An Inconvenient Match by Janet Dean

pupils and wrapping the two of them in intimacy. His eyes dropped to her lips. He lowered his head, his intention clear. As his lips met hers, her heart tumbled, leaving her wobbly on her feet.
    A knock. Abigail stumbled back. With one last lingering look at her, Wade crossed to answer the door.
    Seth stood on the other side, holding his cap and squinting in the sunshine. “Morning, Wade. Is it okay to clean up the shop? The finish on the buffet should be dry.”
    “Sure. You know where the key is.”
    A smile broad on his face, the boy nodded then dashed off toward the carriage house.
    How could she react to this man when they didn’t agree on anything? “You’ve done nothing to discourage Seth from working here.”
    “I pay him to help whenever he can. He needs the money.”
    “He’ll see that money as proof he doesn’t need to further his education.”
    A muscle in his cheek jumped. “Would you be battling me about Seth’s future if my name wasn’t Cummings, if I hadn’t broken off our relationship?”
    She grabbed a washcloth, scrubbing the counter. “What relationship? What we had was mere infatuation.” She scooped up the mess on the stove, a reminder of the mess he’d made of her life when she’d trusted him. “Your assumptions are insulting. I’m thinking of Seth’s welfare. I don’t want him to end up like my mother and sister.”
    His brow furrowed. “What are you saying?”
    As if he didn’t understand. Refusing to answer, she gathered the dishes and skillets and stomped to the niche, lowering them into the sink.
    He followed. “I asked you to explain.”
    She flung the washcloth into the sink. “When your father called that loan, he took our home, our livelihood, my father’s life. Joe started gambling, hoping to win a pile of money. Instead he wound up with a compulsion and a pile of debt.” Breathing heavy, she leaned toward him. “To put food on the table, Ma and Lois worked their fingers to the bone, all but ruining their health. If not for my education, I’d be doing the same.” She slashed a hand. “You’ve had an easy life. So don’t tell me you know what’s best for Seth.”
    Wade laid a hand over his heart. “I’m sorry you and your family suffered from the loss of the farm.” He took a step closer until his booted toe brushed her hem. “But I can promise you Seth will never leave his pa to go off to college. Let the boy choose his own path.”
    Wade pretended concern for Seth. In reality he only cared about his dream. He continued to toy with people’s lives, as he had hers. Making moves as if people were pieces in a chess game.
    She took a deep breath, and then released it in a flood of words. “You make working here too difficult.”
    “Please don’t quit. My father needs you. Think of him.” His hand reached for her then fell away. “I need you,” he said, his voice raspy.
    The desperation in his tone melted something cold and rigid within her. A desire to lean into his touch, to rest against that broad chest, to forget the past battled with her common sense. She steeled her spine and drew back.
    “No one else can handle him but you.”
    All that mattered to Wade was his father. He didn’t care that his presence, his touch, scorched like a hot sadiron.
    No matter how much she told herself otherwise, she was falling under his spell. How could she stay in this house when every day brought her closer to the web he spun?
    She wouldn’t care for a long list of reasons.
    He belonged to the family that had destroyed her father.
    He opposed her over Seth’s future.
    He’d tossed her away like a useless trinket years before.
    And no doubt would again if given the opportunity.
    And now he claimed to need her? Asking her to overlook all that stood between them?
    She shook her head. “Too much has happened. Too much happens still.”
    “If it would help make things easier, I’ll stay away, work late at the bank. Return home after you’ve left for the