The Texan's Courtship Lessons

Violet groaned. “Isabelle, I’ve done something terrible. Truly, I have. I was going to wear my new coat this morning, but Pa said it was too thin since it’s really only supposed to be a raincoat. He said I’d catch cold and made me come back inside to change. I didn’t want to go all the way to my room for my other coat, so I took yours.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“The bracelet was caught inside your sleeve. It fell out when I put your coat on. It slid across the floor and lodged halfway under the desk. I was in such a rush that I didn’t stop to pick it up. I just...left it there thinking no one would see it. I planned to get it as soon as I came back. Now it’s gone.”

A cold, sinking feeling settled in Isabelle’s stomach. “No, it has to be here somewhere.”

They searched every inch of space in the foyer but found no trace of the bracelet. Isabelle caught her sister’s hands to still their wringing. “Calm down, Vi. We need to think this through.”

“There’s nothing to think through. Bracelets don’t disappear. Someone must have taken it. It had to be one of the boarders.”

Isabelle shook her head. “We don’t know that for sure.”

“Well, I don’t have it. Neither do you. Pa left the house before I did. He hasn’t returned yet, so he couldn’t have taken it. Rhett can hardly walk. What about Ma? Have you been with her the whole time?”

“No. She brought Rhett his breakfast and retrieved the tray. Perhaps she found it.”

“Then wouldn’t she have mentioned it?”

Isabelle frowned. “Probably, but we should check her jewelry box to be certain.”

“And if it isn’t there?”

“Maybe whoever took it will return it. Meanwhile, we can’t let our parents find out about this. Or anyone else for that matter.”

Rhett’s voice filled the hallway. “Why is that exactly?”

Gasping, Isabelle whirled to find him balancing against the doorpost of the study with curiosity wrinkling his brow. She glanced back to exchange a panicked look with her sister. Violet recovered first. With a quick glance toward the kitchen, she caught Isabelle’s arm and towed her across the hall toward Rhett so they could speak more quietly. “Because if our parents find out there’s a thief in the boardinghouse, we might as well kiss Peppin goodbye.”

Concern filled Rhett’s eyes as he turned to Isabelle for confirmation. “You’d have to leave town?”

She nodded. “After Amy’s elopement, they said if anything else goes wrong, they’re going to sell the boardinghouse and move us back to Virginia, where they’re originally from.”

“Well, we can’t have that.” He frowned. “We need to figure out who took the bracelet and find a way to get it back.”

Violet wrinkled her nose. “How are we going to do that?”

“First off, y’all had better check your ma’s jewelry box like you said. The other thing we need to do is to keep a close watch for anyone behaving oddly or guiltily. Y’all would be better judges than me on that since I don’t know the other boarders well. Let’s see how all of that works out, and we’ll go from there.”

Isabelle nodded, then blinked, unsure of how “we” suddenly included him. She wouldn’t complain, though. Having him on their side was far better than letting him tell their parents about the missing bracelet the first chance he got. She could only hope that the three of them would be able to curtail this problem before it became a situation requiring her parents’ attention. The last thing she wanted to do was, as Violet had put it, kiss the boardinghouse and Peppin goodbye.

Of its own accord, her gaze drifted to Rhett’s smile. She shook her head to keep her thoughts from straying where they didn’t need to go. He caught her gaze and his eyes seemed to darken. She swallowed hard. She’d get the bracelet back, find Rhett someone else to court and her life would go back to normal. End of story.

Chapter Four (#ulink_049f8133-7d23-5379-979b-46d68520fa30)

Rhett hadn’t intended to eavesdrop on Isabelle and Violet’s conversation. It had simply been nigh on impossible not to since it had taken place only yards from the study door. Of course, once he’d realized what he was listening to, he hadn’t exactly tried not to hear it. He didn’t like the idea of the Bradley girls dealing with a possible thief by themselves, which was why he’d inserted himself into the situation. That and the fact that, prior to overhearing them, he’d been staring at the ceiling for thirty minutes after giving up on his attempts to read one of the few books he’d been able to reach. Being an invalid was duller than he’d ever imagined. He needed a project to keep his mind occupied.

Isabelle had checked her mother’s jewelry box, but the bracelet was still nowhere to be found. Knowing there was nothing else they could do to search for it at the moment, she and Violet stayed around to play a few card games with him. Eventually Mrs. Bradley brought his lunch and took her daughters with her when she left. Only a few minutes later, Isabelle returned to announce that he had a visitor. “It’s the sheriff. He’s waiting in the parlor. I thought you might be lying down and figured you’d want to sit in the chair with your leg propped up while you talked with him, like you did for our card games.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

After helping him get situated, she straightened the bed then sent him a pointed look on the way out. “I’ll go get him so y’all can talk about your business.”

He grinned, easily catching her subtle warning not to mention the thief. “My business, meaning not yours?”

“Exactly.” She smiled.

She was out the door before he had a chance to respond. Sean entered only a moment later, with a pair of freshly hewn crutches in his hand. “I come bearing gifts. Made them myself. Although, I see you’ve already got a pair.”

Rhett glanced at the set already leaning against a nearby wall. “They worked great in a pinch but they’re a bit too short for me.”

“I pegged you at about six-two and fashioned these accordingly. Want to try them out?”

“Sure thing.” He rose from the chair, where he sat with his leg propped up. Setting the new crutches in position, he moved back and forth across the room. “These are perfect, Sean. Thank you.”

“Glad I could help.” Sean waited until Rhett sat down, then took the chair opposite him. “I wanted to let you know what I’ve learned about what happened last night. It seems that a couple of teenagers weren’t satisfied with the fireworks display the town had planned, so they stockpiled enough for one of their own. They’d planned to set them off farther outside of town. However, the load fell out of the wagon right at the corner near your house. No one is sure how a spark hit one of the fuses, but it set off the whole lot.”

“I hope no one got hurt.”

“A minor burn here or there is all. It could have been a lot worse. As it is, the boys have been scared out of their wits more than anything.”

“I can imagine. It was scary enough as far away as I was. What’s going to happen to them now?”

“Setting off fireworks within the town limits is a misdemeanor, so ultimately that will be for the judge to decide. Do you think you’re going to press charges?”

Rhett grimaced. “They’re so young. I’d hate to do it.”

“I know. Unfortunately, their age doesn’t change what happened. People could have been seriously injured or even killed. Your house was destroyed. Several others were damaged. If you don’t bring charges, someone else probably will.”

“Yes, but those wouldn’t be as bad.”

“True. It’s up to you. Judge Hendricks is a fair man—kind, wise and has a knack for coming up with the right solution.”

“I’m sure he is, but I’m probably going to forego any legal proceedings. I had insurance on the house, so I ought to be all right without adding to whatever those kids will have to face from everyone else.”

Sean nodded. “Meanwhile, you have an army of volunteers working to clear the debris off your lot. Anything salvageable will be placed in boxes for you to look through later. Once that’s done, better prepare yourself for some visitors. I’m sure you’ll have a lot of folks dropping by to check on you.”

Though he was embarrassed at the thought of all the attention he’d be getting, Rhett couldn’t help but appreciate the way the town was rallying around him. “I appreciate everything you’ve done, what the others are doing now and all of the support I’ve gotten. Please, let everyone know that.”

“You’re our neighbor and our friend. It’s the least we could do. Actually, there’s one more thing. The town got together and... Well, here.”

Rhett took one look at the money inside the envelope Sean handed him and shook his head. “I appreciate this, but it isn’t necessary.”

Sean held up his hands when Rhett tried to hand it back. “Don’t give it back too quickly. You might not be able to work for a while. It might come in handy.”

“I’ll be fine.” Rhett frowned. “Tell you what. Why don’t we start a fund to buy a new fire wagon for the town with this money? That way the whole town would benefit.”

“You’re really going to refuse to take it?” At Rhett’s nod, Sean finally accepted the envelope. “Then I think your idea is a good one. This amount isn’t quite enough, but it’s a good start.”