“you’re the first folks I’ve seen in almost two weeks.”
I decided that maybe the fort hadn’t changed so much after all. When I was thinking of the perfect place to set my Valentine story, this old fort came to mind. It would take a special kind of man to settle there and a special kind of woman to stay with him.
I hope you enjoy
In a Heartbeat
.
—Jodi Thomas
Chapter One
Colt Barnett stormed onto the loading dock of the train station, amazed at the position he’d found himself in. If there was one thing he’d learned in the years he’d been assigned to Texas, it was that he’d rather wrestle a locoweed-eatin’ longhorn than have any part of bringing a woman onto an army fort. But there’d been no time to wire Miss Joanna Whiddon to tell her not to come. He’d only gotten her letter the day she planned to arrive. He’d failed to mention in his ad that only male tutors need apply.
He could just picture the kind of woman who’d answer an ad to teach other people’s children. She was bound to be homelier than a polecat caught in a hailstorm and about as even-tempered. Why else would she be teaching and not raising children of her own?
“She must have had a terrible life to sign on out here where she’ll be lucky to keep her scalp through the winter,” Colt said to himself as he stomped his way along the platform.
After a few minutes of confusion from arriving and departing passengers, the throng cleared and Colt looked around at the few remaining people. Three women waited while a porter unloaded luggage. One was obviously a lady, tall, well dressed, and clutching a Bible in her hand like a missionary suddenly dropped off in the wilderness. Another woman, dressed in black, was probably someone’s recently widowed grandmother. The third fit Colt’s self-made description of what a tutor should be. Short, plain, thick wire glasses, hair in a bun and “never married” written all over her.
“Miss Whiddon?” He towered over the little woman who looked like she might run if he spoke too loud.
All three women turned to face him. Colt removed his hat and looked at the old maid before him. “Miss Whiddon, I’m Colt Barnett.”
The little woman lifted her eyebrows in confusion and shook her head slightly. She glanced from side to side as if debating darting around him.
“I’m Joanna Whiddon,” the tall lady said softly, stepping between Colt and the unlucky candidate he’d guessed as the tutor. She shifted her Bible to her left hand and extended her right. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Captain Barnett.”
She was the first woman Colt could remember who almost looked him straight in the eye without having to look up. She had a handsome face, but there was no smile on her lips or in her crystal-blue eyes.
Colt caught himself wiping his hand on the pant leg of his uniform before accepting the lady’s handshake. He knew he was supposed to say something, but words seemed to roll around at random in his mind without forming one line of thought. This woman wasn’t at all what he needed to help with his three half-wild children. She looked like she’d been pampered all her life, and if she wasn’t toting a gun in that Bible, she’d be wise not to move any farther west.
The lady turned slightly toward the older woman. “I’d like you to meet my aunt Etta.” Her voice softened as she said the older woman’s name.
Colt managed to raise one eyebrow, communicating volumes.
“She always travels with me, Captain Barnett,” the tutor continued as she made no secret of sizing him up. He had the feeling she saw every flaw in his Union uniform, from the slightly wrinkled yellow scarf marking him as an officer in the frontier campaign to his pants legs in need of a good pressing.
“You didn’t mention an aunt traveling with you.” Colt wished he could see a little fear or at least respect in her expression. He could deal with that more easily than with the challenge that seemed to be banked
I decided that maybe the fort hadn’t changed so much after all. When I was thinking of the perfect place to set my Valentine story, this old fort came to mind. It would take a special kind of man to settle there and a special kind of woman to stay with him.
I hope you enjoy
In a Heartbeat
.
—Jodi Thomas
Chapter One
Colt Barnett stormed onto the loading dock of the train station, amazed at the position he’d found himself in. If there was one thing he’d learned in the years he’d been assigned to Texas, it was that he’d rather wrestle a locoweed-eatin’ longhorn than have any part of bringing a woman onto an army fort. But there’d been no time to wire Miss Joanna Whiddon to tell her not to come. He’d only gotten her letter the day she planned to arrive. He’d failed to mention in his ad that only male tutors need apply.
He could just picture the kind of woman who’d answer an ad to teach other people’s children. She was bound to be homelier than a polecat caught in a hailstorm and about as even-tempered. Why else would she be teaching and not raising children of her own?
“She must have had a terrible life to sign on out here where she’ll be lucky to keep her scalp through the winter,” Colt said to himself as he stomped his way along the platform.
After a few minutes of confusion from arriving and departing passengers, the throng cleared and Colt looked around at the few remaining people. Three women waited while a porter unloaded luggage. One was obviously a lady, tall, well dressed, and clutching a Bible in her hand like a missionary suddenly dropped off in the wilderness. Another woman, dressed in black, was probably someone’s recently widowed grandmother. The third fit Colt’s self-made description of what a tutor should be. Short, plain, thick wire glasses, hair in a bun and “never married” written all over her.
“Miss Whiddon?” He towered over the little woman who looked like she might run if he spoke too loud.
All three women turned to face him. Colt removed his hat and looked at the old maid before him. “Miss Whiddon, I’m Colt Barnett.”
The little woman lifted her eyebrows in confusion and shook her head slightly. She glanced from side to side as if debating darting around him.
“I’m Joanna Whiddon,” the tall lady said softly, stepping between Colt and the unlucky candidate he’d guessed as the tutor. She shifted her Bible to her left hand and extended her right. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Captain Barnett.”
She was the first woman Colt could remember who almost looked him straight in the eye without having to look up. She had a handsome face, but there was no smile on her lips or in her crystal-blue eyes.
Colt caught himself wiping his hand on the pant leg of his uniform before accepting the lady’s handshake. He knew he was supposed to say something, but words seemed to roll around at random in his mind without forming one line of thought. This woman wasn’t at all what he needed to help with his three half-wild children. She looked like she’d been pampered all her life, and if she wasn’t toting a gun in that Bible, she’d be wise not to move any farther west.
The lady turned slightly toward the older woman. “I’d like you to meet my aunt Etta.” Her voice softened as she said the older woman’s name.
Colt managed to raise one eyebrow, communicating volumes.
“She always travels with me, Captain Barnett,” the tutor continued as she made no secret of sizing him up. He had the feeling she saw every flaw in his Union uniform, from the slightly wrinkled yellow scarf marking him as an officer in the frontier campaign to his pants legs in need of a good pressing.
“You didn’t mention an aunt traveling with you.” Colt wished he could see a little fear or at least respect in her expression. He could deal with that more easily than with the challenge that seemed to be banked
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