“Looks like you’re in need of a hand.” Hays suddenly appeared on the boardwalk. “I’d be happy to help carry those packages for you.”
Her heart sped up at the sound of his voice, and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling—but she didn’t meet his gaze. “I’m rarely in need of help, Mr. Hart.”
“Maybe you’re not in need of help, but I’m in need of helping someone. I haven’t met my quota for the day.”
Emma finally looked at him, and she swallowed the flutter of awareness. She hadn’t seen him since the meeting on Monday, but he had never been far from her thoughts.
Today, his face was freshly shaved, and his blue eyes sparkled with mischief. He wore a buttoned shirt tucked into fresh denim pants, and tall boots. She didn’t think it was possible, but every time she saw him, he looked more handsome than the time before. “How gallant of you—but I’m afraid you’ll have to keep looking elsewhere.”
His lazy grin appeared—the one she didn’t realize she missed until she saw it again—and he held out his hands. “Please let me help you, Emma.”
She loved hearing her name on his lips and realized she no longer wanted to say no to him. Sweet anticipation raced up her spine when she thought of spending a few minutes in his company. What would he say or do next? The prospect was … strangely exciting.
Emma offered him her purchases. “I’m heading back to the parsonage.”
Hays took the packages, a satisfied smile lighting his face.
“Do you know,” Emma said, “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who smiles as much as you.”
His grin widened. “I try to always be happy.”
Emma started toward the parsonage—slowly. “It’s impossible to always be happy.”
“Maybe—but I try.”
“Why?”
Hays shrugged, and his gaze drifted to a far-off place, almost as if he was lost in the past. “My childhood was filled with a lot of sadness. I didn’t want to add to anyone’s sorrow, so I found ways to stay happy.”
Empathy squeezed Emma’s chest at the look of pain in his eyes. “Trying to make other people happy is a heavy burden to carry.”
He looked back at her, his eyes focused on the present. “Sometimes, yes, but when you love those people, it’s a burden you’re willing to carry.”
Emma glanced down at the packages he had offered to carry for her. It wasn’t the first time he had tried to ease her load, and she guessed it wouldn’t be the last. Was that why he had offered to help with the fund-raiser? To shoulder her burden, even though it wasn’t his to bear?
For a fleeting moment, she wondered who carried his burdens.
“I came to town looking for you,” Hays said. “I stopped at the parsonage, and your mama told me where to find you.”
What must Mama think of Hays showing up to see her? Hopefully she didn’t think he was romantically interested. “Why did you come looking for me?”
“I couldn’t wait until Monday to tell you the good news.”
“Monday?”
“The fund-raising meeting.”
“Oh.” Emma’s curiosity was now piqued. “What’s the good news?”
“I have secured over twenty bachelors for the auction—and I have a feeling there will be plenty more.”
“Twenty?” Emma stopped in front of Travis Hart’s medical building.
Hays also stopped. “It was the strangest thing. Once word got out about the auction, I had cowboys from several neighboring ranches show up to volunteer, not to mention those from the 7 Heart Ranch—and a few townies, to boot.” He chuckled. “I don’t think we’ll have trouble where the bachelor auction is concerned.”
“No.” Emma glanced around Hartville at the heavily male-populated town. “My concern now is that we won’t have enough women to do the bidding.”
“I think I have that covered, too. I’ve already spoken to several women, securing their promise to bid. Our cook, Perla, was the first to agree.”
Emma quickly calculated how much money twenty bachelors could bring in for the fund-raiser—but then she paused and studied Hays for a moment. “Why are you helping me?”
He also paused, all teasing gone from his voice. “I want to make you happy, and if that means helping you build a school, then I’ll do what I can to make it happen.”
“You hardly know me.”
“Something I’d like to change if you’d let me.”
Emma started walking toward the parsonage again, and Hays followed. She was silent for a moment. “I’ll be leaving Texas in a couple of months.”
“You told me.”
She looked out over the town. “So why take the time to get to know me?”
He put his free hand on her elbow, helping her around a broken board. “Because everyone benefits from a friendship, even if it only lasts a couple of months.”
His hand stayed on her elbow, and Emma liked how it felt. “Thank you, Hays.”
She would allow him to be her friend, but nothing more.
In less than two months she was leaving Texas, and she wanted no regrets to follow her.
Chapter Five