Page 30 of The Heart’s Charge

Eliza lifted her chin. “I’ll be ready.”

At one-thirty. And she’d take that wagon whether he liked it or not.

The only problem was, when she made her way to the barn to hitch the team after an abbreviated geography lesson, she found her wagon propped up on a pair of wooden stilts, back wheels removed and rear axle missing. No, not missing. The axle stood upright, leaning against the side of the barn, right next to the arrogant cavalryman who’d outmaneuvered her.

CHAPTER

THIRTEEN

Do you think she’ll be all right?” Kate shot a worried glance at Mark as Jonah and Miss Southerland finally set off down the road, Eliza clinging to Jonah’s back like a barnacle to a ship.

She clearly feared horses, yet her drive to assist in their investigation had proven stronger. Jaw clenched, face pale, she’d barely breathed as Mark assisted her onto the back of Jonah’s horse, where she’d taken one look at the ground and immediately squeezed her eyes shut. After a single step by Augustus, she forfeited all pretension and hugged Jonah’s waist with both arms, hiding her face in his back.

“She’ll be fine.” Mark grinned at the departing couple, thinking how fine Jonah must be feeling with the lovely Eliza pressed so close against him. “Jonah will keep them to a walk. And you don’t have to worry about Augustus spooking.” He turned his attention to Kate and moved a step closer. “He’s a cavalry mount, trained to hold his position even amid cannon fire. She’ll be safer with him than one of those cart ponies.”

Mark cupped Kate’s elbow and steered her back toward the house. Pleasure warmed his chest at the simple touch. Did the contact affect her as well? She made no protest at his taking the liberty, yet her face dipped away from him as they walked, making her reaction hard to decipher.

Touching her was far too pleasant. His hand at her back earlier. Now this. Each touch made him want another. He’d assumed his packed-away feelings for her had been atrophying from disuse over the last decade, but apparently they’d been fermenting and intensifying during their dormancy. And now that they’d awoken, he worried they might outgrow his sense of caution.

“Would you sit with me for a minute?” he asked, not wanting her to disappear inside the house again when he finally had her to himself.

She slowed but didn’t meet his eyes. “I have bread dough rising.”

He tugged her to a halt at the base of the back stairs. He debated trying to tease or challenge her into changing her mind, but playing the rogue felt wrong. So when she finally raised her face, he opted for straightforward sincerity.

“Please, Kate.”

She hesitated, her eyes peering into his. Gauging his motives. Mark held his breath and opened himself to her scrutiny.

Please.

After an eternally long moment, she nodded.

Air rushed from his lungs in a relieved sigh as he grinned and gestured for her to take her pick of stairs. She settled on the third step, scooting over to ensure he had plenty of room. He joined her on the same step, angling his body so that he could lean his back against the railing and see her face. Not that she looked at him. Her attention seemed glued to the children playing in a pile of sand a few yards from the barn.

“I’m proud of what you’ve accomplished here, Kate. It’s good work. Meaningful work.”

She shook her head. “It’s not my accomplishment. Harmony House was all Eliza’s idea. Her vision. Her expertise. Her training.” A rueful smile quirked her lips. “She’s the teacher. I’m just the silent partner.”

“That’s not the way I hear it.”

Her head snapped around, her brows arching high in question.

Mark nudged her knee with his. “Abner told me about your valiant rescue. How you argued with his mother until she capitulated into giving him into your keeping. How you refused to be intimidated by a wealthy donor’s threats. That’s heroism in my book, not silent partnering.”

Pink tinged her cheeks. “I’m surprised Abner told you about that day. He doesn’t like talking about his mother.”

“But he does like talking about you.” Mark winked at her, even as he infused his voice with absolute sincerity. “You’re his hero, Kate.”

She ducked her head and nibbled on her lower lip.

Not wanting her to hide from him, he reached between them, covered her hand, and gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. “You’re quickly becoming my hero too.”

Her head popped up, and her eyes widened.

“It’s true,” he insisted, reading the doubt in her expression. “It takes a lot of courage to leave the only home you’ve ever known and take on a job you feel unqualified to practice. I know. I was terrified out of my mind when I joined the Army.”

“Then why did you leave?” She shifted to face him more completely, all trace of shyness disappearing. “I thought you’d pursue the symphony in Boston. You weren’t supposed to join the military and put yourself in constant danger. You could have died because of me!”