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because she knew what he was trying to say.
They were so intensely concentrated on the work Catherine had forgotten her initial
rush of excitement at his touch, when suddenly a movement on the floor caught her
attention. A flurry of brown glimpsed from the corner of her eye made her jump from her
seat shrieking. Rat!
Scrambling onto the bench as though the animal might suddenly run at her and climb
up her body, she screamed again. She detested rodents and this specimen wasn t like the
harmless gray field mice that occasionally got into the McPhersons house. The rat was
large and sleek, with a foot-long tail.
The animal paused in the center aisle of the schoolroom, gazing at her with interest
before scurrying toward the cloakroom near the entrance of the building. It was the
culprit that had been getting into the children s lunch boxes, bold and clever enough to
flip latches and lift lids.
Alerted by her commotion, Jim, too, had risen from the bench. He crossed to the
woodstove and snatched up a poker, then chased the rat into the cloakroom.
Embarrassed by her display of squeamishness, Catherine climbed down from the
bench and followed, lifting her skirts, ready to run if the rat ran toward her. She hovered
in the doorway of the little side room with its rows of hooks for the children s coats,
watching as Jim kicked aside a pair of forgotten galoshes and a few storage boxes in an
attempt to corner the elusive rodent. He jabbed the poker behind one of the boxes, and
there was a loud squeal.
Catherine screamed too, covering her mouth with her hands, the visceral image of an
impaled rat turning her stomach.
A second squeal came from the corner as Jim stabbed with the poker again. He
leaned to examine the animal, laid down the poker, and turned toward Catherine.
Approaching her, he nodded that the job was finished, the cloakroom thief had been
dispatched.
Just as he stopped in front of her, the door of the schoolhouse burst open, slamming
back against the wall. Charles Van Hausen raced in. Miss Johnson? Are you all right?
He registered Jim s hand on her arm, and Catherine could see in his eyes the moment
he made the wrong assumption. Charles crossed the floor and grabbed Jim s shoulder,
pulling him away from her and throwing him against the wall.
Charles, no! she yelled, as he grabbed Jim s throat and punched him square in the
face.
Jim broke the man s grip on his throat with an upward thrust of his hands, and
twisted away.
He didn t do anything. Stop!
But the sedate banker was suddenly violently male and intent on protecting her
honor. Too focused to listen, he charged. Jim sidestepped him and raised his fists, ready
to punch back.
Catherine inserted her body between them. Stop! She held Jim back with a hand on
his chest, and faced Van Hausen. Charles, don t! Nothing happened. I screamed because
there was a rat.
It took a second for her words to register, but he halted, his small brown moustache
twitching comically above his lip. Rat?
Over there. She pointed to the corner.
Jim s heart pounded beneath her palm, and his chest rose and fell. An angry scowl
knit his brows, and his nose gushed blood. He wiped it, then pinched the bridge to stop
the blood flow. His gaze never left Van Hausen as the man went to the corner and
stooped to examine the dead rodent.
I heard you scream, and I thought& He trailed off. You re all right?
Yes. I was giving Jim a reading lesson. A rat ran across the room and he & took
care of it, as you can see.
Charles returned to them, glancing from one to the other. Learning to read? Can
he?
Yes, she said succinctly and turned to Jim. Are you all right, Mr. Kinney?
He nodded and glared at Van Hausen.
Sorry. Charles spoke loudly. Is it broken? I could get the doctor.
I ll get a rag. Catherine hurried to the supply cupboard. What brings you here,
Mr. Van Hausen?
I came to get my sister s homework assignments. Mother wanted to make sure she
doesn t fall behind. He bent to retrieve his hat, which had fallen off during the fight.
Knowing he was intent on courting her, Catherine doubted it was simply concern for
his little sister s schoolwork that made him stop by. How is Melissa?
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