try to exit the building. Some of the men tried to subdue the troublemakers and confiscate their weapons, but the mill workers fought back, and soon it was nothing more than an all-out brawl.
“The noise was deafening as everyone scrambled to escape. I was too scared to move, afraid Daddy wouldn’t be able to find me if I wasn’t where he left me. But as the brawl grew, it moved closer to the stage. Closer to me. Then one large fellow took a blow to the face and fell backward. Right on top of me. I lay beneath him as he rolled back and forth, trying to get up. I couldn’t breathe. The fall had knocked the wind out of me, and I thought I was dying.”
The girl must have been frightened out of her wits. No wonder the standoff in the bank had spooked her so badly. Levi hunkered down beside Eden and tried to meet her gaze, but she was too lost in her memories to notice.
“The man finally rolled off and I sat up, gasping and sputtering. I could hear Daddy calling my name. He pushed his way through the mob and was nearly to me when another gun went off. I couldn’t even scream. All I could do was watch Daddy grab his head and fall to his knees.
“I crawled over to him. Blood covered the side of his face and stained the shirt Mother had given him for Christmas.”
Levi reached for her hand. When he touched her, she startled and returned to the present. Offering him a small smile, she tugged her hand free and got to her feet. Levi rose, too, standing quietly as she brushed the dust off her skirts.
“He was fine, of course,” Eden continued, with a tone that tried to convey that everything else was fine, too, but Levi wasn’t fooled. “The bullet had just grazed him.”
“I’m glad.”
The faraway look came over her again, but after a second or two she blinked it away. “My goodness. Here I am rambling about something that happened ages ago when the sheriff is waiting for you.” She scurried up to the door and laid her palm on the handle, clicking the latch open. “Thank you for seeing me home, but you better hurry back to the bank. The sheriff’s not known for his patience.”
“Pratt will keep.” He wasn’t going anywhere until he was sure she was going to be all right.
Eden dipped her chin, but when her eyes lifted to meet his, they held an intensity that made his chest ache. “You’re one of the few men I’ve met who has found a way to keep his life free of aggression, even when provoked. This world needs more men like you, Levi.”
Then she turned and went into the house, leaving him staring at the closed door while his stomach churned over the lie he was letting her believe. Maybe he’d been believing a lie, as well. Thinking he could walk away from his past. Eden might respect Levi the blacksmith, but she’d never forgive Levi the prizefighter.
Chapter Twelve
After all the unpleasant excitement involving the attack at the smithy and the standoff at the bank, Eden found the routine of the following week a blessed relief. She doubted her pulse had accelerated past a steady plod during the last ten days. Well . . . except for when Levi stopped in for his daily read.
As he was doing now.
Eden forced her gaze to remain on the letter she was writing to her father instead of allowing it to wander in the direction of the man sitting in the corner of her reading room. Her self-discipline proved ineffectual, though. Just knowing he was there prompted that annoying little flutter in her abdomen that had been getting worse of late.
The two-week waiting period she had imposed on Levi’s library privileges had expired last Friday, and each day since, she’d held her breath as he pushed up out of her father’s chair and then exhaled when he slid his book back onto the shelf instead of bringing it to her desk with the request to borrow it. She had become rather accustomed to his visits, and though they still said no more than a handful of words to each other during the daily encounters, there was
“The noise was deafening as everyone scrambled to escape. I was too scared to move, afraid Daddy wouldn’t be able to find me if I wasn’t where he left me. But as the brawl grew, it moved closer to the stage. Closer to me. Then one large fellow took a blow to the face and fell backward. Right on top of me. I lay beneath him as he rolled back and forth, trying to get up. I couldn’t breathe. The fall had knocked the wind out of me, and I thought I was dying.”
The girl must have been frightened out of her wits. No wonder the standoff in the bank had spooked her so badly. Levi hunkered down beside Eden and tried to meet her gaze, but she was too lost in her memories to notice.
“The man finally rolled off and I sat up, gasping and sputtering. I could hear Daddy calling my name. He pushed his way through the mob and was nearly to me when another gun went off. I couldn’t even scream. All I could do was watch Daddy grab his head and fall to his knees.
“I crawled over to him. Blood covered the side of his face and stained the shirt Mother had given him for Christmas.”
Levi reached for her hand. When he touched her, she startled and returned to the present. Offering him a small smile, she tugged her hand free and got to her feet. Levi rose, too, standing quietly as she brushed the dust off her skirts.
“He was fine, of course,” Eden continued, with a tone that tried to convey that everything else was fine, too, but Levi wasn’t fooled. “The bullet had just grazed him.”
“I’m glad.”
The faraway look came over her again, but after a second or two she blinked it away. “My goodness. Here I am rambling about something that happened ages ago when the sheriff is waiting for you.” She scurried up to the door and laid her palm on the handle, clicking the latch open. “Thank you for seeing me home, but you better hurry back to the bank. The sheriff’s not known for his patience.”
“Pratt will keep.” He wasn’t going anywhere until he was sure she was going to be all right.
Eden dipped her chin, but when her eyes lifted to meet his, they held an intensity that made his chest ache. “You’re one of the few men I’ve met who has found a way to keep his life free of aggression, even when provoked. This world needs more men like you, Levi.”
Then she turned and went into the house, leaving him staring at the closed door while his stomach churned over the lie he was letting her believe. Maybe he’d been believing a lie, as well. Thinking he could walk away from his past. Eden might respect Levi the blacksmith, but she’d never forgive Levi the prizefighter.
Chapter Twelve
After all the unpleasant excitement involving the attack at the smithy and the standoff at the bank, Eden found the routine of the following week a blessed relief. She doubted her pulse had accelerated past a steady plod during the last ten days. Well . . . except for when Levi stopped in for his daily read.
As he was doing now.
Eden forced her gaze to remain on the letter she was writing to her father instead of allowing it to wander in the direction of the man sitting in the corner of her reading room. Her self-discipline proved ineffectual, though. Just knowing he was there prompted that annoying little flutter in her abdomen that had been getting worse of late.
The two-week waiting period she had imposed on Levi’s library privileges had expired last Friday, and each day since, she’d held her breath as he pushed up out of her father’s chair and then exhaled when he slid his book back onto the shelf instead of bringing it to her desk with the request to borrow it. She had become rather accustomed to his visits, and though they still said no more than a handful of words to each other during the daily encounters, there was
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