LITMIR.BIZ

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a sparrow startled from its nest. “Thank you for inviting me to tea, Miss Wallin. I fear I must be going. I’ll be starting work shortly, and I won’t have time for more of these...social events. Deputy.”

      Hart had risen when she did, but she scooted out the door before he could bid her farewell. With a frown, he settled himself back onto his chair. “Curious woman. Doesn’t say much.”

      “Because you wouldn’t let her get a word in,” Beth accused. “What were you thinking, filling her head with dangers and drama? I’ll be surprised if she sets one foot outside her door the next two days.”

      Hart reached for a cookie. “If she’s that timid, she shouldn’t have come to Seattle.”

      Beth stared at him as he popped the morsel whole into his mouth. “I thought you didn’t like lemon drops.”

      “They’re tolerable,” he allowed, reaching for another.

      Heat flushed through her and not from embarrassment this time. “You did that on purpose.”

      “Did what?” His face and voice were bland, but he didn’t fool her.

      “You went out of your way to be unpleasant to Miss Jenkins. Surely you guessed I was trying to match you up with her.”

      “Couldn’t think of any other reason she’d be here.”

      Beth threw up her hands. “You didn’t even try to see if she was suitable.”

      “We won’t suit.” He’d finished the last of the cookies and pushed the plate away. “No man wants a wife who can’t stomach to hear about his work.”

      There was that. Beth sighed. “Very well. I suppose she might be too timid for a fellow like you.”

      He nodded, leaning back in his chair as if satisfied. Something inside her itched to remove that smug smile.

      “I should have thought to ask,” she said sweetly. “What do you prefer in your bride?”

      His smile snuffed out. “I’m not looking for a bride.”

      Stubborn! Like most of his kind. Beth smiled at him. “You’re quite right. I’m seeking you a bride.” She leaned forward. “You don’t have all that many choices, you know. There are still far more men than women here. And the other ladies I’ve approached have been reticent.”

      He nodded. “Good. I always knew the ladies of Seattle were a smart lot.”

      “But that doesn’t mean there aren’t ladies who would be willing to have you court them,” Beth insisted. “I’ll try to take your ideas into consideration, if you’d care to share.”

      He crossed his arms over his chest, setting his badge to winking in the light. “Never gave it much thought.”

      “Really? I know women who have the gown all picked out and are just waiting for the fellow to go on their arm.” When he frowned, she pushed on. “Let’s start with physique. Slender or ample?”

      Was that a touch of color working its way into his firm cheeks? “I am not having this conversation with you.”

      She smothered a laugh, keeping her tone pleasant. “Whyever not? It’s in your best interest. I certainly don’t want to waste my time on women you wouldn’t look at twice.”

      “This whole thing is a waste of time,” he grumbled, shifting in his seat.

      “Blonde, brunette, raven-haired, redhead?” Beth persisted.

      He glanced toward the curtain covering the opening to the bakery kitchen, where the redheaded Maddie Haggerty was likely hard at work. “There’s something to be said for red hair.”

      She’d wondered from time to time whether Hart had had a soft spot for the spunky Irish baker before Maddie had married her dashing husband, Michael. She must have been sitting too long, for the little chair seemed suddenly hard.

      “Not too easy to find them,” she said. “What else?”

      She heard his sigh. “Can’t you leave well enough alone?”

      She almost gave up. His shoulders were tight, his hands braced on the table as if he wanted nothing more than to escape. She reached out, laid her hand atop one of his.

      “I’m only trying to help, Hart.”

      He blew out a breath. “I know. Being a matchmaker is a fine calling, for men who want a wife.”

      Once more Beth smiled encouragement. “But not any wife. What’s the perfect woman for you?”

      He straightened. “You want to hear what kind of woman I’d accept as a wife? Tall enough to fit under my chin, sunny hair, warm disposition, backbone to argue her side of the matter, grace to give in when she sees it’s important to me. Someone who understands what I do and respects me for it. You find me a woman like that, and I may have to rethink my decision not to wed.” He pushed back from the table and headed for the door.

      Beth watched him go, too surprised to move. She’d thought it might be difficult finding him someone who met his criteria, but she knew a woman who embodied all those traits.

      Her.

      * * *

      Hart strode down the boardwalk, the sound of his boots beating in time with his pulse. Why’d he give her a target to shoot at? Her brothers bragged that Beth was a crack shot. Once she set her sights on a lady, Hart was as good as married, even with so few women in the area.

      “Hart! Deputy McCormick!”

      Her breathless call pulled him up short. She hurried down the boardwalk after him, one hand clamping her dainty little hat to her head. The gray net veil fluttered behind her as if trying to escape. He knew the feeling.

      “I said my piece,” he told her, widening his stance. What, was he planning to draw on her? Why did he feel as if he’d been backed into a corner by an outlaw gang bent on destruction?

      “And I appreciate your candor,” she assured him as she came abreast. “But we haven’t determined our next steps.”

      He started down the street for the sheriff’s office, where he’d left Arno with a feed sack. “You tried. No lady will have me. That’s the end of it.”

      Her skirts flapped as she lengthened her stride to keep up with him. “I didn’t say no lady would have you, only the ones I’ve approached so far. I would never give up so easily. We have merely encountered a challenge.” She shot him a grin. “And I love challenges.”

      Truth be told, he liked a challenge as well. But this was something more. “You said it yourself—there are only so many unmarried women in these parts. What can you do about a lack of ladies? The women Mercer brought back were all married within a year.”

      “Except Lizzie Ordway,” she reminded him. “She chose to devote herself to teaching.”

      “Wise woman.” He offered her his arm as they came to the end of the boardwalk, but she used both hands to gather her skirts out of the mud instead.

      “I agree.”

      She said it so firmly. Why did he doubt she believed it?

      “If you and the Literary Society are so determined that every gentleman take a wife, why would you allow some ladies to avoid taking a husband?”

      There was a prim set to her mouth. “Some people of either gender lack the spirit of compromise and congeniality necessary for a good marriage.”

      “And what makes you think I’m not one of them?”

      “Because I know you.”

      So she thought, but Hart had gone out of his way to keep his past quiet, his present private. It was best not to make too many friends you’d only end up having to investigate one day.

      “If

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