Annie took another second or two to consider the information, but there was now a blank expression on her face.
“The name doesn’t sound familiar,” she went on. “But it might be a new family moving in to the area. What were his parents like?”
Mary let out a laugh and shook her head.
“No parents,” she replied. “This student is older than me. He was nineteen.”
“Nineteen!” Annie exclaimed. “And he wants to study.”
“So he said,” Mary told her. “Sally Anderson spotted him looking through the window not long after you left, so I went out to see what he wanted. His story was that he didn’t get much schooling when he was younger because of farm work and now he wants to learn.”
“That’s a new one on me,” Annie joked. “Most nineteen year old boys I’ve known were only really interested in studying how to get me out of my clothes. Did he seem genuine?”
Mary let out a nervous laugh at Annie’s cheeky comment and shrugged her shoulders.
“I get the impression my experience with boys is somewhat lacking in comparison to yours,” she said. “In truth I couldn’t really make him out.”
“Did he stay all day?” Annie asked.
“No,” Mary told her. “Like I say, he got here just after nine and I brought him inside and asked him to write out some pages from a book to get him started. He sat quietly and did the work, gave it to me at the start of the lunch hour then said he was needed at the farm in the afternoon.”
“Is he coming back today?” was the next question.
Mary shrugged her shoulders.
“I never really thought to ask,” she admitted.
“Is he cute?” Annie asked with a grin.
The question caught Mary off guard.
“What?” she blurted out. “Well, that never occurred…, I mean I never…” Her words tailed off as the heat lit up on her cheeks.
“Right, so he’s cute,” Annie said and laughed.
“I didn’t say that,” Mary protested.
“You didn’t need to,” Annie went on. “It’s written all over your face.”
“I…,” Mary started as if she was about to protest again, but then decided it was better if she just kept her mouth shut and said nothing.
“Hmm…,” Annie teased her. “I think I’ll need to keep my eye on you. I don’t want any scandal in my school between a teacher and a student. The gossips in this town will have a field day with that one.”
“Stop it,” Mary complained. “There isn’t going to be any scandal.”
“But you do like him, right?”
Mary was taken aback by the cheeky teasing and floundered as she tried and failed to come up with the words to deny what was being said. In the end she just let out a resigned sigh.
“There’s nothing wrong with liking a boy,” Annie went on.
“He’s a student,” Mary let out in a quiet voice.
“Yeah, for half a day,” Annie replied. “And you already told me he was older than you. It’s not like you’re doing anything wrong.”
Mary remembered being unable to make sense of the feelings she experienced in Tom’s presence the day before. She couldn’t deny that she was attracted to him, but that didn’t seem right considering the situation she was in.
“It kind of feels like I am doing something wrong,” she admitted. “Remember why I’m here in the first place.”
“Sure to be with a man that is apparently too busy to come and meet you,” Annie remarked pointedly. “I mean have you seen anyone from the Addison family since your first meeting with the mother on the day you arrived?”
Mary’s only reply was a rueful shake of her head.
“So as far as things stand you are a single girl that is free to make your own choices,” Annie told her.
Mary covered her face with her hands and let out a groan as she rocked her head back. It was a sigh that came out when she uncovered her face.
“You make it sound so easy,” she said.
“It is,” Annie replied and laughed. “As far as I can see you’ve effectively been abandoned in town by the people who invited you here. You don’t owe them anything and if you really do like this boy then there’s nothing wrong with seeing what happens. Maybe nothing will, but on the other hand maybe he’s your soul mate. You’ll never find out either way if you do nothing and let the chance slip by.”
“But what will the people in town think?” Mary said.
“Well, this is a conservative place that is shocked by any scandalous behavior…, especially if there is a hint of anything untoward between unmarried youngsters,” Annie said. “That would be ten times worse for a young school teacher and a student, but you can’t live your life worrying about what others think.”
Mary sucked in a deep breath and let it back out slowly.
“I guess,” she said and decided to move the conversation on. “Anyway, things went fine yesterday with the class and I made a note of what I got through.”
“Thanks, I saw it already,” Annie said. “I’ll do the same when I finish today and leave it for you.”
Mary nodded her head as she stood up.
“Will you be here tomorrow morning?” she asked.
“I don’t think it’s needed, so I’ll just leave you to it,” Annie replied.
“OK, have a good day,” Mary went on and turned to head for the door.
“You’re not sticking around to see if your dream boy turns up?” Annie teased her.
“No,” she said and waited for another cheeky comment to follow.
When it didn’t, she simply left the schoolhouse and started to walk away. The comment about sticking around to see if Tom turned up resonated in her mind and she found her pace slowing as the urge grew to actually do just that.
“Go home,” she hissed through clenched teeth to try and make herself do it, but she didn’t listen to the sensible comment.
Her pace slowed more and just before she was out of sight of the schoolhouse she stepped off the dusty street to take shelter behind a large tree. It gave her a view of the area around the building, but she reckoned she wouldn’t be spotted if Annie did happen to look out the window.
“This is crazy,” she let out quietly, but the words didn’t make her move.
She narrowed her eyes against the glare of the early morning sun and kept her gaze on the children that began stepping through the gate in the picket fence. As the minutes ticked past towards classes starting at eight o’clock more of the class appeared, but there was definitely no sign of Tom.
When the sound of the bell signaled the start of classes, Mary watched intently as the students moved to the door to walk inside. It took her full attention and it was only at the last second that she became aware of the sound of the wagon approaching from behind her. She turned her head and almost cringed when she saw the person looking towards her.
“What are you doing?” Jenny asked.
Mary was at a loss for an answer and the creeping sense of embarrassment became more of a panic. She could hardly tell the mother of the man she was there to meet and marry that she was infatuated with a student in her class. That the man and the student were the same person was unknown to her and she desperately tried to come up with an excuse for why she was standing behind a tree staring at the school.
“I…, well I was…” she stammered as she stepped back onto the street.
“Did you get a job at the school,” Jenny asked.
The question gave Mary something to latch on to and she grabbed it.
“Yes,” she answered quickly. “The schoolmistress, Annie Townsend, is pregnant and needs some help in the next few weeks and months.”
“So why are you standing out here?” Jenny went on.
Mary tried to stop the flush of red rising up from her neck to her face, but failed miserably and was all too aware of the warmth radiating from her cheeks.
“I’m just working Tuesdays and Thursdays at the moment,” she said
and dropped her gaze.
She wished the ground would open up and swallow her to get her out of the awkward conversation, but Jenny showed no signs of moving on.
“How are things with Mrs. Lester?” the older woman asked.
“Fine,” Mary answered.
“So everything is OK?” Jenny went on.
Mary wanted to scream no they weren’t. She was stuck in town and all but abandoned by the family that invited her to Oakford. The man she was meant to marry still hadn’t come to see her and there was no invite to go to the farm. To complicate matters even more, she couldn’t get her mind off a handsome blonde farm boy that she’d met only once in her life. Things were about as far from OK as she could imagine.
The quizzical look of Jenny was still on her though and she knew the older woman was probably wondering what she was doing sheltering behind a tree and watching the school. Mary just wanted the encounter to end as quickly as possible and said the only thing she could think of to make that happen.
“Yes everything is OK.”
“Well unfortunately things on the farm are still busy,” Jenny went on. “But I’ll come and see you again when I can.”
Mary just nodded her head forlornly and watched as the wagon moved past her to circle around before heading around the corner and back in the direction of the center of town. She walked out of sight of the schoolhouse then stopped to let the wagon disappear in to the distance before walking back to Mrs. Lester’s home. When she got there she threw herself down on the bed in her room and covered her face with her hands.
“Good going Mary,” she berated herself. “You’re doing a great job of things.”
Apart from going to the kitchen to make herself something to eat, she stayed in her room for the rest of the day. She didn’t really want to because it only gave her mind a chance to work overtime and it was a student that dominated her thoughts.
He was on her mind even more when she walked to the schoolhouse before seven o’clock the next morning. She used the key to unlock the door and stepped over to the table. The note from Annie was sitting on it and she sat down to read it. The last comment was written entirely in capital letters with a couple of exclamation marks after it.
‘NO SIGN OF YOUR DREAM STUDENT!!’
Mary wasn’t sure if it was disappointment or relief she felt at the news that Tom didn’t turn up for classes the previous day. She found herself wondering why not and trying to come up with reasons for him missing school. The obvious one was that he was needed on the farm, but there was no way of really knowing.
“Stop it,” she told herself quietly and tried to drive the thoughts away, so she could get on with the preparations for the day’s lessons. As soon as she was finished, she was on her feet and moving to the window. She tried to tell herself that she was just checking on the arrival of the children, but the compulsion was the same as when she was sheltering behind a tree the day before and watching the gate in the picket fence.
She wanted to know if Tom would show his face.
The emotions were confusing, but there was no doubt that it was disappointment she was feeling when it got to eight o’clock and there was no sign of the one student she wanted to see. She shook her head and tried to gather her thoughts as she moved to ring the bell and bring the children in to get started. The morning passed uneventfully and the questions coming her way kept her mind busy.
She sat alone eating her sandwiches during the lunchtime break and when it got to one o’clock, she rang the bell to get the afternoon classes started. The sound of the door closing heavily made her look up and the breath stuck in her throat when she found herself staring at Tom. Her gaze followed him as he walked to the empty desk he’d sat at on Tuesday and dropped down on it. She forced herself to look away as she clapped her hands once to get the attention of the students focused on her.
“OK class,” she said. “I want you to carry on and finish the work you started before the lunch hour. Let me know when you have finished and we’ll move on to the next lesson.”
She watched as the pupils got their books out and made sure they were working before turning her attention back to Tom. The fact he was staring at her brought out her nerves, but it was tinged by an excitement she couldn’t deny was there. She took a deep breath before walking across to him.
“Can I see you outside?” she said quietly. “So we don’t disturb the others.”
“Of course,” he agreed.
Mary waked across the room and Tom got to his feet to follow. She opened the door to let them out of the schoolhouse and closed it again when they were both standing outside.
“Where were you yesterday and this morning?” she started.
“Why, did you miss me?” Tom answered.
She didn’t want it to, but the cheeky comment flustered her and she was suddenly stammering.
“What…, no I….,” she let out and saw the grin on his face. There was no doubt he was teasing her and she tried to gather her thoughts. “Look,” she went on. “If you want to come to school here, you need to abide by the rules.”
“I was kept on the farm by my father,” he said.
It wasn’t strictly true. He could have got away the day before, but there was no point in him coming when Mary wasn’t there. Getting away that morning proved more difficult, but he’d deliberately gone for an early lunch at the farm and as soon as his father left him alone to work after it he sneaked off.
“Oh,” Mary replied. “Well maybe myself or the other schoolmistress could come and talk to him about your attendance.”
“It wouldn’t make any difference,” Tom said. “The farm comes first with him.”
That was the truth and considering the situation she was in, Mary knew it all too well. She let out a sigh.
“Well you’re here now,” she went on. “I’ll…”
“How was my writing on Tuesday?” Tom cut in.
“It was good,” she praised him. “I’ll pick a lesson that I think you will understand and we’ll see how you get on.”
She moved to open the door again and walked forward. Tom did the same and they bumped together.
“Oh sorry,” he apologized.
She looked at him to see the slight smirk disappearing from his face and was sure what he did was deliberate. The touch of their bodies set her pulse racing and she tried to bring it under control. This time as she moved forward, Tom waited then followed through the door and they moved back to his desk.
“Get your books out,” Mary instructed him when he was sitting.
She waited as he did it then showed him the lesson she wanted him to try. A question from one of the other students got her attention and it set in motion a busy afternoon that passed quickly. She went to Tom on a couple of occasions to see how he was getting on, but he seemed to be coping with the work so she left him to it. He was still working when she rang the bell for the end of the day and didn’t get up when the rest of the students tidied their desks then got to their feet and moved forward to hand their workbooks to Mary.
“You can finish now Tom,” she told him when the other students were leaving the room.
“I nearly am,” he said when he looked up. “I’ll just keep going to get it done.”
Her suspicions were aroused at his apparent enthusiasm to stay late and keep working, but she just nodded her head and watched as he looked down at his books and carried on. The sound of the other children playing outside gradually died away and it was only when the schoolhouse was in complete silence that Tom got to his feet. Mary looked at the clock on the wall to see that it was fifteen minutes after four. There was no stopping the onset of her nerves as he moved towards the table and held out his book.
“Thanks,” she said as she reached for it.
“Can you check it now?” he asked.
“I will,” she said as she got to her feet. “But you don’t need to wait.”
“I don’t mind,” Tom said.
“No, you don’t have…”
Mary started, but her words ended as Tom moved around the table.
“I like being here with you,” he went on.
Mary tried to maintain her professional teacher’s attitude, but as he moved nearer it began to crumble.
“I think…” she started in a hesitant voice, but her words were cut off.
“I think you’re beautiful Miss,” Tom commented.
Mary looked to see the handsome smile on his face. She started to unconsciously back away as he closed in on her, but step by step he came nearer. When her back touched against the wall in the corner of the schoolroom there was nowhere else for her to go. She was trapped in place.
Bent Over A Barrel Bundle: Western Cowboy Romance (Full Length Novels) Page 8