When Dorothy arrived at Carter’s house, she was pleased to see he had finally changed out of his rumpled clothes, and now wore a slightly less fancy suit. At least he’d tried to dress more like the locals.

She wore the same dress she’d worn earlier, but she’d taken out her hairpins for the evening, allowing her hair to flow down her back.

“You look lovely.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going first?” Carter seemed nervous and unsure.

“No…it will be a surprise!” Dorothy grabbed his arm to guide him out the door. Carter turned to put his key into the lock.

“Carter, you can’t be serious.”

“What? What’s wrong?” Carter seemed even more nervous now. Dorothy laughed to put him at ease.

“We’re in Nowhere, Texas. No one is going to break into your house. We have almost no crime here. No one locks their doors.”

“That can’t be true.” Carter couldn’t imagine that all of the town’s residents would be so foolish. “That’s too dangerous.”

“It’s very safe here. It’s one of the reasons I love Texas so much. In New York, we were kept safe because our matron watched over us, but our town wasn’t the best. I never felt truly safe until I came here and started living with Edna Petunia and Cletus.”

Carter frowned. “I suppose, just this once, I could leave the door unlocked.”

“Glad to hear it. Now, you follow me. Look straight ahead, don’t pay attention to any of the street signs or buildings, all right?”

A few minutes later, Dorothy led Carter into town, her hand on his arm, guiding him gently. “Now close your eyes,” she whispered softly.

Carter sighed but followed Dorothy’s instructions. “You’d better hope I don’t trip, because if I fall, I’m taking you down with me.”

“Is that a threat, or a promise?” Dorothy grinned. She didn’t care that she was likely flirting with her boss. It was nighttime, and she was about to show Carter one of her favorite spots in the world.

“Okay, now you can open them.” Dorothy watched eagerly as Carter opened his eyes and took in the surroundings. She had taken him to a spot in the back of the mercantile that overlooked a huge meadow. Dorothy had spent many a night sitting with Ruby, Lewis, and their children, talking and laughing after the store was closed for the day. She knew from those nights that the sunset hour was the best time to visit.

She saw that she’d been right in bringing Carter there. His eyes were full of curiosity and light as he watched the sun set over the green pastures.

“This is incredible.” It was the first truly positive thing Dorothy had heard Carter say. She liked hearing it.

“This is just the start. I really do love it here.”

“It’s so…peaceful.”

“Exactly. That’s what I love about Nowhere. People may say it’s a small town and nothing ever happens here, but I disagree. There are plenty of people who keep things interesting around here.”

“It’s great you’ve found a place to call home that you truly enjoy.”

“Are you saying you haven’t found that?” Dorothy was surprised, because every time Carter talked about Austin, it seemed like he thought it was the best place in the world.

Carter paused and looked deep into Dorothy’s eyes. “I love my home in Austin. I could never leave the city. But I’ve never had the experience you’re talking about. Where you feel like a place is home because of the people with you.”

Dorothy’s breath caught in her throat. She wasn’t sure what to say.

“I’m sorry. I’m getting ahead of myself. I’m probably just tired.” Carter mumbled excuses as he walked down a small embankment to get a better view of the meadow. Dorothy was disappointed, but knew better than to say anything. She reminded herself that this man was her employer.

Carter struggled to get a hold of his feelings. He didn’t understand what was happening, but he felt like he was leading Dorothy on. She was such a sweet and wholesome girl—he had no intention of hurting her. Yes, he’d have to keep it professional for the duration of their working relationship. The problem was, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her.

“No, I liked what you were saying before. I think one day, you’ll find someone who makes you want to be in the place they are. And then you’ll see what I mean.”

“Maybe. In the city, unfortunately, I find when I call on women, I don’t care to call on them a second time.”

Dorothy sucked in a breath. She felt pained when she heard Carter talk about other women. Was it jealousy? How could she be jealous of women she’d never met? “Well…what’s your ideal woman like? I bet you’ll find her.”

Carter thought about this a moment as they stood outside, staring off into the distance of the meadow. The sun was setting, and it was getting cooler. Dorothy shivered a bit in her light dress, and Carter slipped off his suit jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. He stood behind her, holding the jacket in place.

Dorothy felt a fluttery sensation in her stomach and loved feeling Carter’s strong arms wrapped around her body. She wished they could stand like that forever.

“I suppose my perfect woman would work in an office, most likely, but she’d stop working when we married so she could keep my home. She’d probably love to go to the theater, and she’d like to read some of the same books and journals that I like. That’s about as close as I can imagine.” Dorothy listened to Carter give his description with a sinking feeling of despair in the pit of her stomach. He had described a woman that couldn’t be further from who she was. Yet he was still holding onto her, keeping her warm…that had to count for something, right?

They stood in silence for a while as the sun continued to retreat. Dorothy could see a few faint lights burning in farmhouses in the distance. Soon, it was almost black, save a few spots in the sky.

“This is my favorite part.” Dorothy’s tone was hushed as she gazed at the beautiful stars. “I’ve heard that there are some cities where you can’t see the stars, because of the streetlights. Is that true?”

Carter ran his hands up and down Dorothy’s arms, sending a tingle down her body. “I suppose in Austin, the street lamps do cause the stars to fade a bit. I’ve never really noticed. I love street lamps, though. How else do you see what’s going on? For example, how are we going to make our way back tonight?”

“I think we’ll manage.” Dorothy’s heart was beating faster and faster by the minute. She’d never had a man’s arms around her before, and she was craving more.

“Your turn to answer the question.” Carter gently spun Dorothy around so she was facing him.

“What question?”

“Who’s your perfect man? What’s he like?” Now it was Carter’s turn to look uncomfortable. He wanted to know, but he also didn’t want to know.

“I have a better idea of how to have this conversation.” Dorothy walked toward the back of the mercantile, bent down near a table and some chairs by the back door, and grabbed a large blanket. She came back over to where Carter stood and spread the blanket out, then sat down and patted the ground next to her.

They both laid down on the blanket and looked up at the stars. Dorothy couldn’t remember the last time she had been as relaxed, or at peace. She lost her train of thought as she enjoyed her surroundings…and Carter’s warm body next to her.

“Hello? Did you forget the question?” Carter found himself anxious to hear what she had to say. It made no sense—but there he was, in the middle of Nowhere, Texas, staring at a pretty girl and waiting for her answer.

“Well, he’d have to love taking long walks, and riding through the countryside, that sort of thing. Family would have to be really important to him. Maybe he has a big family like mine, or maybe it’s just a small one, as long as he’s close with them. And, most importantly, he’d love being outside in the fresh air.”

Carter’s heart sank. He’d hoped he’d meet some of Dorothy’s criteria for a perfect man, but he was nothing like her ideal. He felt very out of place in the small town she lived in.

Dorothy worried when Carter didn’t respond for a while. “You got quiet.”

“I’m just thinking about how different we are,” Carter finally admitted. Dorothy nodded.

“I know what you mean.”

“I wish things were different.”

Dorothy turned to look Carter in the eyes. “How so?”

“Well, for example, I wish you’d been born in the city. Or that I’d been born in the country. Maybe if we had been raised in those settings, we’d be more similar.”

Dorothy frowned. “Maybe. But if that had been true, we’d never have met at all.”

Carter smiled. He hadn’t thought of that. He loved the way Dorothy could always look at the bright side of a situation. Her cooler head had already prevailed a few times—like at the library, or at the Drake estate when everything had turned out to be such a mess.

Dorothy enjoyed seeing a different side of Carter. At work he was buttoned up, stiff, and formal. Now he was coming alive, answering her questions candidly and acting interested in her own answers to those questions.

Carter moved his head closer to Dorothy’s so their foreheads were practically touching. “It’s a shame we’re so wrong for each other, isn’t it?”

Dorothy felt like she could barely breathe with Carter’s face so close to her own. “It is a shame,” she agreed.

Carter couldn’t stand it any longer. He tilted his head down and kissed Dorothy square on the lips. Dorothy hesitated for a moment, then kissed him back. She’d never been kissed before, so she wasn’t sure what she was doing, but she loved the feeling and wanted more of it. When they were done, Carter rested his head on the ground again. He exhaled loudly.

“With all due respect, Miss Sanders, I don’t think you’ll be finding a country boy who has that effect on you.”

Dorothy couldn’t sleep that night as she replayed her kiss with Carter over and over again. She knew it was wrong to get involved with her employer, but she also couldn’t stop thinking about the man. He was her opposite in almost every way, but something about him made her feel safe and excited. She found herself wanting to learn more about him and his life in Austin. Maybe she would even visit him there one day.

* * *

The rest of the week passed in a blur of work on the estate case. Most days involved several hours of correspondence—between Carter and his client, Mr. Parrish, Carter and local magistrates, and Carter and his law professors, who still had an interest in helping him succeed. Dorothy marveled at the file of contacts Carter had—it was more people than Dorothy had ever met in her entire life. In the afternoons, they often went out to the Drake estate, cleaning up, reviewing all the documents, and slowly building Carter’s case for Mr. Parrish.

“How do you know Mr. Parrish is the rightful owner?” Dorothy asked one day as they were cleaning.

“To be truthful, I don’t know. But he came to me and told me that his mother had sworn up and down that his father knew he existed, and just didn’t want to be in his life. His father had problems with alcohol, and never cared about anyone or anything but himself. I believed him, Miss Sanders. And I believe it’s the right thing to do to fight for him to get justice.”

Dorothy loved hearing Carter’s passion for doing what was right. It reminded her of Cletus. He was always encouraging the girls to stand up for themselves and do what they believed in.

Dorothy also found her thoughts drifting back to their moonlit kiss. She couldn’t wait to spend time with Carter alone again. She wanted to feel the brush of his lips against hers and his arms around her, engulfing her in his strong frame.

“Miss Sanders! Are you all right?” Dorothy snapped to attention as Carter called her name. She had told him he could call her Dorothy, and he had told her to feel free to call him Carter, but they both stuck to more formal titles most of the time.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to drift off. I was just…thinking.” Dorothy smiled sweetly, hoping Carter didn’t know exactly what she was talking about. She had a feeling that she liked him a lot more than he liked her, and she didn’t want to seem desperate or pushy. She understood that he was first and foremost her employer, and he would be back to the city in a few weeks. Their time together was wonderful, but fleeting. She would make the most of it, but she wouldn’t beg.

“Less thinking and more filing, please.” Carter’s tone was harsher than he intended. The truth was, he couldn’t stop thinking, either. Thinking about spending more time in the evenings with Dorothy, even though it was inappropriate. He did not want to take advantage of her, and he worried about the things he might do if given the chance. She was pure and wholesome and good, and he found himself wanting to be around her at all times.

Dorothy blinked back a few tears, shocked at how Carter’s words stung her. It was probably more about feeling rejected, since he hadn’t tried to kiss her again since that night outside the mercantile. She wondered if she had done something wrong. Then she refocused her mind on the task at hand. She was filing hundreds of pages of letters and journal entries from Mr. Drake’s home so Carter could reference them later. It was mind-numbing work, but a welcome distraction from her distress over Carter.

“I think…I think I found something new.” Dorothy’s voice was tentative. She couldn’t believe what she was holding in her hands.

Carter’s tone was almost bored, as if he didn’t believe the significance. “What is it?”

“A journal entry dated 1885…for a woman named Louise Parrish! She really did visit!” Dorothy couldn’t contain her excitement. This was the scrap of paper they’d been looking for! It had been stuck to the bottom of another piece, and when she had tried to file it, she realized the pages were stuck together. She carefully peeled them apart and handed the important piece to Carter.

Carter whistled through his teeth. “You, Miss Sanders, are a miracle worker. You may have just won the case for us right there.”

Dorothy noticed that it was well past four o’clock. She stiffened and adopted a more formal tone of voice, remembering Carter’s distance from her over the past few days. “I’ll be going now. You have a good night.”

Carter was taken aback by Dorothy’s shift in tone, but he recovered quickly. “Yes, you too, Miss Sanders. Thank you for your excellent work today. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Dorothy pulled the door shut behind her and leaned against it, breathing heavily. She knew it wasn’t right to have such strong feelings for her employer, but he had a powerful effect on her…and it seemed like there was nothing she could do about it.