The Teacher's Star

we rebrand, we can get rid of ‘em and rake in the money.”
“The money’s all good and well, but Miss Snotty Perkins is one slut who’s gonna pay before I leave here.”
Privately, Yancy thought the trouble was that the teacher wasn’t a slut. If she had been, the boss wouldn’t look so awful. A feeling of dread raced through him as he considered Yarborough’s words. Almost like a foreboding that the boss’s vengeance would ruin everything for them.
“Might be you should forget the woman. Especially now that she’s married.”
A skeletal hand reached out to grip Yancy’s own beefy shoulder. It squeezed, hard. “What you talkin’ ‘bout?”
Yancy resisted the urge to move away from the boss or toss off his hand. He knew he could beat the boss in a fight. His brains, however, were no match for Yarborough’s. The man had made them good money in the past and would again, as long as Yancy played along.
“That Anderson man who trains horses. He up and married the teacher two days ago.” Yancy snickered. “Real sudden, too, since they were caught together in her room, or so I hear.”
“That frigid woman wouldn’t let any man romance her. Not if she turned me down.” Then Jubal’s frown turned into a sly smile.
“Could be this is the best revenge I’ll get.”
Yancy gave him a confused look. Jubal shook his head. “Never you mind. When the time’s right, you’ll know what I mean.”
Shrugging, Yancy pointed to the poker chips on the table. “How ‘bout a game?” He pulled a deck of cards out of his pocket.
Jubal grunted. “Think I’m stupid enough to play with your marked cards.” He moved to the door and called to one of the girls working the tables in the saloon’s main room.
“Bring us a fresh deck and two beers, Fancy.” At her nod, he returned to the table and settled into a chair.
Yancy watched him, thinking that the tall, gaunt man looked like a vulture as he hunkered over the table, anticipating the game. With the boss in this mood, maybe poker hadn’t been such a good idea. The man was likely to take it out of Yancy’s hide if he lost. Even worse, he was likely to do anything tonight to win.
Yep, Jubal Yarborough was one rough son of a gun who didn’t like to lose.
Keeping that in mind, Yancy easily lied to the man. “Without the money from our hidden beeves, I don’t have much to bet tonight. Only about ten dollars.” He didn’t plan to tell him about the other thirty dollars tucked into the toe of this boot.
Yarborough glared at him. “Why’d you suggest it then? Did you think we’d play for nickels?”
The underling kept his tongue under control. He’d seen the damage Yarborough could do by backhanding a man with that huge ring he wore on his bony finger.
“Trying to help out is all. Seein’ as you were kind of on edge.”
His words had Yarborough raising one eyebrow as he fisted his hands. “I’m not edgy, idiot. Just hankering to get even with that snooty teacher.”
Yancy wasn’t sure he agreed. The barmaid entered, setting down the beers. She handed him the deck of cards. Immediately, he started playing solitaire.
Grumbling at him, the boss rose to leave. Relief filled Yancy at seeing the man head out the door.
He would not want to be in the schoolteacher’s shoes. Not for anything.

Chapter 7
She woke with the immediate knowledge of where she was and what she’d done. Fear had her sitting straight up in the bed. What if he’d played her for a fool?
A hand reached up to draw her back down. A gentle kiss on her temple followed by a crooned, “You’re okay, sweetheart,” did little to soothe her. Was she alright?
When she laid stiffly beside Rol, he wrapped his arms around her. “It will be a good thing, our marriage. I’ve surprised myself at how much I want to be married to you. I never expected to marry again.”
Turning to look at him, Delia let her eyes rest on his face, measuring his sincerity. Contentment marked his face.
“Why?” The one word gave him an opening to reassure her.
“Yesterday, I watched you and kept telling myself I would never marry again. Just the fact that I had to tell myself that showed how much I’d thought about marrying you.”
He touched his lips to hers in a soft kiss. “You draw me like no one else. Eenie and I need you if we’re ever going to really be a family. I saw that clearly last night.” He softly chuckled. “That made it easy to give in to my desire for you.”
All the fight left her. The fear lingered as she imagined what might try to drive them apart in the future. Still, he was a lawman and clever. He’d asked her to let him handle any future problems.
Relaxing against him, she surrendered to his caresses. Each was focused on the other so that they didn’t hear the knocking. Eenie called loudly from outside the door, “Pa, are you gonna get up? I’m hungry, and I can’t find my new ma.”
The sad note in her words had Delia calling back to her. “Sweet girl, I’m right here. Let me dress. Then we’ll make breakfast together.”
A peal of delight sounded from the other side of the door. Footsteps retreated, making Delia wonder if Eenie didn’t rush to get dressed also. She’d always called the girl Enid, preferring not to use nicknames in the classroom. That didn’t seem right here in their home, though.
Once they’d made and enjoyed their breakfast of pancakes and bacon, Eenie helped Delia wash the dishes. Rol left quickly, needing to tend his horses. Now that she realized the horses had been a cover for his real