draw breath again. For the first time, she noticed tiny flecks of gold in his green eyes. He had the most amazing eyes she’d ever seen. She could stare at them for hours. His eyes flickered, shifted, focused on her mouth. She drew in a sudden breath and looked away, breaking their connection.
Unnerved, she blurted out the first thing that popped into her mind. “You won’t send them back to Chicago, will you?”
He frowned. “Who?”
“The boys. You promised to let me know if you found them, remember?”
“I said I’d think about it.” His expression turned almost fierce. “Why are you so worried about these boys?”
“Why shouldn’t I be concerned? They’re children.”
Jake leaned forward. “Livy, we’ve been over this already. They’re little hoodlums. Well, they’re not so little. Mostly, they’re half-grown youngsters who aren’t interested in finding a job and contributing to society.”
She bristled. “They are not. They’re children, just like the Hays children and Mary and little Grace.” Every child deserved a chance. Those boys were babies once. Toddlers. Some mother’s little man. Who knew what horrific incident, what horrible sickness had torn them from their families and tossed them on the streets like leavings from a slop jar?
“You’re looking at this through rose-colored glasses. You can’t save every child that crosses your path.”
His words pierced her heart, and tears pricked her eyes. She knew she couldn’t save them all. She couldn’t save the two who’d mattered the most. But he didn’t understand, and the only way to make him would be to tell him the truth about her past.
And she’d left her past in Chicago.
“I can only try,” she whispered.
He reached out and wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb, then cupped her face in the palm of his hand. “I don’t want to see you hurt.”
She froze, the warmth of his hand caressing her cheek. His green eyes darkened, and he stared at her lips. He wanted to kiss her. She could see it in his eyes, feel it in the rough texture of his fingertips. She lowered her gaze, focused on his lips.
He moved. Or did she?
Oh, Lord. She didn’t want this, did she? Not after Katie.
A burst of childish laughter came from the parlor. They jerked apart, the spell of attraction shattered. Livy sat ramrod straight and refused to look up. Her heart raced as her mind scrambled to figure out what had just happened between her and Jake.
Seconds ticked by before Jake cleared his throat and picked up the doll. “All right. Now she’s beginning to look presentable, don’t you think?”
“Yes.” Livy barely managed to get the word out. What if he had leaned forward to kiss her? What would she have done? Would she have let him . . . or slapped his face for being so forward?
“Um . . . do you have any flour?”
She blinked, ignoring the questions banging against her brain. “Flour?”
“Yeah.” He rummaged around in his sack and brought out a handful of soft, golden corn silk. “Mix some flour and water together to make a paste. This little lady needs some hair.”
Thankful for something to occupy her, Livy controlled her shaky fingers, stirred up a batch, and handed the paste to Jake. He looked so calm, as if he wasn’t going to kiss her moments before. She bit her lip. Maybe she’d imagined the whole thing. Her sister’s words came back to haunt her.
“Stolen kisses lead to more than you need or want.”
She’d do well to remember that. She clasped her hands in her lap and concentrated on the doll.
Jake dabbed a small amount of the sticky goo on the doll’s head and added silk to create a halo of golden curls. Next, he made a bonnet, letting the curls peek out from underneath. Finally he trimmed the ends of the skirt and stood her up in the middle of the table.
Livy touched a finger to the doll. “Oh, she’s beautiful!”
“Yes, she is.”
She looked up. Jake stared at her instead of the toy, his gaze skimming lightly over her face.
Her breath caught. He meant her.
Livy’s heart fluttered as her cheeks warmed. She lowered her gaze, afraid of what he’d see in her eyes—that when he said it, it made her feel beautiful in a way she never had before. She stared unseeingly at the corn-husk doll as a place deep in her heart she hadn’t even known was wounded began to heal.
Chapter Five
Coffee.
Jake needed coffee in the worst way. Skinner had kept him up all night. Singing.