Chapter 7
When I woke up the next morning, the pain had dulled to a manageable throb, and even the red marks on my cheek were fading.
I gathered up the laundry and headed toward the creek. No way was I gonna let Ethan and Winnie walk around in dirty clothes.
As I got closer, I could already hear the loud, raspy chatter of the local women—Mrs. Lee and her pack of gossiping hens. My stomach twisted, but I kept walking, picking a spot farther away and squatting down to start scrubbing with the paddle.
Their voices dipped, but I didn’t dare look up. I kept my head low and told myself, Don’t start nothing today. Just keep your damn head down.
“Look who came crawling back,” one of them barked. “Guess we didn’t hit her hard enough yesterday.”
“She really thinks that face of hers is for seducing folks. Should’ve clawed it up good.”
“I didn’t seduce anyone,” I mumbled, trying to keep my voice steady. “I stay home all day. I only come here to wash clothes.”
“What did you say?”
“She said she didn’t seduce anyone. You deaf or just dumb?”
The sudden shadow overhead made me freeze. I slowly looked up—and saw Ethan Shaw towering above them in his rough linen shirt, muscles tensed, eyes blazing.
“You’re the ones who hurt my wife yesterday?” he growled.
The man was built like a freight train, and his voice? Pure thunder. Even Mrs. Lee, usually all bark and bite, backed off a step.
“She’s not some stranger I bought off a wagon,” he snapped. “Nina is my wife. You mess with her again, talk shit about her again, I swear on everything you’ll wish I just yelled.”
He didn’t raise his fist. He didn’t have to.
