Tori walked to the creek, the skirt of her dress brushing against her legs in a flittering motion. It felt good to be back in one of her dresses again. Once at the water, she washed her face and cleaned her teeth. She ran a brush through her hair and tied it back with a ribbon, ready to meet the day.
“Good morning, Miss Henderson.” Jesse stopped before her as she returned from the creek. His eyes crinkled in the corners with humor as his gaze drifted to her breasts.
That’s definitely a smirk on his face.
She narrowed her eyes. Yep, his footsteps. And most likely he’d ogled her the night before, too. Lifting her chin, she said, “Good morning, Mr. Cochran.”
“Everything all right, ma’am?” He tipped his hat, his eyes dancing with mirth.
“Just fine. Have a nice day, sir.” She moved her skirts aside so as not to brush against him. Her foot caught on a root sticking up, and she tumbled to the ground. Spectacles flew to the ground before her, and she landed flat on her face.
“Are you okay?” Strong, warm hands gripped her arms to lift her. She swatted them away.
“I’m fine. I can get up myself.”
“No, let me help you.” He reached for her again. She ignored him and patted the ground for her spectacles. Without them, she could only see a couple of feet in front of her.
Jesse grabbed her arms and hauled her up, smack against his chest. She twisted away, lost her balance, and landed on her rump with a thud. A groan escaped her at the sound of glass cracking. A roll to one side and, sure enough, smashed spectacles under her rear. She awkwardly got up, then examined them through squinted eyes. The right glass shattered, the frame twisted. She sighed.
Jesse’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry, I tried to help.” He gave her a half grin.
Her limited vision still couldn’t hide how good he looked, even when apologizing. “In the future, sir, I would appreciate not having your help.”
His jaw tightened. “For some reason, Miss Henderson, you seem to dislike me. Have I done something I need to apologize for?”
“Aside from breaking my spectacles, you mean?”
“I tried to help. You pulled away from me and landed on your bottom.”
She lowered her voice and leaned closer. “I do not wish to discuss my bottom with you. If you had left me alone, none of this would have happened.”
Jesse matched her tone, and her movements. “I’m a gentleman, I help ladies. But you, ma’am, are by far the most stubborn, unreasonable woman I have ever had the misfortune to run across.”
The nerve of the man. “Mr. Cochran, I would appreciate you not running across me anymore. Then maybe I’ll be able to stay on my feet.” She could have dragged the words back. The conceited man probably assumed she meant he caused her to swoon.
“Fine. That suits me just fine.” He stalked off toward the creek.
Tori couldn’t see clearly enough to find her way back. Taking her time, she managed to get far enough to see the wagon. When she yelled for Michael, he jumped up and guided her by the elbow.
“What happened?”
“Our new neighbor. I tripped, and he insisted on helping me. I pulled away and landed on my spectacles.” She waved them in the air.
“Do you have another pair?”
“Somewhere in the bag I brought with me, but they’re broken and wired together in the center. I’ll have to use them, though, until I can send these out to be repaired.”
She pulled the bag out of the tent and rummaged around. “Where are the others?”
“Hunter and Ellie are selling water right down the road. I can see them from here. Rachel must have wandered off when I tended the horses, and I didn’t see her leave.”
Tori frowned in Michael’s direction. “I don’t like her wandering around this town un-chaperoned. That’s precisely why I wore a disguise.”
“I’ll look for her now.” Michael fetched his hat.
“As soon as I find the other pair of spectacles, I’ll be visiting families to let them know about tutoring.” She mumbled to herself as she continued to paw through the bag. When she uncovered her extra pair, she sighed with relief.
Off to find some tutoring.