argued.
She darted around him and began placing papers on the desks. “No? Isn’t that what you mean by seeking to have the Flathead children expelled from school?”
He pursued her, staying a step behind as she rushed up and down the rows of desks. “What were you talking about just now? The Fifteenth Amendment. It was passed twenty-seven years ago, but can a black man go about his business easy as he pleases in most parts of this country? No. He can’t. Why do you think Moses Wright moved this far out west?”
“ Construction businesses are booming on the frontier.”
She wouldn’t look him in the eye. Her stack of papers dwindled fast and she returned to the front of the room.
“That and a gang of men in sheets burned down his business in Louisiana and tried to kill him.”
She whirled to him with an exasperated sigh. “The citizens of Cold Springs are not going to rise up with pitchforks to lynch Red Sun Boy for perfect attendance at school, Mr. Avery.”
“Dammit, I told you to call me Christian!”
“They are not going to burn down Sturdy Oak’s homestead either.” She returned to her desk without a second glance.
“Do you want to be a citizen of this country or not?”
“How can you talk about me belonging in one breath and then advocate the exclusion of people who look like me with the next?” She picked up a pair of books and marched past him to the bookshelf at the other end of the room, glaring as she went.
“I’m not! I’d petition for Sturdy Oak too if he wasn’t already a citizen!” He followed her.
“What makes you think you are so all-powerful that you could snap your fingers and make me one of you?”
“ Because that’s the way the government works!”
She shoved the books on the shelf then faced him. “Because you say so?”
“Yes!” He stopped a foot away from her, chest heaving far more than it should have after a little chase around a classroom. “People listen to me, you know.”
“Only because you never stop talking.” Her face was flushed pink and her eyes glittered as she stared at him, refusing to back down.
“Because they know that I know what I’m talking about,” he countered. “They trust me to look out for their best interests, which is what I’m trying to do.”
“So we should all listen to what you have to say?”
“Yes!”
“ You, Mr. Avery, are a bully and…and another word that begins with ‘b!’” Her voice trembled with frustration.
“I’m looking out for the people of this town! If that makes me a bastard—”
“Just be silent for once!”
“I’ve wasted too much time being silent.”
“For pity’s sake!”
“ I’m doing this, getting involved, to keep you safe!”
“Christian, please! Stop talking!”
“I have responsibilit ies to this town and you can’t—”
She threw herself against him, arms closing around his shoulders, his words cut short by the pressure of her mouth on his.
Numb shock flooded him. Every thought he ever had spilled out his ears and lay in shreds around his feet. Life as he knew it was reduced to heat and pressure and the faint scent of lavender and skin. There she was, in the center of it. Lily.
She pulled back with a gasp. Her forearms braced against his shoulders and she struggled. He realized a moment later that his arms were around her, his hands on her waist, holding her against him. Her eyes filled with panic as sharp as if gunshots were firing over their heads again. She jerked back.
He wasn’ t about to let her go.
He pulled her closer, lifting her to meet his lips once more. This time he took control. He pressed into her, devouring her with a hunger that reached to the root of his soul. Her mouth gave willingly under his, her lips moving to match his. He teased his tongue against hers, sparks snapping through him as she not only accepted his exploration but gave in to it. A moan rose from her throat. Her body sagged against his. He tightened his hold, his whole world
She darted around him and began placing papers on the desks. “No? Isn’t that what you mean by seeking to have the Flathead children expelled from school?”
He pursued her, staying a step behind as she rushed up and down the rows of desks. “What were you talking about just now? The Fifteenth Amendment. It was passed twenty-seven years ago, but can a black man go about his business easy as he pleases in most parts of this country? No. He can’t. Why do you think Moses Wright moved this far out west?”
“ Construction businesses are booming on the frontier.”
She wouldn’t look him in the eye. Her stack of papers dwindled fast and she returned to the front of the room.
“That and a gang of men in sheets burned down his business in Louisiana and tried to kill him.”
She whirled to him with an exasperated sigh. “The citizens of Cold Springs are not going to rise up with pitchforks to lynch Red Sun Boy for perfect attendance at school, Mr. Avery.”
“Dammit, I told you to call me Christian!”
“They are not going to burn down Sturdy Oak’s homestead either.” She returned to her desk without a second glance.
“Do you want to be a citizen of this country or not?”
“How can you talk about me belonging in one breath and then advocate the exclusion of people who look like me with the next?” She picked up a pair of books and marched past him to the bookshelf at the other end of the room, glaring as she went.
“I’m not! I’d petition for Sturdy Oak too if he wasn’t already a citizen!” He followed her.
“What makes you think you are so all-powerful that you could snap your fingers and make me one of you?”
“ Because that’s the way the government works!”
She shoved the books on the shelf then faced him. “Because you say so?”
“Yes!” He stopped a foot away from her, chest heaving far more than it should have after a little chase around a classroom. “People listen to me, you know.”
“Only because you never stop talking.” Her face was flushed pink and her eyes glittered as she stared at him, refusing to back down.
“Because they know that I know what I’m talking about,” he countered. “They trust me to look out for their best interests, which is what I’m trying to do.”
“So we should all listen to what you have to say?”
“Yes!”
“ You, Mr. Avery, are a bully and…and another word that begins with ‘b!’” Her voice trembled with frustration.
“I’m looking out for the people of this town! If that makes me a bastard—”
“Just be silent for once!”
“I’ve wasted too much time being silent.”
“For pity’s sake!”
“ I’m doing this, getting involved, to keep you safe!”
“Christian, please! Stop talking!”
“I have responsibilit ies to this town and you can’t—”
She threw herself against him, arms closing around his shoulders, his words cut short by the pressure of her mouth on his.
Numb shock flooded him. Every thought he ever had spilled out his ears and lay in shreds around his feet. Life as he knew it was reduced to heat and pressure and the faint scent of lavender and skin. There she was, in the center of it. Lily.
She pulled back with a gasp. Her forearms braced against his shoulders and she struggled. He realized a moment later that his arms were around her, his hands on her waist, holding her against him. Her eyes filled with panic as sharp as if gunshots were firing over their heads again. She jerked back.
He wasn’ t about to let her go.
He pulled her closer, lifting her to meet his lips once more. This time he took control. He pressed into her, devouring her with a hunger that reached to the root of his soul. Her mouth gave willingly under his, her lips moving to match his. He teased his tongue against hers, sparks snapping through him as she not only accepted his exploration but gave in to it. A moan rose from her throat. Her body sagged against his. He tightened his hold, his whole world
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