"Relax, honey. That reminds me of something we need to do. We need to go into the bank and make sure you can get money out of our account. I need to talk to you about our money. We will do that soon, but for right now just take my word. We have enough money to buy the books and whatever we will need. My concern is finding or building a place to be the schoolhouse, and getting some desks made. We will also probably need to get Henry to order the books and slates and whatever else we will need for a school."
"How long do you think it will take to get those in?"
"I don't know. We need to decide what all we'll need, and talk to Henry so be can get it ordered. I'd like to have it ready so we can start the school in the fall."
"That would be wonderful. Do you think we can do it?"
"I don't know, but I'm willing to try. I'll have to depend on you to let me know what all we'll need so we can get it ordered, or get someone working on it."
"Oh, I'm so excited. Is this school going to be just for children living on this ranch? How many children are there?"
Austin momentarily froze, and stared at her. "I hadn't even thought of that."
"You hadn't thought of what?"
"Neighboring ranches. I was thinking of the children on our ranch, but now you've got me thinking. If I've had a problem with men moving on when their children are old enough to go to school, other ranches around here probably have, as well. Maybe I should talk with a couple of them."
"How close are the ranches? Are they close enough that the children could get here?"
"Now you've given me something else to think about," he said, tweaking her nose. "As I'm thinking about it, there are two ranches close enough the children could probably walk. It would be safer if they walked together, but it's close enough to walk. The next one down would be quite a walk, probably five or six miles. I might talk to him, too, though. If they all came together and took a buggy or wagon it wouldn't be too far."
"I like to see children have the opportunity to go to school. I think it's so important these days for kids to be able to read and write."
"I agree. They have to be able to do some arithmetic, too, for simple things like shopping at the mercantile." He thought a couple minutes. "Maybe, if there are children who would want to go to school at the neighboring ranches, the owners would be willing to pay a small salary for the teacher, and we can provide the school."
"I don't need to be paid to do this," she quickly assured him. "I'd love to do it."
"I thought as much. But we could always use the money they would be willing to pay for a teacher to hire a lady to do some of your work. I'm serious about that. I would love to have you teaching the children. I think that's a need we have, and we need to meet that need. But I don't want you trying to do the cooking and laundry and cleaning while you're teaching. Maybe we can hire a lady to do most of that. This is a large house. There's a bedroom and living room above the kitchen that have never been used."
"Why did you build such a large house with rooms you've never used?"
"My father helped me build it before he passed away. He suggested that while I'm building, I build it big enough for a family. He suggested the bedroom and living room above the kitchen so I could hire a lady to cook and clean for me until I have a wife. He said once I get married, once we start having children my wife will be busy with them and will need some help. He said if we include the space while we're building the house, later on when I need to hire someone, we'll be glad we have it. I think he was a smart man. The space is there, and I like the idea of hiring someone to live here and do much of that work for you so you can devote your time and energy into getting the school up and running."
"So you're saying if the ranchers would be willing to pay a small amount for a teacher, we could use that money to hire a lady to help in the house?"
"I think it would be fair. As the teacher you would certainly be entitled to a salary."
"And we could use that salary for a lady to help me, freeing me up to do the teaching." She was thinking as she was talking, he could tell, and he gave her time to think it through. "I think that would be fair, if they are willing to contribute a little. If they are not, though, will you still allow the children on their ranch to attend the school?"
"Yes, of course," he said with no hesitation. "but the ranchers don't need to know that. They're good men, and I think they would be willing to pay a little toward a teacher's salary. I'll talk to them in the next couple days. Let's go out tomorrow and look around for a good spot to build a school. I can get a couple of the hands working on it to be sure it's ready to go by fall."
"Do you suppose the ranchers would be willing to provide a man to help build the building and desks, or perhaps part of the lumber?"
Austin's eyebrows raised. "I hadn't thought of that, either. Maybe we can go a step further. If they're on board with the idea of a school, maybe we can schedule a school raising, like we have barn raisings. We could get men together and have the building up and desks made in a day if we have enough men. We'll have to get the wood before then and have plans made up for the building and desks, but in one good day with enough men, we'd have a school, equipped with desks."
"Ooh, that sounds like a fun day. I can cook big pots of soup or stew for everyone, and biscuits."
"If the men are willing to do this, I'm sure you'd have some of the wives volunteering to help. It would be a good way for you to get to meet many of the neighbor ladies."
"Now I'm really excited. I hope the ranchers agree."
"Me too," Austin admitted. "You have me excited about it now, too. I'll talk to them tomorrow."
Without actually realizing what she was doing, Georgia wrapped her arms around Austin's neck, giving him a big hug. He reciprocated by finding her lips with his. The last few days she'd been returning his kisses much more freely, which he was glad of. He'd fallen in love with his wife and it was getting more and more difficult to go to bed and cuddle to her every night without doing anything more. But he was a gentleman, and he'd given his word. He hadn't anticipated it being this difficult, though.
Today when he kissed her, she leaned into him as she returned his kiss. It struck him that she was not only returning his kiss; she was returning his passion. He ended the kiss and pulled back far enough to look into her eyes. "My dear wife, that is becoming harder and harder for me to do. You see, I told you I will be a gentleman, and I fully intend to do just that. It's getting difficult, though, because it seems I've fallen in love with you."
He watched as her eyes got big, then he saw something there. While he was trying to decipher the look in her eyes, she laid her face against his chest and wrapped her arms around him again. "Austin, I am so glad to hear that. I've felt the same way the last couple days. I didn't know if I should say anything, or how to say it if I did, so I—"
He pulled her away far enough to look into her eyes again. He smiled when he realized love is what he'd seen in her eyes, and he still saw it. His hands held her face gently as he kissed her again. This kiss was different than the rest they'd shared. Both felt free to release all the feelings they'd been struggling to hide the past few days.
Not separating any further than what was necessary to speak, he asked, "My dearest wife, are you ready to share our marriage bed?"
"I am, husband."
Before Georgia realized what was happening, her husband had swooped her up in his arms and was heading to their bedroom. He laid her gently on their bed, smiling down at her. This time instead of turning the other way while she undressed and put her nightgown on, he slowly undressed her. She reached for his shirt and started unbuttoning it, but he caught her hands in his. "Honey, some day I'll be happy to allow you to do that, but right now, I've waited too long for this night." He had his clothes off in seconds and joined her in their bed.
Georgia was nervous, but excited. She felt a little awkward, though, and felt a need to warn him. "Austin?"
"Yes, my dear?"
"I don't know—
I mean, I'm not sure—I've never—"
"Ssshhh. I know. Don't worry, wife, we will go slow, and I will be easy and talk you through this. The only thing you need to know right now is that I love you. I will do everything I can to protect you and keep you safe and happy—always, including right now. Do you trust me?"
"I do," she said firmly and quickly.
"Then we will be fine." He kissed her again, ending their conversation. He proceeded to do exactly as he'd promised, going slow, taking his time, and explaining as he went. By the time they fell asleep that night she felt very safe, and extremely happy.
***
They both slept a little later the next morning, after a very enjoyable night. She opened her eyes to see him smiling down at her. "Good morning, dear wife of mine."
"Good morning to you, my husband."
He gave her a kiss filled with the love and emotion they'd enjoyed several times during the night. "You stay in bed a few more minutes, my dear. I'm going out to do chores."
"I'll have your breakfast ready when you come in," she promised.
"Thank you," he said with another quick kiss.
He was getting out of bed when she said, "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For last night. I love you, and I hope we can do that again."
He went back to her, giving her a much better kiss. "We will do it again soon. I very much enjoyed our night, and I thank you for that. I love you, too, my precious wife."
Chapter Seven
True to his word, Austin talked with his neighbors the next morning. He talked to Georgia and relayed the information he'd found out over lunch. "The closest ranch to us is The Standing Elm. Ty Wilson owns it, and he was thrilled with the idea. He's willing to help us some with the cost of start up."
"That's wonderful."
"It is. He and his wife have a two-year-old, and I'm sure he's thinking of his son, as well as the children of his men. The Standing Elm is east of us. The ranch west of us is The Circle N. Mitchel Nottingham likes the idea, as well. He said he doesn't have the money right now for the start up costs, but he thinks he can contribute a small amount for a teacher's salary. He did say he and his men would take the day off to help build the school and desks."
"That would be very helpful."
"I agree. The children from those two ranches would be able to walk to our ranch for school. I also talked to Garrett Shambry, who owns The Winding River. His ranch is further away, and he said he would think about it, but wasn't ready to commit to anything to do with a school at this point. He may come around. He's an older gentleman, and I'm not sure how much education he has personally. He said he would give it some thought and get back to me."
"So when do we start?"
"This evening after supper we'll discuss where to build it. Sunday at church we'll talk to the other two, and we'll come up with a date to have a school raising. I think we should do it as soon as we can, just in case we don't get it all done in one day. That will give me some time to finish it. We will go to town in the next couple days and talk to Henry. You will have to look at his catalogs and see what you want in the way of books. We will have to get them ordered, along with some slates and other things like that you will need."
"This is getting exciting," she enthused.
"It is. Why don't you make a list of all the things you think we will need? We will probably have to order a good portion of them."
"Do you know how many children we may be talking about, and whether they've had schooling before? I don't know what level they will be working at."
"I don't know that, but I will try to talk to Ty and Mitchell and ask. Maybe Sunday if we talk after church they will be able to relay that information on."
***
That Sunday after church, Ty and Mitchell both sought Austin out. Georgia was introduced to their wives while the men made their plans. The ladies talked about making food for a work day, planning what each woman would make. Georgia liked Iris and Dixie, and the three of them planned a big meal for the work day, whenever the men decided that would be.
It was a busy summer for Georgia and Austin. He talked to a local sawmill and put in an order for the wood they would need. She spent time mulling over the catalogs Henry loaned her and picked out the books she thought she would need. She kept it to a minimum, assuming most of the children would be starting at the beginning of their schooling. She was only aware of one little boy who had attended school a couple years before his family moved to The Standing Elm. That was two years ago, however, and he hadn't been to school at all during that time.
It was a busy week leading up to the men's work day. Georgia, Iris and Dixie prepared some of the food, mostly desserts, in the days before. Austin and his men set up two long tables and benches, and another table to hold the food.
On raising day, they all gathered right after breakfast. The men started constructing the building first, and the women, including some of the ranch hands' wives, started cooking lunch. By noon, the ladies had the food table loaded with food. As soon as the men ate, they got back to work, and some of the ladies started cleaning up, while the others started preparing supper.
As Georgia was peeling potatoes she looked around. She was surrounded by ladies, all of whom were her neighbors. This was the first time she'd met some of them, but they all worked together like they'd been friends for years. She was looking forward to getting to know them all better. She was sure they would soon be her new friends.
By the time night fell, the men had a school building up and desks made, including one for the teacher. The ladies had the dishes all washed and the kitchen cleaned up. Georgia was very happy with the new ladies she'd met and was sure would become good friends. They both went to bed tired, but happy.
Over the next few weeks, Georgia got the books in Henry had ordered for her. She spent time looking them over and developing some lessons. She got to know several of the mothers who had children who would be attending her school, and was pleased with how happy they were that their children would be able to attend school. Mr. Shambry had not said anything further about supporting the school, so Austin and Georgia assumed he wasn't planning to participate, but as near as she could tell, there would be roughly ten students from the other two ranches.
There was one family that approached her from a nearby small family farm. Elliott and Vera Wagner had heard about the school and said their son, Ben, was eleven and had never attended school. They very much wanted him to learn to read and write, and promised he was old enough to ride his horse every day.
They said they didn't have any extra money to offer, but Vera said she would be happy to ride along with Ben one day a week and clean Austin's and Georgia's house and do the laundry for them, in exchange for Georgia teaching her son. She also said she would do some cooking for them the day she was there.
Austin and Georgia were obviously surprised by her offer. Elliott could see that, and made a suggestion. "Why don't you two consider it and let us know. We realize we have no right to ask that our son be able to attend your school since we can't really help support it, but we'd love to come to some kind of agreement which would be beneficial to both our families."
One look at his wife, and Austin was sure how she felt. "We'll talk about it and let you know. I'm sure we can come to some kind of agreement." The big smile on Georgia's face let him know he'd read her thoughts correctly.
They'd barely started home when Georgia turned to him. "We have to let Ben attend school. It's a shame he's missed out all this time, but we have to give him the chance to learn now."
"I agree," Austin quickly assured her. "What do you think of Mrs. Wagner's offer?"
"I think it's very generous. I didn't think it was very practical because I assumed she had other smaller children, but I talked with her a few minutes after we all talked, and Ben is the only child they ever had. That means she would be able to come over once a week. I can do some extra cooking and baking over the weekend for the first p
art of the week, and if she would be able to come over and cook something for us, maybe on Thursday, with enough that we could heat up the rest of it on Friday, it would really help me. Doing the laundry would be terrific, but would it be right for us to allow her to do all that? That would be a lot of work."
"It would be a lot, but in exchange, we would be providing the books and slates he would need, as well as the school building and teacher."
"That's true," she said, nodding.
"I think if they offered, it would definitely be helpful for you, and to be honest, that's one thing I've been concerned about. I don't want to see you try and teach school, plus run the house. That's too much for one woman to do. Besides that, I don't want them to be hurt or offended."
"How would they be hurt or offended?"
"If we tell them we don't want what they're offering, they may feel hurt. If they're proud people, they will want to feel they're giving as much as they're getting. If we accept their kind offer in the spirit it's being made, letting them know how much it means to us, they'll feel good about themselves. They won't feel like they're taking something they didn't pay for, or that we're saying what they're offering isn't good enough for us."
"I never thought of it that way. Of course we wouldn't want them to think that. It's a very generous offer."
"Then we accept their offer and tell them how much it means to us?"
Georgia had a big smile on her face. "It really will be very helpful for me."
***
Austin and Georgia grew closer as they worked out all the details for the school. Cord chuckled when Austin was a little late getting to the barn for morning chores, yawning as he worked. It was easy to see they were a true husband and wife now. He was happy for them, but still liked to rib his boss about his apparent lack of sleep.
Austin readily admitted he indeed was missing out on some sleep, but he certainly wasn't complaining about it. Making love to his wife was even better than he'd hoped. She turned out to be a very passionate woman, and they were very well matched.
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