he straightened the fence, he stopped suddenly and dropped the pole he’d been holding.
“What are you doing? We don’t have it in place yet.” She straightened, angry at their wasted effort.
“I’ve had enough,” he said simply. “Every time I accidentally touch you, I feel you freeze in panic or bristle like a porcupine. Em, I’m not going to attack you or hurt you. Even if I thought about it you’d shoot me, so why would I even try?”
“We need to get this fence fixed.”
“We need to get this settled between us.” Neither of them moved. “Hit me, Em. Hit me hard. Get some of that anger out. I don’t know if you’re mad at all men or just me, but I’m here. I’m your target.”
“I don’t want to hit you.” She straightened.
“Yes, you do. I got a feeling you want to hit every man in the world, so you might as well start with me.” He widened his stance. “Hit me. We’re not finishing this fence until you get this out of your system, and I seem to be the only male near enough for you to hate.”
She glared at him, raised her hand, and slapped his shoulder.
He didn’t budge. “Hit me hard!”
All the anger she’d stored since she was a child huddled in a corner of her parents’ bedroom exploded, and she swung hard into his shoulder.
He staggered a half step backward and waited for another blow.
Memories of the way her real father had hurt her mother came rolling back. She’d watched him attack her and bed her. She’d heard her mother choke down screams so she wouldn’t wake her daughters. But Em had been awake. She’d witnessed it all.
Suddenly, she was slamming her fist against Lewt’s chest as if he were somehow to blame. He made no effort to block a single blow. The wall of his chest was solid against her assault and she guessed she must be planting bruises, but she didn’t stop.
Finally a sob broke from her throat, and she would have collapsed if he hadn’t held her up. She gulped down tears as rage settled inside her, no longer burning.
“It’s all right, Em,” he finally whispered. “I don’t know if I’ll be here beyond this week or if we’ll ever see each other again, but I want you to know and believe that I’m never going to hurt you. If I come too close you can pound on me again, but don’t be afraid of me.” He looked down at her. “Em, never be afraid of me again.”
She straightened and pulled away. “Why’d you let me do that to you? It must have hurt.”
“I don’t know. Half the time I look at you, I get the feeling you’re fighting to keep from clobbering me.” He studied her, wondering if she was even aware of how she watched every step when he was near. “You all right now?”
“I’m all right,” she answered. He offered his hand, and she took it for a moment. “Thank you,” she whispered as they turned back to the fence.
“You’re welcome,” he whispered back, already tackling the job at hand.
The sun was melting in the west when they rode into the huge barn. A north wind had been whipping up all afternoon, and he was thankful once again for his new coat and gloves. They unsaddled their horses, brushed them down, and filled the feeders.
When he reached to put his coat back on, Em stopped him. “Come over here.” She walked toward the tack room. “You’ve got blood on that new vest.”
“Forget it,” he said as he followed.
She shook her head. “No way. If you’re going courting, you need to look your best. What will the fine ladies say if they see blood?”
He grinned at her. “You do care. Helping me out just a little, are you, Em?”
She shrugged. “I figure you need all the help you can get.”
“Not really. You should see the other two guys. One’s little more than a boy, and he’s a mama’s boy at that. The other is a pompous ass. I’ll be surprised if he’s still around at dinner tonight. The only thing good about that reverend visiting is that he keeps Boyd from constantly bragging. I figure with me staying away a few days, the ladies will have had enough of them and be waiting to spend some time with me.”
Reaching for a rag and a bar of soap, she began working on the blood spilled near the third button of his vest. She