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Harrison blinked and looked at Poppy, her head tipped slightly to the side as she looked up at him.
“What do you want to know?”
* * *
Poppy wrapped Alex’s sausage in bread before doing her own and joining them on the grass. It was parched and yellowed and in definite need of some TLC, but she didn’t mind sitting on it. Besides, it was either that or the concrete, so she didn’t really have a choice.
“So what’s happened to this place? I mean, is it just that too many families moved away from here, or is there something else going on that I don’t know about?” she asked Harrison.
He was chewing, and she watched the way his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, the strong, chiseled angle of his jaw as he swallowed.
She needed to stop staring. For a girl who’d moved here to get away from men, she sure wasn’t behaving like it.
“Are you asking me if the town is haunted? Or if some gruesome crime happened here and made all the residents flee?”
Harrison’s tone was serious, but there was a playful glint to his eyes that made her glare at him mockingly.
“Well, I can tell you right now that I searched the place online for hours but couldn’t come up with anything juicy,” she teased in return. “So if it’s been hidden that well, I guess I can’t expect you to spill your guts straight off the bat.”
Now it was Harrison laughing, and she couldn’t help but smile back at him. His face changed when he was happy—became less brooding and more open. He was handsome, she couldn’t deny, but when he grinned he was...pretty darn gorgeous. Even if she did hate to admit that about a man right now.
“Honest truth?”
Poppy nodded, following his gaze and watching his children as they whispered to each other, leaning over and looking at something in the long grass.
Harrison drew his knees up higher and fixed his gaze in the distance. “It’s hard to bring fresh blood into rural towns these days, and most of the young people that leave here don’t come back. Same with all small towns.” He glanced at her, plucking at a blade of grass. “I’ve stayed because I don’t want to walk away from the land that’s been in my family for generations. It means something to know the history of a place, to walk the same path as your father and your grandfather before him. This town means a lot to me, and it means a lot to every other family living here, too.”
Poppy nodded. “Everyone I’ve met so far seems so passionate about Bellaroo,” she told him earnestly. “And I really do believe that if you fight hard enough, then this town will still be here by the time you’re a grandfather.”
He shrugged. “I wish I was as positive as you are, but honestly?” Harrison sighed. “I never should have spoken to you the way I did earlier, because if you don’t stick around, then there’s no chance we’ll be able to keep our school open. And that’ll mean the end of our town, period.” He blew out a big breath. “Being sole-charge teacher to a bunch of five-to eleven-year-olds isn’t for the fainthearted, but if you do stay? There won’t be a person in Bellaroo who won’t love you.”
Now it was Poppy sighing. Because she didn’t need all this pressure, the feeling that everything was weighing on her shoulders.
Before she’d moved here, she’d taken responsibility for everything, had tried to fix things that were beyond being repaired. And now here she was all over again, in a make-or-break situation, when all she wanted to do was settle in to a gentler pace of life and try to figure out what her own future held.
“Sorry, I’ve probably said way too much.”
Poppy smiled at Harrison’s apology. “It’s okay. I appreciate you being honest with me.”
The kids ran over and interrupted. “Can we go back and finish the room?”
“Of course.” Poppy stood up and offered Harrison a hand, clasping his palm within her fingers. She hardly had to take any of his weight, because he was more than capable of pushing up to his feet without assistance. But the touch of his skin against hers, the brightness of his gaze when he locked eyes with her, made her feel weak, started shivers shaking down her spine.
“How about I join you in the classroom after I’ve tidied up here?”
Poppy retrieved her hand and looked away, not liking how he was watching her or how she was feeling. “Sure thing. Come on, kids.”
She placed a hand on Alex’s shoulder and walked with them the short distance to her new classroom.
Their dad was gruff and charming at the same time, and it wasn’t something she wanted to be thinking about. Not at all.
She was here to teach and to find herself. To forget her past as best she could and create a new life for herself. Alone.
Which meant not thinking about the handsome rancher about to join her in her classroom.
* * *
“Wow.”
Poppy looked down, paper stars between her teeth as she stood on a chair and stuck the last of them to the wall. There was already a row strung from the ceiling, but she was determined to cover some old stains on the wall to complete the effect she was trying to create.
“Your children are like little worker bees,” she mumbled, trying to talk without losing one of the stars.
“Little worker bees who’ve started to fade,” he replied.
Poppy glanced back in his direction and saw that he’d scooped Alex up into his arms. The young boy wasn’t even pretending he was too big to be cuddled, and had his head happily pressed to his father’s chest as he watched her.
“It’s getting pretty late. Why don’t you head home? I’ll be fine here.” She wobbled on the chair, but righted herself before it tipped.
“How about we give you a lift home?”
Poppy shook her head. “It’s only a short walk. I’ll be fine, honestly.”
Harrison didn’t look convinced. “What else do you need to do here?”
Hmm. “I want the kids to walk in tomorrow and not be able to stop smiling,” she told him. “So I need to put the glue glitter over the hearts in the middle, and the same with the border over there—” she pointed “—because that’s where I’m going to write all their names in the morning when they arrive, in their favorite colors.”
She heard Harrison sigh. Which made it even crazier when, from the corner of her eye, she saw him put his son down on his feet and pick up a gold glitter pen.
“Is this what you use for the fancy border thing?” he asked.
Poppy took the remaining paper stars from between her teeth and bit down on her lower lip to stop herself from smiling. She nodded, watching as Harrison walked to the wall and started to help.
“Like this? Kind of big, so it’s obvious?”
“Yep, just like that,” she said, still trying to suppress laughter.
From what she’d seen of him so far, she had a feeling he’d just storm out and leave her if she made fun of him for using the glitter, and she didn’t mind the help. Not at all. Even if a masculine rancher wouldn’t have been her first choice in the artistic department.
She stepped down and pushed her chair back behind her desk before finding the silver glitter and covering some shapes at the other end of the wall from Harrison.
“Daddy, we didn’t eat the cake,” called out a sleepy-sounding Katie.
Poppy had forgotten all about the cake. She moved back to look at the wall, pleased with the progress they’d made. The children could help her decorate it more in the morning, but for now it looked good.
“How about we finish up and reward ourselves with a piece? What do you say?” she asked.
Harrison passed her the pen as his kids nodded. “Only problem is we don’t have a knife.”
She gave him a wink. “But I have a pocketknife. That’ll do, right?”
He stared at her, long and hard. “Yeah, that’ll do.”
Poppy pulled it out and passed it to him, careful not to let their skin connect this time. “Well, let’s each have a big piece, huh? I think we all deserve it.”
And hopefully, it would distract her, too. Because she might be done with men, but she sure wasn’t done with chocolate.
CHAPTER THREE
“THANKS FOR THE ride.” Poppy swung her door shut and waved to the children in the back. She didn’t expect to hear another one open and close.
“I’ll walk you to the door.”
What? She hadn’t ever had a man walk her to the door just to be chivalrous.
“Thanks, but I’m fine. It’s not like we’re in the city and I’m at risk of being mugged,” she joked.
The look on his face was anything but joking. “I’m not going to drive you home and not walk you to the door. It wasn’t how I was raised, and if I want my daughter to grow up expecting manners, and my son to have them, then I want to make sure I set a damn good example.”
“Well, when you put it like that...” She smiled at Harrison, shaking her head as she did so.
“I know I’m old-fashioned, but then so is this place. You’ll realize that pretty soon, Ms. Carter.”
“There’s nothing wrong with old-fashioned,” she said. And there wasn’t; she just wasn’t used to it. “Except, of course, when it comes to plumbing.”
His eyebrows pulled together as he frowned. “You having problems with this place?”
She waved her hand toward the door as they reached it. “The shower produces just a pathetic drizzle of water, and the hot doesn’t last for long. But for the price I’m paying I wasn’t exactly expecting a palace.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” he told her.
“Honestly, I shouldn’t have said anything. Everything’s fine.”
Harrison stood a few steps away, cowboy hat firmly planted on his head, feet spread apart and a stern look on his face. “I’ll take a look myself, check it out. Maybe later in the week.”
“If you’re certain?” She didn’t want him going out of his way, but if he could work his magic on the shower she’d be more than grateful.
“I’m certain,” he replied. “You take good care of my kids at school and I’ll make sure your house doesn’t fall down around you. Deal?”
“Deal.” This guy was really something. “You better get those children home. Thanks for all your help tonight. I’m glad you came back.”
“So we could start off on the right foot second time around?” he asked, one side of his mouth tilting into a smile.
“Yeah, something like that. And thanks for the lift.”
Harrison tipped his hat and walked backward, waiting until she’d gone inside before he turned away. Poppy leaned on the doorjamb and watched him get into the car and drive slowly off, trying hard not to think about how nice he was.
Considering she’d wanted to make a voodoo doll of him and stab it after his comments earlier in the afternoon, she’d actually enjoyed his company. Or maybe it was just that his children were really sweet.
She shut and locked the door.
Who was she kidding? The guy was handsome and charming, or at least he had been this evening, and she was terrified of how quickly she’d gone from hating the entire male population to thinking how sexy the rancher dad was.
And she couldn’t help but wonder why the children had never mentioned their mom and why he’d never spoken about the wife that was surely waiting at home for them.
Poppy walked down the hall and opened the fridge, reaching in for the milk and pouring some into a pot to heat. There was no microwave, so it was old-fashioned hot chocolate.
A scratching made her stop. Another noise made a shiver lick her spine.
Poppy reached for another pot and crept slowly toward the back door. She was sure she’d locked it, but... She jumped. Another scratching sound.
She slowly pulled the blind back and looked outside, flicking the light on with her other hand. If someone was out there, who was she going to call for help?
Meow.
It was a cat. Poppy put the pot down and unlocked the door, standing back and peering out into the pool of light in the backyard.
“Are you hungry?” she asked, knowing it was stupid to ask the cat a question but not caring.
She left the door open and walked back for the milk, taking a saucer and tipping some in. Poppy placed the dish inside the back door and waited. It didn’t take long for the black cat to sniff the air and decide it was worth coming in, placing one white paw on the timber floor, looking around and then walking to the saucer.
Poppy shut the door and relocked it. The cat was skinny, and she wasn’t going to turn him out if he had nowhere to go.
“Want to sleep on my bed?”
The cat looked up at her as he lapped the milk and she went back to stirring her own, adding some chocolate to melt in the pot with it.
“I think we’ll get on just fine, you and I,” she said. “Unless you go shack up with someone better looking or younger than me down the road. Then I’ll know my life’s actually over. Okay?”
The cat stayed silent.
Black cats were supposed to be bad luck. Heaven help her if there was any more of that coming her way. Because she’d had enough bad luck lately to last her a lifetime and then some.
“Come on, kitty,” she said, pouring her hot chocolate into a large mug. “Let’s go to bed.”
* * *
Harrison pulled onto the dirt road that led to Black Station and glanced in the rearview mirror. Katie and Alex were both asleep in the back, oblivious to everything going on around them, and he didn’t mind one bit. All he wanted was for them to be happy, because if they were happy, he was happy.
And they had had a pretty nice evening.
He pushed all thoughts of their new teacher from his mind, but struggled to keep her out of it. She’d been kind, sweet, polite—not to mention the fact that she was the prettiest woman he’d seen in years—but there was still something about her niggling away at him. Something that meant he didn’t believe she’d be able to stay. Or maybe it was just that he didn’t believe anyone could stick it out here unless they’d been born and bred in a rural town.
His wife sure hadn’t. And part of him believed that if a mother couldn’t even stay to care for her own children, then Poppy Carter wouldn’t stay for other people’s children. Maybe he’d expected someone older, someone less attractive. Not a woman in her late twenties with long, straight hair falling down her back and bright blue eyes that seemed to smile every time she looked at his children. Not a beautiful, modern woman who looked as if she should be lunching with friends or shopping in her spare time.
But then, maybe he was being unfair. Just because she liked to look pretty and wear nice clothes didn’t mean she wouldn’t be able to make a life here for herself. For all he knew she could have her own personal demons that had sent her scurrying away from her former life.
Harrison pulled up outside the house and went to open the door before going back to the truck to carry his children one at a time into their bedrooms. They might be five and seven years old now, but they were still his babies. He’d raised them himself and he was determined to fight to keep their school open. Because he wouldn’t ever let them feel as if they’d been abandoned, and that meant boarding school wasn’t an option he was willing to consider, not until they were ready for high school.
