Heart of Gold (A Gold Rush Romance) (17 page)

She didn’t need to look at him to know he was blushing again. When he spoke, though, he said nothing about the play. “I can erase that for you, Aunt Alice. You should rest.”

Alice chuckled and shook her head. Since the day her belly had begun to grow with the child she was carrying, every student, Joe, and Thomas were constantly offering to help her with even the most menial tasks. “Thank you, Joe, but I’m nearly done and then we can walk home.”

After reassuring Thomas repeatedly that she preferred to walk the short distance rather than be driven to and fro each day, he had conceded, but she knew Joe was charged with keeping a careful watch on her during their stroll, and it was a task the boy never took lightly. It made Alice smile to see the two men in her life take such pains to ensure she was comfortable and happy.

And she had to admit that if her stomach grew much more, she may finally need to accept the ride after all. There were still a few weeks of school until the summer break, and though the child would likely be born after those came and went, her size was beginning to slow her down more than she would like.

Alice closed and latched the schoolhouse door, and she and Joe began walking toward home. She knew she was moving quite slowly, but Joe said nothing and stayed beside her. He was a good boy, Joe.

“How is Miss Clara?” he asked, breaking the silence.

Alice sighed. Clara Wilson had become a close companion to Alice during the past year, but lately something had been wrong with her friend, though she wasn’t sure precisely what. They had visited the previous afternoon, but whatever was amiss kept Clara distant, and she seemed anxious, and Alice didn’t know what she could do to help. Clara promised it had nothing to do with her snake of a father, and Alice believed her, but what else could be causing her friend distress?

There was no simple answer to Joe’s question. “I don’t quite know, Joe. I hope she will be well soon enough.”

The silence dragged on as Alice worried for her friend. When the stately house she had come to consider her home came into view, though, she pushed the dark thoughts aside, promising to return to them later. She focused her attention instead on Thomas, who was walking toward her and Joe as he did nearly every day.

Her heart lifted as he strode quickly toward them, his lips tilted up in a welcoming grin. Her love for the man overflowed as he reached her and engulfed her, as if he could not wait another moment to touch her.

Joe said a quick hello to his uncle and ran the rest of the way to the house, leaving Alice alone with her husband. She smiled up at him, and his fingers caressed her cheek as he moved some loose hairs behind her ear. Then he leaned down for a soft, lingering kiss that sent signals of pleasure all the way through her. “Hello, love,” he whispered against her lips.

Then, before she could quite get her bearings, Thomas offered her his arm and turned toward their home. She gratefully took it, feeling the child within her kick enthusiastically. Arm in arm, they walked the last stretch to the house.

Alice rested her hand on her stomach and shifted even closer to Thomas, and her heart soared.

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Dreams of Gold

A Gold Rush Romance

Henry just got out of prison and dreams of leaving his life of crime–after he completes one last job, that is. His boss will do anything to get his hands on a cache of buried gold and helping him acquire it is Henry’s only way out.

When Henry is injured and a strange woman takes him in, though, he finds something that might be more important than his deadly employer or the riches hidden only a few miles away.

Dreams of Gold is a short story companion piece to Memories of Gold and is available for
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About the Author

Ali Olson is a longtime resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, where she has been teaching English at the high school and college level for the last seven years. Ali has been an avid reader her entire life, devouring anything she can get her hands on. She loves reading, writing, and traveling with her husband and constant companion, Joe.

Ali loves to hear from readers. You can email her at
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