assured Mr. Tanner that that wouldn’t happen in my case.”

“I thought all young ladies wanted to marry.”

“Not. Me.” She started toward the boardinghouse again.

He caught up to her in three strides.

“May I ask you something, Sheriff? You’re a man... I mean that you understand boys a tad better than I would. Why would two boys old enough to know better get into a fight? They should be setting an example for the younger children—not fighting.”

“I take it you don’t have brothers.”

“No. And I’ll admit that I was so intent on stopping the fisticuffs before more bloodshed occurred that I didn’t think to get the real reason for the fight out of them.”

He slanted a glance at her. “The best time to wrangle an answer out of them is while they are still fighting mad. Things tend to spill out from the gut.”

She sighed. “Then I’ve lost my chance.”

“So you haven’t come across much fighting in your other teaching jobs.” Tanner had said this was her first teaching job, but he wanted to hear it from her.