Read Deborah Camp for Free Online

gather them up and bring them. And you can’t stop me.” She grinned and turned her back to Cassie. “Button me up, Cassie.”
    Cassie slipped the satin-colored buttons through the loops, her fingertips tingling with the touch of the fine material. So soft and slick, she thought, wishing her clothes felt that good.
    “He won’t be much trouble,” Jewel promised. “I imagine he’ll be so grateful for your help that he’ll give you a big kiss.”
    Cassie’s fingers tensed. “He ain’t kissing me!”
    “Cassie, will you please stop saying that word? ‘Ain’t’ sounds as if you don’t know right from wrong. Just because Shorty didn’t care to better himself doesn’t mean you have to follow his lead.”
    “He
isn’t
gonna kiss me,” Cassie said, stepping back from Jewel and letting her gaze wander over the woman’s full figure and the lovely frock that hugged it. “He’s all hairy and disgusting. Like a bear or something.”
    “That’s one of the delightful differences between men and women,” Jewel said, pinning her flaming hair in order. “Men are hairy and tough, and women are smooth and soft.”
    “I ain’t … I’m
not
soft,” Cassie interrupted.
    Jewel smiled. “That sounds much better, Cassie, but you’re soft compared to that buck in there. You should feel his skin. It’s leathery and—”
    “Stop!” Cassie flattened her palms against her ears and frowned at Jewel when the woman laughed at her. “It ain’t natural for you to be talking so.”
    Jewel grasped Cassie’s wrists and forced her hands down from the side of her head. “It’s the most natural thing in the world, Cassie Potter.” Her hands slipped from Cassie’s wrists to pluck at the lace around her own cuffs. “Oh, I’m not talking about what goes on in my house. That’s just business. Animal urges and the like.”
    “Animals,” Cassie said, folding her arms at her waist in a moment of triumph. “You just said what I’ve been saying. Men like him are animals.”
    Jewel’s hands whispered down her satin skirt. “I’m talking about the special feelings that flow between a man and a woman when there’s nothing to be gained except what God intended,” Jewel continued as if she hadn’t heard Cassie’s denouncement. “If it was good enough for Adam and Eve, why isn’t it good enough for you?”
    Cassie opened her mouth, found nothing to say, and closed it. Jewel delivered a cagey wink and swept her velvet purse off the table.
    “Enough said. I’ve got to be getting back. The girls will be wondering what’s become of me.”
    “You’re leaving?” Panic blew through Cassie, and she clutched at Jewel’s sleeve in desperation. “Stay for a while longer, Jewel. I’m scared to be alone with him.”
    “Honey, honey”—Jewel patted her hand—“nothing to be scared of. He’s asleep, and he’ll be weak as a baby when he wakes up. Just do what I said. Tell you what—I’ll leave a little money with you and I’ll bring you some seed. What do you want to plant?”
    “I dunno.” Cassie entwined her fingers with Jewel’s, reluctant to let go. “Taters, I guess.”
    “Yes. Potatoes, greens, corn. I’ll send out what you need to get started on that garden.” She disengaged her hand from Cassie’s and opened her purse to withdraw a shiny coin from it, which she placed in Cassie’s palm. “There you go. Spend it when you have to and not before. There’ll be more coming.”
    “This is enough.”
    “I’ll decide that, little lady.” Jewel’s lips brushed Cassie’s cheek. “I’ll check in on you from time to time.”
    Desolation settled in Cassie’s stomach as Jewel moved outside with her characteristic springy gait. She untied the horse and stepped up into the buggy, arranging her skirt carefully before sitting down.
    Cassie stood beside the creaking buggy and gazed up at the woman who looked out of place in her fussy dress. Jewel opened the dainty parasol and grabbed up the reins.
    “Time