I walked out of the post office excited about the new batch of gold paint in my backpack, dreaming of how I would mix it with that warm color called pink. I thought about how I’d splatter it on the mermaid’s sculpture I was working on, almost certainly on the tail, when I came to a sudden stop.

“Hello Sheriff,” I greeted. Sheriff Bradley had never been anything but polite and solicitous to me, but I didn’t like him. Never had. Probably never would. From the time I was a kid, something about him made my skin crawl. And he knew it too.

“I hear you’re working for Carson now,” he said. He was smoking, and I felt the smoke in my face. Because I couldn’t see he thought I wouldn’t know that he had deliberately blown it in my face.

“Yeah, I’m reading for him twice a week,” I said, waving the smoke from my face.

“He’s not doing anything weird or kinky to you, is he?”

I felt so angry I wanted to punch his face. I knew exactly where that smoke hole was too. “No, he’s not,” I said tightly. “He’s actually a gentleman.”

“A gentleman?” he sneered.

I heard him widen his stance into a challenging pose. “So why does he need a blind girl to read to him?”

I shrugged casually. “He just doesn’t want anyone to see his face.”

“Isn’t that weird?”

“No, it’s not, Sheriff Bradley. It’s not. He’s a shy, kind man who has scars.”

“Does he ever … touch you, or do you hear him … er … touching himself?”

I felt my hands clenching with fury. “No. He has never behaved inappropriately with me.”

“Good. You will tell me if he tries anything, won’t ya? I take care of my flock.”

“You’ll be the first person I come to if he tries anything, Sheriff,” I said. Not. I’d rather cut my right arm off than go running to him.

“I’ll be seeing you, then. Good day.”

I nodded and waited until he passed me by.

This was the beginning. Soon the whole town would be warning me, and telling me I was making a big mistake. That my very honor was at stake. I walked over to the library still hopping mad. Thank god Elaine was there. I took my knitted cap off.

“Can you believe Sheriff Bradley asked me if Kit was touching me, or himself during our reading session? The man’s an ass!” I fumed.

“Oh, Lara. You better get used to it. You know the whole town is going to wonder … and they’re going to make up a ton of stuff about you and him. The best way to deal with it is to give them some details so they can’t make stuff up.”

I gasped. “Are you serious?”

“Of course. You tell me exactly what’s going on and I’ll pass it on.”

I shook my head in wonder. “Elaine. Nothing is going on. I’m just reading to him.”

“Lara. You’re going to have to do better than that. Nobody, and I mean nobody, is going to believe that shit. Come on. At least tell me that he tried it on and you slapped him down.”

“What? No. He didn’t do any such thing.”

“Of course he didn’t. But it does sound good, doesn’t it?”

My jaw dropped. “Elaine Crockett, this time you’ve gone too far. Kit Carson is a good man, and I don’t want you spreading any more lies about him. If I hear anything bad about him, I’ll swear I’ll never speak to you again,” I said, and turning around I began to walk towards the entrance. I was so furious my hands were shaking. Elaine ran after me and grabbed my arm.

“All right. All right. I won’t say anything bad about him,” she coaxed.

I drew a shaking breath. “Promise?”

“Promise.”

“I’m gonna trust you, Elaine, to keep to your word. That man has suffered enough. He’s a really nice guy, and I don’t want to hurt him any more than he has already been.”

“It’s not like he’s going to know, is it?”

“For your information he already knows all the horrible things the townsfolk have been saying about him.”

“How?” she asked, sounding quite startled.

“How do you think?”

“Well, I can’t be responsible for people who can’t keep their voices down,” she said defensively.

“Please, Elaine, I beg of you. Don’t start any nasty rumors about him and me. Think of me if you can’t think of him.”

She grabbed my shoulders and planted a noisy kiss on my cheeks. “I’m sorry, Lara. You know I love you. I just get carried away sometimes. I’ll never do anything to hurt you.”

I frowned. “What about him?”

She sighed dramatically. “Yes, I won’t do anything to hurt him either.”

I grasped her hands in mine. “Okay. Thank you.”

“Want some oatmeal cookies?” she offered, completely changing the subject.

I hesitated. “Who made them?”

“Ma.”

“You just promised not to do anything to hurt me.”

She laughed. “Just kidding. Grandma baked them.”

“Lead me to them, and be quick about it, will ya?” I said with a grin.