The men blinked back at him, and the townsfolk fell silent, staring at the councilmembers on the dais.
“We are not presuming to find someone with equal qualifications.” Timothy spoke up. “But we must respect propriety. Especially for our children. It is not appropriate for a married woman, much less a mother, to be filling such a position.”
Some of the townsfolk agreed with Timothy.
“And unnecessary,” Mr. Hammond rumbled. “When the preacher can fill in for the rest of the semester.”
“The preacher? How do you expect him to carry his load and hers?” Wyatt balked. “Doesn’t he already have a position that demands his full attention?”
Everyone looked at Timothy.
The reverend’s now steely gaze rested on Wyatt. And he felt it.
“It is true. I cannot cover the teaching post for more than a few more days.”
The collective gasp of the congregation could not be missed.
“Then we must consider allowing her to finish out the school year.” It was Philip Yerby who spoke up. “That makes the most sense.”
Wyatt breathed a sign of relief. He had one friend here. Someone who saw reason.
“No,” Timothy said, his voice harsher than Wyatt ever remembered. “We must suspend school for the remainder of the year.”
“How does that make anything better? The children robbed of their education? Don’t forget the time they’ve already lost because of the typhoid. Suspending school cannot be the answer.” Wyatt flung his hands in the air. This had to be the most frustrating interchange he’d had with these men.
“If we hadn’t been able to hire Miss Matth . . . I mean, Mrs. Sullivan to begin with, were we not going to ask Mrs. Jacobs to step in for the year?” Yerby leaned forward and looked across the table.
Jacobs and Hammond nodded. Timothy looked forward, eyes trained on Wyatt. Again, Wyatt felt the intensity of Timothy’s gaze on him. But he refused to back down. He now had the majority of the town council on his side.
“Are we prepared to vote then?” The mayor shifted in his seat.
Could the others feel the tension in the room between Wyatt and Timothy?
There came a round of agreement.
“I still think Dr. Sullivan should recuse himself from this vote since it involves his . . . Mrs. Sullivan.” Timothy’s words were firm and resolute.
His basis was sound. Wyatt would not be able to convince the members otherwise.
“That seems fair enough.” Mayor Jacobs met Wyatt’s gaze. “If you don’t mind, Doc, would you step outside?”
“Step outside?” Wyatt looked over the entire collection of townsfolk. “Is this not a public assembly? Am I not a member of this town? Would you take away my right to watch the vote?”
Mayor Jacobs glanced over the room. Was he sweating? “Please, Dr. Sullivan, don’t make this harder than it has to be. I only ask you step outside so that the members of the town council may vote without intimidation.”
Wyatt held the mayor’s eyes for a moment before he nodded. He only hoped that there would be no further discussion after he left. If Timothy tried to further convince them without him there to respond . . . But he had no choice.
So, he turned and stepped out of the church.
The minutes slipped into hours while he waited. Or so it seemed. Had Timothy seized the opportunity to share what arguments he could make? Had it worked? Was he able to convince them?
Wyatt sat on the top step and did what he could to distract himself, working his finger joints, popping them, clasping them. But it did not make the time go by any faster.
After what felt like more than two hours, but in reality was only a few minutes, Mayor Jacobs opened the door and invited Wyatt back inside. Why would the man not just tell him their decision? But the mayor simply led Wyatt back in and took his seat.
Wyatt didn’t need anyone to tell him, though. One look at Timothy’s downcast features and he knew. They were going to let Katherine stay on for the remainder of the year. Smiling to himself, he fought the urge to beat at the air in triumph. He couldn’t wait to tell her.
* * *
So it had come. The day of the Valentine’s Dance. Katherine turned over in her bed as she realized what day it was. And, as it turned out, it was a good thing Timothy never got around to asking her to go with him. Katherine could not imagine that Wyatt would want to go. Did she even want to? She would have to face the town council, the townspeople, and Timothy. And she would spend the whole time chasing Jack while trying to soothe Susie. No, it was best they stay home.
How long had she slept? Wyatt had sent her to her room to catch up on some sleep while he watched the kids. The morning had passed with the same busyness as usual. Perhaps that was why she had not realized until now what day it was.
Shifting to a sitting position, she rubbed sleep from her eyes. And then slowly she forced herself from the bed. Her hair must be a mess. She pulled the remaining pins out and let it fall, running a brush through the gentle waves to clear any tangles.
Once certain her appearance wouldn’t scare anyone, she stepped out into the hall. There were no sounds. Were the children in bed? No, Susie wasn’t in her crib. Moving out into the family room, she continued to search for any sign of life. Where was everyone? She found Wyatt, sitting in his chair, facing the fire, reading.
“Wyatt?”
He turned. His face was a mask.
“Where are the children?” Her heartbeat thundered in her ears.
Wyatt stood up and walked toward her. “I took them over to your parents’ house. I didn’t think you would want to take them with us to the Valentine’s Dance.”
“You didn’t what?” Surely she hadn’t heard him.
He had closed the distance between them. His eyes were soft on hers. “The Valentine’s Dance. You did want to go, didn’t you? Seems I remember you liked that sort of thing.”
Her heart warmed. Of course she wanted to go, but she didn’t see how. Could she go with Wyatt? They were man and wife now, so they would be expected to appear at these things together. Why shouldn’t they go? She looked up at him, but his eyes were not on hers, but on her hair.
“I like your hair down.” His voice was husky. “Would you wear it down for me?”
Something foreign to her flushed through her body. Not unpleasant, quite the opposite. She didn’t think she would be able to speak with this thing coursing through her.
“I need to get ready, I suppose.” Wyatt smiled and his eyes caught hers again.
He moved past her, his shoulder brushing against hers. She closed her eyes until she heard the door to his room close. What was she going to do?
* * *
Wyatt worked to get the cart ready. He couldn’t help but smile as he remembered the look on Katherine’s face but an hour ago. It was nice to know he could have that kind of effect on her. But it was not funny. For it was she that drew him to it. Why could he not control himself around that woman?
He finished hitching the tan mare to the cart when he heard the front door shut. And there was Katherine in the gentle light of the late day’s sun. Her dress was covered with her long wrap. And he frowned as his eyes traveled upward. She had pinned her hair up. Not in an unattractive way, but she had not left it down.
As she walked toward him, the corners of his mouth turned up. There was no sense in letting it ruin his evening. Why let her get the best of him? She was still likely to be the prettiest woman at the dance. He hoped she wasn’t wearing a shredded garment under her wrap.
“You are lovely tonight,” he said as she came closer.
She tipped her head to one side and searched his eyes. He forced a smile onto his face.
“Thank you.” With her shorter strides, she soon closed the distance between them.
He reached out and took her hand. Should he pull her against him? Would that prove that the nearness affected her as it did him? Looking away from her, he moved toward the cart. This was not a game.
Once he helped her into her seat and got into his, he urged the horses onward. Why did she even agree to go with him this evening if only to taunt him? There was a bitter taste in his mouth. Perhaps he should turn around and forget the whole thing. Would that serve his purposes? No, he must do his best to give her a good evening.
They arrived on the main street in short order. Parking the cart was little trouble. Helping Katherine down was another matter. She placed her hands on his shoulders as she hopped down in front of him.
He removed his hands from her waist as quickly as he could and turned to ensure the horse was tied off. Her small hand on his arm stopped him. His eyes met hers.
“Wyatt, I do thank you for bringing me tonight. I do enjoy these things.”
Her eyes were bright and glassy. Had that been difficult for her to say? It seemed so.
He smiled and nodded. “My pleasure.” But he did not break eye contact. Instead, he lost himself in the depths of her eyes for several breaths. Then his eyes shifted to her lips.
She pressed her hands against his chest then, creating distance between them.
What was she doing to him? Baiting him?
He narrowed his eyes as he watched her walk toward the boarding house café. He secured the horse’s reins and then trudged after her.
Katherine stood just outside the café doors when he caught up to her. Why hadn’t she gone in? She couldn’t be waiting for him.
“What’s the matter?” His tone was harsher than he’d intended.
She turned toward him. Her face drained of color. Had she even caught his words? “I . . . I’m not sure I want to go in. Can we just go home?”
“Go home? Why?” He couldn’t imagine any reason she wouldn’t go in. They were right here. And he had worked to arrange this evening for them. Of course they were going to go in.
Katherine glanced between the door and his face. She looked like a rabbit caught between a shotgun and a hound dog. At last, she nodded.
Wyatt stepped forward to open the door for her, and she slipped an arm around his. The contact surprised him. Why would she lean on him now?
They stepped into the café, already filled with townspeople making merry. And though the music continued to play, there was no mistaking the collective stares they got as they entered. Or the whispers.
Katherine gripped his arm tighter and pulled closer to him. He looked over at her face, now coloring. Was she embarrassed? Why? Because of some town gossip? And why should the townspeople concern themselves with their elopement. It wasn’t that scandalous.
The crowd opened up, and Timothy stood across the room, staring them down. And Wyatt realized what he had done. He had made Katherine a public spectacle. Perhaps their elopement was not newsworthy, but the broken courtship followed immediately by a marriage to another man was. It was clear on the faces of the people around him. They scorned her for what she had done.
Wyatt drew Katherine over to a corner, blocking the piercing eyes with his body. What could he say? I’m sorry? That seemed weak. He hunted for the right words.
She looked down, her face flushed and her arms crossed in front of her chest.
Using a finger to tip her face up so he could look at her eyes, he said, “I would like, more than anything, to dance with my wife tonight.”
Katherine sniffled and a small smile marked her face.
He shrugged off his winter coat and worked on her outer cape. Once he had relieved her of it, he was surprised to see the same dress she had worn to their wedding. That was one dress he would not forget. His heart expanded.
“May I?” He put forth his hand, hoping she would accept it.
“Of course.” She slid her hand into his and allowed him to lead her onto the dance floor.
He did not miss the jabs, the whispers, the pointing, but he also did not want to miss this opportunity to just hold Katherine in his arms for the entirety of a song. And so he put a hand on her waist, held her close, led with their clasped hands, and moved about the open floor. No matter what anyone would say about that night or about Katherine, it was the first time he danced with his wife.
* * *
David paced the floor of his family room. He could scarcely believe what he had become party to in the last week. After that day when the strikers were brought face-to-face with the strikebreakers, Calderwood had told them not to give up, that all was not lost. Their next job had been to try to persuade the strikebreakers to join the union. This became an altogether unsuccessful venture. So the miners resorted to threats and violence against the scabs. In the end, their tactics worked to keep many nonunion miners away from the mines. Though the things that had transpired led to a win for the miners’ strike, it had come at a price. Was it a price David was willing to pay?
Even now, David waited to leave on another mission ”for the cause.” The clock chimed. Time to go. What awaited him, he did not know. So far, he had been able to keep his hands clean, but he feared the longer he remained part of this strike, the more likely that would change. All the more with the tactics they were taking on. He said a quick prayer for God’s protection against any involvement in anything he would later regret.
He mounted his horse and made his way to the meeting site. A group of miners were already gathered. Once he arrived, the older man who had first led the Free Coinage Union walked over to him.
“Glad you could make it, son. Did you bring your firearm?” The man’s voice was even and calm, as if he asked David what he’d had for lunch.
David did not like it. “No, sir, no one told me to. I don’t usually carry my gun to the mines.”
“That’s all right. We have a few extra.” He motioned for a man to bring him a gun. Handing the rifle supplied over to David, he nodded.
Should he take it? There didn’t seem to be an option. The man held it out to him, arms outstretched. David opened his hands to receive the weapon, but held it at arm’s length, ready to pass it back.
“What do I need this for?”
The older man patted David’s shoulder. “Oh, it’s just for intimidation.”
That did not reassure David. “So, I won’t be in a situation to use it?”
“No, it’s just a precaution.”
David wasn’t sure he trusted the man. He already wished he hadn’t come.
“Pretty exciting, huh?” A voice said from behind him.
David turned to see his friend, Jonas.
“Do you know what’s going on here?” David’s eyes returned to the rifle, still held loosely in his grasp.
“No.” Jonas shook his head, but that didn’t seem to bother him. How could it not?
It made David feel even more unsettled. He trusted this situation less and less.
But before David could hand over his weapon and ride off, the older leader stepped forward and began speaking. “Men, for those of you who don’t know, we are going to prevent those same deputies from doing to another mine what they did to us—protecting strikebreakers. Your firearms are for intimidation only. You are not, and I repeat not, to fire on the deputies, no matter what happens.”
That eased David’s mind . . . somewhat.
* * *
As the last student left the schoolhouse, Katherine deflated into her chair. She shuffled papers around on her desk. Many things needed to be done in order to prepare for the next day. Still, Katherine made stacks with the papers and slates. She should work through some of them, but she needed to relieve her mother of the two children. Which was more important? These things would be here later, and she could always come back to finish them. So she gathered what could be done at home and headed out to collect her cart and horse from the livery.
The ride to her parents’ homestead went by quicker than usual. Perhaps because she was deep in thought about the recent happenings with the town council. She had won back her place at the school. But by how much? Did she truly still have their support? Or was it by a slim majority? And what about Timothy? How did he vot
e? All of these questions swirled in her head.
And Wyatt, she wasn’t even sure how he felt. That first day back, when she had been pushed out of the school, she came home in such a state. When she shared what happened, Wyatt had become quiet, standoffish almost. Would he prefer she stay at home with the children? She didn’t know. Had he voted against her?
And just like that, the Matthews’ homestead loomed in front of her. Would there ever be answers to her questions? As she entered the house, shrieks of laughter filled her ears. Susie squealed and wriggled on the floor as Ma leaned over her, making faces. Jack, too, laughed as he watched the interchange.
Katherine twisted an errant hair behind her ear as a burning sensation settled between her shoulder blades. She forced a breath out between clenched teeth. It all seemed to come so naturally to her mother . . . and to Wyatt. Was she even cut out to be a mother? Pushing those thoughts to the side, she stepped further into the room. It would do no good to think like that.
“Am I interrupting something important?” she said, painting a smile on her face. Her presence broke the spell Ma had wrapped the children in.
Ma moved to stand, gathering Susie in her arms. “Of course not. How was school?”
Katherine shrugged her shoulders. “It was a day.”
Jack slid over to the blocks on the floor.
“Come,” Ma said, waving a hand toward the dining table. “Sit for a minute.”
Katherine obeyed and took a chair next to her mother’s seat. When Ma sat, she adjusted Susie to a more comfortable position and looked over at Katherine.
“You look tired, honey.”
Who wouldn’t be? “I am. My sleep has been interrupted every night by little missy here.”
A knowing smile lit her mother’s face. “Is that all that wears on you?”
Katherine became silent for a moment. Should she share her heart’s concerns with her mother? The last thing she wanted to be was a burden or cause her mother to worry.
“No, there’s more.” Katherine’s words came slowly as she examined her hands, clasped together on the table. “I’m not . . . that is, I don’t seem to be . . . I just think that . . . I’m not good with the children.”
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