“Class dismissed,” Adam said as he walked down the center aisle between the desks, keeping his gaze on Bella. “You girls hurry on home. Your parents will be looking for you.”
They stepped back, giving him a wide berth before running outside.
Bella ducked her crimson face and rustled through a stack of exam booklets on her desk, pretending to be busy.
Adam rested his hand on the stack, demanding her attention. “How often does that happen?”
Her hands gripped the trapped papers. “About twice a year. Someone sees it and feels clever when they figure it out. At the most, I endure whispers for about a week, and then they settle down.” She lifted one shoulder in resignation. “I’ll never live down the oak of shame. What can I do? Kids are like that.”
“Do you really regret not kissing Jimmy Blaggart?” he asked. “If you know where he’s living now, I could send for him. I guarantee he’s regretting that he missed his chance.”
The pain around her eyes eased. She relinquished her hold on the exams. “You’re a caution, teasing me over that. Shame on you. We have a test to study for.”
Too bad, because Bella sure looked pretty when she was flustered. “Are you ready for the math portion of the test today?” he asked.
“I practiced last night, but it wasn’t the same. If I’m not nervous, then I do fine.”
“And that’s why I’m here, to make you uneasy. Now, what’s at stake?” He tapped his chin, pretending he hadn’t been up half the night delighting in this idea. “How about, if you fail, you have to walk through town holding my hand?”
Her gaze sharpened. “Funny you should think of that.”
And then something struck him that he should have thought of before. “Bella, when you’re in these situations, do you ever think about what you have to gain, instead of focusing on what you have to lose?”
“I have nothing to gain by taking this exam, only disaster if I lose it.”
“Nonsense. Instead of thinking of how you’re going to be ashamed if you fail, why don’t you tell yourself how much respect you’ll gain when you succeed? Look forward to the exam as a chance to prove yourself. Think of rewards for when you pass it, instead of punishments if you fail.”
Her eyes narrowed. “And what would my reward be if I pass the practice exam today?”
He grinned. “Don’t you worry. We’ll think of something.”
eight
Bella could tell that she was performing better. The question was if it was because she was learning how to take the exams, or because she couldn’t be scared as long as Adam was in the room.
She bit her lip as she latched the schoolhouse door and then tied on her bonnet. She knew what was coming, and Adam, with his shining eyes, did too. Had she made a mistake in allowing this? Would he only hurt her again?
“I’ve never been so happy to see someone fail.” He stepped forward and took her hand firmly in his. There was a pause, both of them waiting for a cosmic disaster to result from their shocking behavior, but when it was clear that the earth would continue spinning, he winked at her, and they started out through town.
Bella loved the fitting between them—how her fingers were surrounded by his hand, how her palm brushed so deliciously against his. If it were to be truly romantic in the proper sense, she reckoned they would both be wearing gloves, and she would have been escorted on his arm, but bare hands felt fine enough for a working day.
It was true, what her parents had said. Adam had courting on his mind. If he was thinking along those lines, she needed him to clear up his intentions.
“I don’t reckon I understand how your job works,” she said. “You’re going to follow the harvest, right? Are you going to do that every year?”
When he looked at her, he noticed that she was carrying her lunch pail. “Give me that,” he said. “I’m supposed to do all the toting.” She was afraid he’d forgotten to answer her question, but once they got past the mercantile, he commenced. “At first I’ll travel. Harvest starts here in the middle of May, and I can follow it north as the crops ripen, all the way until November.”
“Then what will you do?”
“Over the winter I’ll make repairs on my equipment and maybe make some money working on whatever people need fixing in town. Eventually I’d like to settle down and have teams that do the harvesting for me. I’ll train them and buy the equipment, but I’d be managing from a home office.”
“And where is home?” she asked.
“If I lose this wager, home can’t be here.”
“Did you want it to be?”
“I had an idea that it’d be a nice place to live. There was this girl who lived here that I couldn’t forget.” Adam tugged on her hand.
Despite her sudden shyness, Bella met his gaze.
“Bella,” he said, “when I started along this path, there was no guarantee that you would be here, no guarantee that you would want to see me, but I imagined this, just the same. If you had any idea—”
“Miss Eden, are you holding that man’s hand?” Freda Longstreet called from behind the hardware store. Max Bresden leaned around her to get a peek for himself.
“This was her punishment for failing a test,” Adam replied with a wink at Max.
Freda dissolved into giggles while sending Max a shy glance.
“Miss Eden wouldn’t fail a test, but don’t worry. We won’t tell,” Max said to Adam.
“The code among gentlemen,” Adam responded as they continued up the road toward the oak tree.
“Now you’ve done it,” Bella said. “Freda won’t pass another exam for the rest of her days if it means keeping Max’s attention.”
“You’re joshing me. No one would fail a test to catch a man.”
“Not an important test,” Bella said. Then, with a copious batting of her eyes, she added, “but maybe a practice test.”
Adam stopped before the
