lawyer in town who might be interested in a clerk?"
He took it hook, line, and sinker. Evie could tell the moment he swallowed the whole story. In a little while, it would be fully digested and all over town. She sank back in her chair with a feeling of satisfaction for a job well-done.
"Jonathan Hale is our local attorney. I'll mention the matter to him when he comes back. You have come at a timely moment, Mrs. Peyton. It hasn't been easy to establish a school in these parts. The money and support just hasn't been there. But the late Louise Harding saw the need and established a fund before she died. We've been functioning since last fall. Unfortunately, the young man we recruited to teach our children decided to take a more lucrative position last month, and we haven't found another candidate. To be truthful, Mrs. Peyton, we had hoped to hire another man. A young and pretty woman isn't likely to remain single for long around here."
Evie smiled understanding. "I am dedicated to my teaching, Mr. Powell. I continued to teach after I married. And I imagine the salary you are offering would be difficult for a man to support a family on, but I won't have that problem. So perhaps this is the best way for everyone concerned."
The salary being offered was positively miniscule, but it was better than nothing at all. Had she wished, she could have taken room and board with the families of the children she would be teaching and saved that expense, but Daniel's presence made that awkward even had she wished to live with strangers. Which she didn't.
Gathering up her reticule, shaking Powell's hand, agreeing on the day she would begin, Evie escaped the musty office with the school board chairman at her side. She didn't escape his presence, however. As they gained the street, Powell noticed a tall man walking in their direction, and he caught Evie's shoulder and halted her escape.
"Here comes Jace Harding now. His mother's the lady who set up the trust fund. He's on the board. Might as well meet him while you have the chance. He's one of those single young men I've been warning you about."
Evie took all this in as she watched the man approaching. From the way he carried himself, she had assumed Jason Harding would be older, but it appeared he couldn't be more than in his early thirties. Beneath dark curly hair, his eyes were a serious gray and his jaw a stubborn square, but there was the same familiar light of inquiry in his expression that Evie had seen in many another man. She offered a small smile and was rewarded with a quickness in his step.
"Howdy, Jace, this here's Mrs. Maryellen Peyton, our new schoolteacher. Mrs. Peyton, let me introduce Jason Harding, owner of one of the biggest spreads in the area."
The only spread she knew of covered a bed, and Evie couldn't imagine a big bed something to be bragged about, but she surmised the word had a different meaning in Texas, and she offered her hand. Harding took it in his large one and grinned blindingly at her.
"Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Peyton. The sheriff's been telling me about your little incident. I hope your introduction to Texas doesn't put you off none. It would be a pure shame to lose you before we had a chance to get acquainted."
"I have a little more spirit than that, Mr. Harding. I understand there's a posse out now tracking down the culprits. I'm sure we'll all be safe once they're caught."
Evie was beginning to feel bad about deceiving all these nice people. She hadn't come here to deceive anyone. She had only wanted to protect herself—and her family, if it came down to it. But now one lie was topping another, and the lie of being a widow seemed to be the worst one of all. Darn Tyler Monteigne, anyway. If it hadn't been for him, she could face this nice man in all innocence and accept his attentions just as if she were the kind of young lady he might be interested in.
But she wasn't, so what was one lie on top of another? Being a slightly soiled widow certainly wasn't worse than being the bastard she really was. She didn't know why she had adopted the married title in the first place. She wasn't going to be around long enough to allow a little flirting to develop