Total pages in book: 17
Estimated words: 15404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 77(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 51(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 77(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 51(@300wpm)
He pulls the horse to a halt outside what appears to be a small saloon, with a few other horses lined up outside, their reins wrapped around makeshift wooden posts to keep them in place. He offers me a hand to help me down, and I take it, trying not to focus for too long on how rough and strong his grip feels against my skin.
"So, where are we going, exactly?” I ask, as I adjust the dress again. Lucy was kind enough to lend me something to wear, but she’s a whole lot smaller than me and I barely got this thing on in the first place.
"Mrs. Yang," he replies, jerking his head along the street. "Other end of town. Come on..."
He takes off and I have to rush to catch up with him, glad, at least, that I still have my sneakers to keep my feet from getting too sore.
"So what exactly is it that you do out here?" I ask, gesturing around. He glances at me out of the corner of his eye, nonplussed.
"What do you mean?”
"I mean, do you have a job? Or-"
"I work the allotment attached to the house," he replies, gesturing back over his shoulder towards the place we just came from. "Sell vegetables here in town."
"Oh, that’s cool," I remark. "So you live off the land, then?”
"Everyone does," he replies, and I laugh.
"Sorry, yeah, I guess they do," I concede. "It’s all just...kind of new to me, that’s all."
"New to you?" he asks, frowning slightly.
"Yeah, where I came from, things were a little more convenient," I explain. No harm in making conversation, right? He might not exactly be forthcoming with the back-and-forth, but if I’m going to be living under the same roof as him for the time being, I need to find a way to get on with him.
"So what did you do, then?" he remarks, the first bit of genuine interest he has shown in me all this time. "Before you came here?”
"I’m a teacher," I reply, without thinking. I feel a little twist in my stomach as I realize that I am still referring to it in the present tense, as though I might get back to it at any instant.
"I work for a college," I continue, figuring I should just tell the truth. "I teach English literature to students there."
He raises an eyebrow, a slight smirk curling the corner of his lip.
"That’s a whole lot of education for a girl like you."
"You think so?”
"I know so. Doubt most of the men in this town would be able to say they went to a university, let alone the women."
He doesn’t sound put off by it, even if he does seem a little surprised. I shrug.
"Well, guess I could put them all to shame then," I reply, keeping my tone light. "Provided we keep the conversation about books."
He chuckles.
"Don’t let any of the men hear you talking like that," he warns me. "Can’t imagine many of them would be pleased to hear a woman saying she could outhink them..."
"Well, then, they should put the effort in to be smarter," I fire back. This time, I’m rewarded with a real laugh, the kind that seems to bubble up from some place deep inside him. He looks back towards me, and his face is warm with a big-ass grin, the kind I can’t help but return.
"Maybe you could have a look through our books," he remarks. "My momma was always a big reader, she kept a hell of a collection."
"I’d love to," I gush, and I mean it. One of the reasons that I got into this line of work in the first place was because I adored historical literature so much, the connection it gives us to times past. Why not make the most of this weird situation by reading as much as I can? Hell, when I go back, I might have a little more perspective to bring to my teaching.
It doesn’t take long till we arrive at Mrs. Yang’s - she takes the clothes I was wearing when I arrived here as payment, rubbing the fabric with interest between her thumb and forefinger, before she sets about getting me fitted with a dress.
She tugs and pulls me this way and that, sticking pins through a petticoat that she fits to my body – it doesn’t take long till she’s found a dress that will do for me, making a couple of quick alterations while we wait next to the counter for her to be done.
"Thanks," I murmur to Cade, once the dress is tucked into a satchel and hanging over his shoulder. He shrugs.
"Lucy’s right," he remarks. "You’re going to need something to wear, if you’re going to stick it out here..."
As we head back to the cart, I notice a few people glancing in my direction. I shift a little closer to Cade as we walk, trying not to catch anyone’s eye.