by AmyFleming
The schoolroom had been torn apart. The desks were turned over and books and papers littered the floor. The books from the bookcase were thrown at the back of the room. The intruder had dumped the contents of her desk on the floor. The costumes for the Thanksgiving Pageant were flung around everywhere.
Alec came in, looked around and led Charlotte outside. She followed him without speaking. He told the children there wouldn’t be any school today and went next door to the Church. Pastor Miles was already there, so Alec asked him to come and take charge of the getting the children home.
“What am I going to do with you?” he asked Charlotte.
“I’ll be fine,” she said. “But who would want to do this, tear apart the schoolroom?”
“They were obviously looking for something,” Alec said.
Gradually the shock wore off and Charlotte went back inside to pick up the pieces of her schoolroom. A few of the costumes were ruined, but they still had a week before Thanksgiving. They could be replaced, but Charlotte lost the feeling of safety she had in Bandit Creek.
Who had wrecked her classroom?
*****
The following morning, it was school as usual. Charlotte spent the morning doing lessons with the children and in the afternoon, they had a huge group effort to replace the costumes that had been wrecked. With all the children working together and the older kids helping the younger ones, by the end of the day, all the damaged costumes had been repaired.
At the end of the busy day, Maud came up to Charlotte’s desk. The little girl was excited about something. She had a new baby brother and her mother wanted Charlotte to come out to the ranch to see baby Adam.
Chapter Nineteen
Charlotte was exhausted by the end of the week. The days flew by as she worked with her class and got to know the students better. The evenings, alone in the teacherage, were hard, and Charlotte worried about whether she would have another midnight visitor. She awaited Alec’s nightly calls so she could assure him she was all right and then go to bed. But sleep eluded her. She knew she was overreacting to the break-in, but still she could not shake the nagging fear that someone wanted to hurt her.
She had the luxury of staying in bed well after daybreak on Saturday morning. She wanted to do a little shopping to get a gift for baby Adam.
After lunch, she set out for the ranch, gift in hand. She missed the horses from the ranch, but the day was cold and clear and she walked briskly to get there. At the ranch, the kids were happy to have their teacher visit and Maud even made tea for her mother and the teacher.
Baby Adam was gorgeous. He had fine blond hair like his father that formed tiny curls. His eyes were ice blue and Charlotte adored the little guy. It seemed like his sisters did as well. Tommy, on the other hand, was not so impressed, but then what could you expect from an older brother.
The afternoon passed quickly and before Charlotte realized it, the clock in the hall was chiming four o’clock. She had to leave if she was going to get back to her teacherage before dark.
Tommy came with her and they walked along the road towards the bridge. He seemed to be in a serious mood and then he asked her, “Do you like it here, Miss Fraser?”
“I do Tommy. I love teaching and I love all of the children in the class. Why do you ask?”
“So many teachers come and leave right away. Are you going to leave?”
“I hope I’ll stay a long time.”
“I hope so, too. You’re the only teacher who knows who my real mother is. And you can keep my secret.”
Oh my gosh. Charlotte didn’t know what to say to the boy. They walked on in silence. Finally she said, “Is it hard, keeping this secret?”
“I can keep secrets. Sometimes I wish I didn’t have to.”
She felt sorry for the strange little boy walking beside her. “What secrets are hard, Tommy?”
“My dad told me a secret about Miss McArthur. But then she was dead.” Tommy sounded confused.
That was strange. It didn’t make any sense. “Where was your dad today, Tommy?” Charlotte asked. She didn’t want to see Mr. Dredger and he had been on the back of her mind all day.
“He’s up on Crow Mountain getting ready to blast out some stumps. He says he wants me to help him.”
“You’re too young to be helping to blast out stumps.”
“That’s what my mom says too.”
Charlotte almost asked him which mother, but then she bit her tongue. When they got to the bridge, Charlotte told Tommy to go back home, she would go the rest of the way on her own.
The sun was setting behind Crow Mountain and Charlotte looked up to watch it. A band of pink light in the sky lit up the mountain peaks. The main road to town was around the next bend in the trail. She took a minute to enjoy watching the water splashing on the ice covered rocks. She took a deep breath to release the fear she’d been feeling all week and started on down the road.
The sounds in the trees disappeared and Charlotte was alert to the sudden quiet around her. She wondered if there was a big animal, maybe a bear or a cougar, in the brush. She started to walk towards the road, making as much noise as she possibly could. Then she heard the creaking of twigs behind her in the bush.
Charlotte had always been told she shouldn’t run away from a bear, but she didn’t think whatever it was in the bush was a bear. She began to run. Being on the road, Charlotte had the advantage, for one thing she was a very fast runner and for another, whoever was behind her in the bush was crashing into the trees. She didn’t take the time to look at what was behind her, she just sprinted for the main road.
Once she reached the main road, she slowed her speed and then looked back to see if anything, or anyone, came out of the woods. Thankfully, she was alone on the road. She kept up a quick pace into town and didn’t feel safe even back at the teacherage with the door closed and locked behind her.
When Alec Forrest came by to check on her that night, she invited him in and told him about being followed in the woods. He got that look of concern on his face and told her to be careful.
Chapter Twenty
After the dress rehearsal, the day before Thanksgiving, Charlotte picked up two letters from the post office, one from Ora and one from Gilbert.
Ora’s letter was filled with news about plans for her wedding. Ora closed the letter by saying how much she wished Charlotte were going to be there for her wedding. Then she wrote that she understood why Charlotte had left. The last line was out of character for Ora. It was not like her to be aware of someone else’s feelings. It would be the closest thing to an apology Charlotte would ever get from Ora.
Charlotte read the letter over a couple of times. It sounded exactly the way Ora spoke. Charlotte and Ora had been best friends forever. Even though their friendship was over, Charlotte missed her. But Charlotte knew they could never be friends again. Her mind pictured Ora on the night she had announced her engagement to Gilbert. She was so excited, so radiant. Maybe Ora always did love Gilbert.
Charlotte had looked over at Gilbert thinking he would say there was some mistake. He had avoided her eyes and accepted all of the congratulations from Ora’s friends and family.
In the dark recesses of Charlotte’s mind was a memory she wanted to forget. That same night Charlotte had passed the doorway to Ora’s bedroom. She had opened the door and watched her friend sleeping for a few minutes. Charlotte knew her revolver was in her room down the hall. She couldn’t help thinking she wanted to hurt Ora in some way, to get even with her for taking Gilbert. But in that moment, Charlotte realized she could never fire her gun, no matter the circumstances. But she knew that jealousy would destroy her. She had to leave the Sharp’s house, find a job and move as far away as she could. She’d slipped back to her bedroom and cried herself to sleep.
As much as Charlotte missed her friend, missed all their adventures together, she could never allow herself to see Ora again or even to answer her letter.
The second letter was from Gilbert
. They hadn’t spoken a word to each other since Ora announced the engagement and Charlotte wondered what on earth he had to say to her.
She held the envelope and looked at it. Charlotte felt something like fear when she held the letter, when she turned it over in her hands. When Gilbert abandoned her, he had broken her heart. Would this letter be another arrow in the wound? She turned it over again and finally put it in her purse and went outside for some air. She tramped along the track that led to the hills. When she reached the woods, she took a cigarette out of her purse.
Gilbert’s letter was still on her mind, but something else nagged at her. “Why should Alec Forrest ask if I cared about Luc?” She wondered if she did care for the handsome cowboy. When she compared him to Gilbert, Luc was charming and, truth be told, better looking. But there wasn’t anything there that made her heart pound, nothing that made her feel like she wanted to get closer to him, to understand what he was thinking, or how he was feeling. No, much as she liked Luc, she could never see her way to being in love with him.
Now Alec Forrest, he was a man who made her take a second look. If he weren’t so aloof. She recognized a lot of his detachment in herself. He’d lost his parents in such a tragic situation. It was no wonder he seemed to put some barrier between himself and everyone in Bandit Creek.
Still, it was strange that he’d asked her about Luc. Why should he care about that?
Charlotte thought again about the letter in her purse. She walked along the track until her cigarette was finished. She didn’t have the courage to read the letter yet. She needed to be with someone she could trust. And she knew just who that person was...
*****
Alec Forrest was home and backed away from his front door, not knowing what to say to the young woman on his doorstep.
“I thought I would come by before you came to check up on me,” Charlotte said.
“You are always surprising me, Charlotte,” he said.
“It’s a pretty sad night for me,” she said. “I didn’t want to be alone.”
He let her in and she asked if he minded if she played his piano. No one ever played it and he was happy to just sit and listen to her play.
“Play the Oldsmobile song,” he said after listening to her play for a while.
She found the music and began to play it. While she played, he got up and poured himself a glass of whiskey. He thought about his mother who had loved to play the piano. For a few minutes, he allowed himself the indulgence of missing her.
Charlotte finished the song. Then she played a few chords. She turned to him and asked, very seriously, “Do you think it’s possible, if you lose everyone you love, to ever love again?”
It was like she’d read his mind. She noticed the whiskey and said, “I’d like a glass too, if I may.” He nodded, and watched as she poured herself a glass. What did she want from him?
“Luc Branigan tried to kiss me. And all the time I was comparing him to Gilbert.”
“Who’s Gilbert?” he had to know.
“Gilbert was my boyfriend.”
“You have a boyfriend?” He couldn’t keep the alarm out of his voice. So what if Charlotte had a boyfriend?
“Before my parents moved to California, he was calling on me. I told everyone that I stayed behind because I wanted to go to Normal School. That was true, but the truth of it was, I wouldn’t leave Gilbert.”
“And then you left him to come out here?” he asked. “Why?”
“He’s getting married tomorrow. On Thanksgiving. To my best friend, Ora. That’s why I came out here.”
“So that’s how you lost everyone you love.”
“I gave up my family for him. And now I have lost him and Ora, too.”
“How old are you -- to think you’ll never be able to find love again?”
“Eighteen,” she said. “Maybe seventeen. My mom can’t remember for certain what year I was born.”
“You’ll find someone,” he said. “You’re young, you’re beautiful. You’re the kind of girl any man would be happy to have.”
“Any man?” she asked him.
“Any man,” he repeated. He reached out and pulled her towards him. She sank into the sofa beside him, eyes wide.
She pulled the letter out of her pocket. “Gilbert sent me a letter. I got it today,” she said. “I don’t have the nerve to read it. What if he says he’s sorry for me? It’s the last thing I want to hear.”
He took the letter from her. “Is there anything you want to hear? What if he said it was all a mistake and that he wants you back?” he asked her.
“I never want to see him again. He broke my heart. And what about Ora? She’s marrying him tomorrow.”
“Are you still in love with him?” he asked, praying she would say no.
“The man I loved was decent and honest and kind. I was in love with an illusion.”
“Then you should burn the letter. Whatever it says, it won’t make you happy.”
“I don’t know what will make me happy again. One thing I do know is that I really want to get over him. I think that’s what I’m searching for.”
She went over to the fireplace and dropped the letter in the fire. It smoldered for a moment and then exploded in flames. As he watched her, he wished his memories of the holdup would disappear as quickly as that letter.
He took a deep breath and wondered if he could make her happy. A sheriff, who spent his time riding alone in the mountains.
“Play the song again,” he said. Anything to fill the silence.
She sat down at the piano and picked out the tune. This time when she was finished, she came over and sat beside him on the couch.
“The thing is I don’t want to have to wake up every Thanksgiving and think this is the day that Gilbert married Ora. Give me something else to remember.” She slipped between his arms and his chest and turned her face towards him.
“You’re playing with fire, Charlotte,” he said. “And you could have anyone. Someone with a proper job who can be a family man.”
“I think you’re the one.”
He kissed her gently, wondering if she would change her mind.
She didn’t.
Chapter Twenty-One
At home in the teacherage, Charlotte sat in her one chair, arms wrapped around her legs. After he had kissed her, Alec had moved very slowly. She could tell he was as inexperienced as she was. And nervous, very, very nervous. He had taken his time, building the fire up in the fireplace until it reached a roaring blaze. Then he had given her another glass of the whiskey that everyone in Bandit Creek seemed to drink. The slower he moved, the more her internal fires blazed. She was more than ready to make love to him, but it wasn’t to be.
Charlotte thought they had reached a point where there was no turning back when Alec had held her at arm’s length and said, “We need to stop now, Charlotte. Otherwise, I don’t know what will happen.”
She looked at him, confusion in her eyes.
“I’ve seen enough young girls get into trouble in this town. I won’t be responsible for anything like that happening to you. It’s time I take you home.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow evening, I hope,” he whispered to her at the door of the teacherage. And then he was gone. So where would they go from here? Was he just the man who had kissed her, so she could forget about Gilbert?
*****
Alec barely finished breakfast before the deputy, Frank Waters, showed up, knocking on the front door.
“There was a miner found dead in the creek, five miles down from town. Yesterday, some men out hunting found the body. They’re saying the dead man is Neill McArthur, the dead teacher’s husband.”
“We should have gone out there as soon as we heard about it,” Alec said.
“I knew you’d say that,” Frank answered. “That’s why I waited until this morning to tell you.”
*****
In the morning, Charlotte put all of her questions about Alec out of her mind and crossed over t
o the school. There were already children milling around in the schoolyard. She got some of the big boys to come in and help her set up the classroom. Then she helped all the children into their costumes, bonnets and hats for the Pilgrims, headdresses and beads for the natives.
Nellie Welch ran over to Charlotte in tears. Her Indian princess dress was missing. Charlotte tried to calm the girl while she started searching. The dress had been in the schoolroom last night. There was no time to search everywhere. Charlotte guessed that one of the other little girls must have been jealous of the dress. She gathered all of the girls into a circle and said, “Now, I want you all to help me look for Nellie’s dress. This pageant is for all of you and all of your parents. We can’t disappoint them. Each of you take one part of the room, look in the desks, and look in the coatroom. We’ll find Nellie’s dress for certain.”
The little girls all raced off to search, and a few minutes later Nellie’s dress miraculously emerged from behind the boot rack in the coatroom. Charlotte helped Nellie into her dress, thankful that Nellie’s tears disappeared as soon as the dress reappeared.
Charlotte took a deep breath. It looked as if everything was ready. But where was Tommy Dredger? His headdress was sitting on his desk. Charlotte asked Maud where her brother was.
“He had to go out and help Dad with some work today,” Maud said. “Dad is blasting stumps out in the upper pasture.”
“But he can’t miss the Thanksgiving Pageant,” Charlotte said.
“We all told Dad, and Tommy even cried, but Daddy said he was old enough to start earning his keep,” Maud said. It looked like Maud was going to start crying. Charlotte rubbed the little girl’s back. There was nothing she could say to comfort the child.
Charlotte felt terrible about Tommy. He’d been so excited about being the Indian, Squanto, who taught the Pilgrims how to plant corn. Charlotte called Dylan Branigan over and told him he had to play Squanto’s part. The show must go on.