Jimmy wasn’t sure what he was feeling as he held Violet in his arms, acting as the safety net she needed while floating. She was terrified. He could see it in the tension in her muscles and by the way her eyes flew open. But the fact she’d agreed to try something more, impressed him. He hadn’t even needed to goad her into it. “Ready?”

“Mm hmm,” she said, even though she didn’t sound too confident.

“You can do this.” Slowly, he lessened the pressure on her back, not completely releasing her until he was sure she could float on her own. He didn’t want her to sink on her first try and become even more afraid. He wanted to build her confidence.

Little by little, he let go, until he wasn’t touching her any longer. He grinned. “You’re doing it,” he said softly, not wanting to startle her.

Her face lit up. “I’m doing it!” She lowered her chin, causing her body to sink, but before he could reach for her again, she corrected herself, forcing her body up into a float.

“Well done. You’re a natural.”

She laughed in satisfaction. “I never thought I’d be able to do it.”

“And now you have.” He let her float another moment and relished her triumph. She’d come a lot farther today than he’d expected. She’d be swimming in no time.

As he stood there, guarding her, he watched as strands of her hair swirled aimlessly in the water. It shone like a black bear’s fur in the sun, but with a richer hue. Her hair was a deep dark brown, but when wet, it looked almost blue-black. His fingers itched to feel it, but he stopped himself. “I think we’ve done enough for today. What do you think?”

She let out a breath, as if she wasn’t quite ready to stop, but then finally closed her eyes in agreement. “You’re right. We can always come back.”

“Absolutely.” He brought his hands back under her and helped maneuver her until she was upright.

Her swim costume molded against her frame, and it took every bit of his willpower to keep his gaze on her own and not let it wander anywhere else. She was breathtaking, more so than he’d ever realized. She’d had such a sharp bite, it had kept him from seeing her, from really noticing. But he noticed now.

He tucked her hand through his and led her out of the water, taking care so she wouldn’t slip, though the muddy bank made it difficult for either of them to keep their footing. Once they were on firm ground, he released her. “There’s a drying cloth in my satchel. You can take it with you and get dressed. I’ll use it once you’re done.”

“Thank you.” She walked toward his horse to fetch it, her stride confident. But when she turned back to him, her cheeks were pink when he snapped his traitorous gaze from her backside up to her face. “You’re staring.”

He shrugged sheepishly. “I didn’t mean to. Forgive me, that isn’t very gentlemanly behavior.”

“Maybe not gentlemanly, but it is natural, isn’t it?” Her eyes ran over his form in return, before she shyly turned away.

He grinned, elated to find his body obviously appealed to her.

She gave him another smile, before grabbing the cloth and disappearing behind the rocks. She might’ve tried to appear worldly, but he could tell it wasn’t natural for her, and he wondered if she’d ever seen this much of a man.

He paused as those thoughts filled his mind. He shouldn’t be thinking about what Violet thought of his body or how much she’d seen of any other man. He wasn’t courting her, and he had no intention of doing so. He was here to help her, to teach her to swim. Nothing more.

But then he thought about the pure joy that had filled her face when she’d realized she’d been floating alone, the way she teased him, how he noticed her in ways he shouldn’t, and wondered if he was lying to himself.

After a few minutes, Violet came around the boulder and handed him the drying cloth, then twisted her hair and pinned up the wet tendrils. He wished he could do it for her, which was a crazy thought, but the desire to do such an intimate thing for her remained.

“Thank you for letting me dry off first. You must be freezing.”

He should be. Instead, his thoughts, as wrong as they were, had kept him warm. Far too warm. “It’s not too bad. Better than winter.”

She smirked. “But we wouldn’t be swimming in winter, would we?”

“No. No we wouldn’t.” He shook his head and moved behind the rock for privacy. “When would you like to have another lesson?” he called out.

“Any time, my schedule isn’t exactly full. When would be a good day for you?”

That was something else they had in common. There wasn’t anything filling in either of their lives. He hardly ever had anything scheduled, which was the whole problem with his life. He was grateful he didn’t have to labor, didn’t have to do anything he didn’t want to, but he was tired of it. There was only so much sitting around or fishing a person could do, before they went mad. He was close to that point.

Maybe he should move forward with his idea to invest in the railroad. He’d have to find partners in the east, but he had plenty of money to invest and time wasn’t an issue, so he could travel as needed. Besides, nothing was keeping him busy around here, so why not?

He put on a dry shirt before answering, “How about Thursday?”

“All right. But…”

“But?” He pulled on a dry pair of breeches, waiting for her answer. When she didn’t say anything more, he stepped from behind the rock into view. “Is there a problem?”

Violet stepped forward confidently, but she twisted her fingers in front of her, showing him her unease. “No. Yes. Maybe?”

“Okay...?” He held out his arms. “Tell me.”

“I don’t like feeling indebted to anyone.”

“Hold it.” He held up a hand. “You don’t owe me. Besides, you’re saving me from boredom, so maybe I owe you.”

“I’m serious.” She narrowed her eyes. “I really don’t like to feel as if I owe anyone. And you’re taking time to teach me to do this. Plus, I know I’m not the easiest person to get along with, so I feel even more awkward.”

“Do you want to stop?” He held his breath.

She shook her head. “No. I’d like to continue with the lessons. I like feeling prepared and in control. I don’t ever want to experience the same debilitating panic I felt when I fell in the river.”

He let out the breath, surprised by how much it mattered to him. “Then what should we do?” He didn’t know how to make her feel better about this.

“Well, is there something I can do for you?”

“Like what? Cook me dinner?”

Her lips pursed in a smile. “Unfortunately, you’d be better off without my help there. I might poison you.”

“Not skilled in culinary arts?”

“Not at all.”

He wanted to laugh at the disgust in her voice. “I’m not exactly accomplished at preparing food either. I eat in the hotel or at Sally’s. Maybe you could bring me a cake from Sylvia if you like?”

Her hands went to her hips and she puffed out a frustrated breath. “Having my cook make you something isn’t what I meant. I’d then owe her, wouldn’t I? What is something I can do for you?”

He laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I really don’t need anything.”

“Really?” She arched a brow. “There’s nothing? I may not be the best at cooking or running a farm, but I am from a powerful family, and I’m educated, even more than most men.”

“Really?” She glared at him, and he realized he’d offended her. “Not that I don’t believe you. I’m just surprised. Although, it does make perfect sense you’d have had the best tutors.”

“I did.” Although she didn’t sound very happy about it or as if she were gloating. More like she’d simply stated a fact and was possibly even a little annoyed by it. “My parents always made sure my education wasn’t lacking. Who wants an ignorant wife? Although, from my rather limited experience with the male gender, I believe most all would, in fact, like a bit of ignorant fluff on their arm.”

He wasn’t sure how to respond. He was surprised, but pleased she was so knowledgeable, though concerned about her own opinion on the matter of intelligence and men’s preference of women. Book knowledge might not be so very important in towns like Promise Creek, especially when he couldn’t see Violet teaching at a school, but there were other uses. “I bet you know a lot about all subjects,” he said conversationally, and he could hear the approval in his tone. He was sure she did too.

He leaned over and put on his boots while he waited for her response.

“More than you know. I was destined to be some magnate’s wife. A decoration, but still, one that wouldn’t embarrass him. I had to know how to converse in society at all levels. I had to be knowledgeable about business, finance, history, languages, manners, all while looking like a princess.” She sounded disgusted, as if she wasn’t proud of any of it, but then she shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “Who knows, maybe some of it might be useful to you.”

Jimmy didn’t think he’d ever need to know those things, as he didn’t plan on living in the east.

But before he said as much, he paused, one boot half on his foot. Although he might not be planning to move away from Promise Creek, hadn’t he just been considering going into business with people in the east? He wasn’t backward by any means, but he knew the upper crusts of society had their own etiquette and rules, unknown to those outside their sphere. If he wanted to successfully go into business with those people, then he would have to learn how to interact with them.

“What is it?” she asked, as if sensing his thoughts.

He shoved the rest of his boot on, then straightened and studied her a moment. “You know...” He mulled over his words a moment. “There actually is something you could help me with.”

Her hands fell to her sides. “What is it?”

“Well”—he rubbed the back of his neck, unsure how much he should say—“I’m thinking of traveling for business, and it occurs to me that, if I want to be successful, I might need to learn particular social etiquette.”

She looked intrigued. “What are you trying to do?”

He hadn’t wanted to talk about his plans yet, especially since he wasn’t sure how he wanted to go about it, or even if he wanted to do it, but she’d need to know if she were going to teach him. “You know my claim has paid out, and I don’t have any other business here, don’t you?”

She nodded. “Aria mentioned it when you were courting her. She said you wouldn’t mind picking up and moving wherever she chose.”

“That’s right.” He coughed, uncomfortable talking about his relationship with Aria. Although they’d only been friends, and he’d hoped love would grow once they’d married, it was awkward discussing it with Violet. “Honestly, I’m bored. I’ve been thinking of trying my hand at something else, something that will challenge me, and I thought I would head east and see if I could partner with someone to build railroads or invest in a company that already does it. I haven’t done any research on which would be the best route yet.”

She perked up. “So you’ll need to learn how to interact so businessmen will want to take a chance on you?”

“Something like that.” Maybe this was a bad idea.

“I can do that!” She lit up. “I know exactly what to teach you, exactly what you’ll need to know to make them think you’re one of them.” She almost sounded giddy at the idea. Maybe she’d needed a challenge herself, and from the way she was eyeing him, she’d just found it.

“You wouldn’t need to teach me much, just the basics—”

Her laughter filled the air, but it was a bright, happy sound. “Oh, Jimmy. You’re wrong about that. This is the society I left behind. If you use the wrong fork at a meal, you’ll be laughed at and talked about for weeks. Those people have nothing better to do than gossip and tear others down. They’re vultures.”

He wondered if she’d been the unfortunate person to use the wrong fork. “And did you make that mistake?”

“Hm?”

“Did you use the wrong fork and get tormented?”

Her expression faded until she was looking at the ground. “No. My mother and father made sure I never made such an error. Unfortunately, I was the person gossiping and tormenting others.”

They were both quiet a moment. She didn’t look up at him, but kept her eyes downcast, as if waiting for him to judge her, to berate her for her cruelty. And while her actions had been unkind, the person he saw in front of him, this Violet Morgan, would never do that. Right now, she looked ashamed and miserable. “It’s in the past. That’s not who you are now.”

She let out a gush of air, as if she’d been holding it, bracing herself for whatever verbal blow he lashed her with. “You’re right. I’m not that person anymore. I’ll never be her again. But I did it, I hurt people, and it’s still being done to each other. I know that hasn’t changed.”

But she had. He saw that. He’d met her, had heard much about her in the last year since she’d arrived. The sheriff had even called her Banshee in the beginning, because she screeched and gave orders without a second thought. But the woman before him wasn’t that person any longer. “Hey.” He waited for her to look at him. “You’re no longer there.” He nodded, hoping she knew what he was getting at. She didn’t need to live in the past anymore. She didn’t need to hold onto the guilt and let it ruin her life. She could be anything she wanted.

“You’re right.” She smiled weakly. “I’m not that person anymore… no matter where I might be.”

He wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but before he could ask, she shook off the conversation and gave him a forced, bright smile. “Now that I have something I can help you with, we should get started soon. There’s a lot to learn.”

He wasn’t worried about that. There was no deadline for him heading East. “Name the time and place.”

“Tomorrow. Your house.” Her smile turned wicked. “I’m going to enjoy this.”