Page 30 of The Formation of Us

“Floating.” And aching in every way possible.

She leaned down and picked up a short-legged metal step stool, causing the fabric of her shirtwaist to pull tight across her breasts. Long-limbed and lithe, her movements were as graceful as a dancer’s, and he couldn’t look away. Her slender fingers circled one of the sturdy round legs of the stool, and his mind went crazy remembering the feel of her fingers massaging his back and sliding over his skin, and he couldn’t help imagining her hands touching him in other places.

“Sit on this. I’ll get your tea and a towel to put behind your neck.” She dropped the stool into the water and turned away.

Getting splashed in the face was startling but deserved. He grabbed the submerged stool and dragged it under his bare bottom, feeling both excited and ridiculous in her big steamy bath.

“Pull it away from the edge so you’re forced to lean back,” she said, placing the cup of tea on the stand near him. “You need to keep your shoulders submerged.”

He scooted the stool out several inches and leaned back against the side of the tub. She rolled one of the linens and tucked it behind his head. “It must have taken you a week to fill this tub.”

“Six days. Now drink your tea and relax. I’ll come back in fifteen minutes.”

“Stay.” He caught her hand to keep her from leaving. “If you can, that is. If you’re not too busy.”

“I think you’d be the first to note that it’s improper for me to be in here with you.”

“It will be more improper if I fall asleep and drown in your bathtub, Mrs. Wilkins.”

“Which is highly unlikely. But you’re the sheriff,” she added. She picked up the stack of linens, sat on the chair, and parked the towels in her lap. “What’s going to happen to that man who stole the horse?” she asked.

He sipped his tea and found it surprisingly pleasant. “He’s going to jail.” Why was she talking about Covey, for God’s sake?

“That’s sad. He looked young.”

“He’s twenty-three, and he’s been a troublemaker since childhood. He’s had ample opportunity to change his ways. Covey chose his path, and it’s led him straight to prison. And it’s about damned time.”

“I take it you’ve dealt with him before?”

“Many times. Five weeks ago Covey walked out of Taylor Hotel and stole a horse belonging to one of the guests. When I caught him in the act, he ran the horse at me like he did today in the park. I made the mistake of grabbing the horse’s bridle instead of Covey. When the horse reared, it jerked my arm up and wrenched my shoulder. Covey got away with the horse, which he promptly sold.”

“And you got a nasty shoulder injury.”

“Doesn’t feel so bad at the moment.”

She smiled. “I told you the bath would help.”

“Maybe it’s your pretty smile that’s making me feel better.” What the hell? Why not enjoy his visits? He was attracted to her, and he could keep his duty separate from his personal business with Faith. And just to make sure he didn’t get preoccupied and miss something, he would make that call on Anna Levens and ask her to visit the greenhouse.

Faith’s lashes swooped down to cover her eyes.

“I meant to compliment you, not embarrass you.”

She straightened the stack of linens on her lap, and asked: “What made you want to be a sheriff?”

So much for compliments. “I wanted to redeem myself in my father’s eyes.”

Her lashes swept upward, her face lit with interest.

“It’s true,” he said, wanting to take their conversation to a personal level, admitting and accepting that he couldn’t resist her shy smile and pretty whiskey-colored eyes. He flexed his shoulders in the warm water, enjoying the heat that had nearly cooked his bacon earlier. “I was eight years old when I committed my first and last crime. I stole a reel of fishing line from Brown & Shepherd’s store.”

“Well, that explains why you went easy on Adam.”

“Mrs. Brown has had more wayward boys working in her store to pay their debts than any store owner in town. I wasn’t the first boy to work off my mistake. I’d wager that Adam won’t be the last.”

“Did the sheriff make you work to pay for what you took?”

“My father did. He told me nothing can justify lying, cheating, or stealing. I promised him I’d live an honorable life from that day on, and I went right to the sheriff’s office and volunteered to be his deputy”