“I can’t, sorry.” She turned to go back inside. Paul panicked.
“Wait, Miss Murphy. Why won’t you come with me? We can ask someone to come with us if you would like a chaperone.” He tried not to sound disappointed at the thought of someone joining them. He wanted to be alone with her.
“I hadn’t thought of the chaperone,” Laura said quietly, her face flaming.
“Why can’t you come then?” He took a step closer but resisted the urge to stroke her face. He didn’t want to scare her.
“Mr. Kelley, we were both embarrassed by Mary yesterday. I appreciate you calling on me, but I don’t need anyone’s pity.”
“Pity? I don’t pity you, Miss Murphy. I like you. A lot.”
Laura stared at him, disbelief evident in her eyes.
“You don’t know me.”
“Well, that’s true. I was hoping to rectify that a little by spending some time with you.” He waited to see her reaction. She didn’t look convinced. “Look, Miss Murphy, your friends came to Clover Springs and married men they didn’t know. It seems to have worked out very well for the Sullivans and Petersens. Katie and Daniel are happy, too, although I know their story is slightly different. Miss Emer didn’t know Mr. Shipley that long before they got married.”
He stopped talking. It was the longest speech he had ever made and he wasn’t sure she was listening.
“They all wanted to get married,” Laura said.
“So do I,” he replied. At the look of surprise on her face, he took her hand. “I had a whole speech prepared, but I forgot it as soon as I saw you. I asked Miss Emer to write to Boston and get me a bride. I never thought someone like you would land in Clover Springs. I would be honored if you would become my wife.”
Laura pulled her hand back, panic on her face.
“Please, Miss Murphy, give me a chance. I don’t know what happened to you before, but I would never hurt you. I just want to love you and protect you.”
Why are you asking me? Laura wanted to believe him, she really did, but she couldn’t trust her instincts. But everyone else liked him, too. Mary wouldn’t encourage a friendship unless she approved. But she couldn’t shake the idea that he was only acting out of pity. He could have any woman he wanted. He was tall and pleasant looking, clean shaven and he bathed regularly. Why would he settle for a woman with a reputation like hers? She had only gone into town a couple of times, but she had seen how the townsfolk stared at her. Conversations stopped when she walked into the store. Women moved closer to their menfolk. What did they think she was going to do, fling herself at any man she came in contact with?
“Miss Murphy?”
She watched as he took her hand in his, waiting for her body to shudder in revulsion, but it didn’t. His touch had the opposite effect. It calmed her racing thoughts. She felt peaceful. She stared up into his face. His eyes were wide open, willing her to trust him. Could she?
“Maybe it’s too early. I’m willing to wait until you are ready. I won’t give up, though, Miss Murphy. Not until you agree to be my wife.”
His wife. Mrs. Paul Kelley. That had a nice ring. She smiled at him as he bowed formally and walked away whistling. Now he was gone, she desperately wanted to run after him and say yes to the picnic. But she couldn’t. It wasn’t proper. One thing her experiences in Boston had taught her was that men liked to do the chasing. Maybe she could let Mr. Kelley court her like a real lady. Smiling widely, she turned and went back into the house.
Chapter 24
“Miss Laura, there’s a wagon coming. Must be one of the ladies coming to visit. I’ve flour all over my hands. Could you go out to greet them, please?”
“Yes, Mrs. H.” Laura went to the door smiling. Her arm was feeling much better and she was gradually getting more use of it. The exercises the doc had given her were painful, but she kept doing them.
“Laura, I need your help.”
“Morning, Sorcha. How are you? I’m fine, thank you.” Laura couldn’t resist teasing. Sorcha wasn’t pale, so it couldn’t be an emergency that had her out at the Sullivans. She hadn’t been driving fast.
“Sorry. I should remember my manners.” Sorcha took Laura’s arm and led her over to the chairs Mary had set out on the porch. “Sorry, I have to sit. My legs swell if I stand for too long. Having babies isn’t pretty, you know.”
Laura didn’t answer. How could she? She hadn’t been pregnant long enough to show like Sorcha did. Sorcha didn’t know about the baby, so she hadn’t actually been expecting an answer. She waited for Sorcha to speak again.
“Miss Freeman, the school teacher, has to leave Clover Springs. She was leaving anyway to get married, but that was supposed to be in a couple of months. Ellen would have known more about her plans by then. But Miss Freeman’s parents were in an accident. She is getting the train to Denver tomorrow.”
“The poor lady. I haven’t met her yet, but I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. What do you need me to do?”
“Teach the children. Ellen is still in Boulder. There is no one else.”
“Me? Teach? Sorry, Sorcha, but you’re dreaming. I can’t teach, and even if I could, nobody will want their kids being taught by me.”
“That’s nonsense and you know it. You have more knowledge in your head than anyone.”
Laura sat, biting her knuckle. Finally, she found her voice to ask, “Why can’t Ellen come back and teach them?”
“Ellen studied really hard and Miss Freeman had to arrange this introduction. It wouldn’t be fair to call her back when you are here to fill in. Come on, Laura. You would be helping everyone.”
“What if they hate me?” What if their parents run me out of town?
“Laura, when have children ever hated you? I know you aren’t big on cuddles, but you are always fair. Kids liked and respected you at the orphanage. You can do this standing on your head. You know you can.”
Laura didn’t share Sorcha’s confidence. “I don’t know, Sorcha.”
“It’s very simple. Are you willing to help the people of Clover Springs or not? We helped you, didn’t we?”
“Pulling the guilt card? That’s hardly fair.”
Sorcha took Laura’s arm to help her out of the chair. She then led her back into Mary’s house. “Maybe not, but it worked, didn’t it? You will teach, won’t you?”
Laura found herself agreeing. Not that she should be surprised. Sorcha had always been able to get her to do things. Teaching school. What would Mr. Kelley think? Would he approve of her being a teacher?
Paul rode up to the Sullivans’ just as Laura was getting in the wagon.
“You’re off early, Miss Murphy.”
“Laura has agreed to teach school. Isn’t that wonderful?” Sorcha said.
“I didn’t know you were a teacher.” Paul looked at Laura.
“I’m not, but they were desperate. The teacher had a family emergency and Katie’s sister, Ellen, is still away in Boulder. So they got stuck with me.” Her tone sounded flippant, but he thought he heard a hint of nervousness in her voice.
He wanted to pull her into his arms and tell her how lucky the children would be to have her as a teacher. What was he thinking? If he tried to touch her, he’d scare her or she’d slap him for ungentlemanly behavior. She was a city lady and he was a country cowboy.
“I am sure that’s not true. There are a few women I could name who would volunteer to teach school. They must think you are the right woman for the job.”
Laura nodded, but Paul could see the doubt and uncertainty in her eyes. Whoever had destroyed her confidence really did a great job. Some of the children in the school would eat her alive if they sensed she was nervous.
“Just be yourself and watch out for the Shaw boy and the Hawthorns. Boys and girls. Those kids are a handful.”
“Thank you, Mr. Kelley. I have to go now. Sorcha is giving me a lift to town.”
“I will be in town later. I’ll stop by to escort you home, if that is okay with you?”
> He noted the pink flush in her cheeks as her eyes glanced at his mouth before staring back at him. She does like me.
“It’s a long walk back, and as I am driving past here anyway, it seems a pity not to take advantage of me.”
“Take advantage of you?” Laura chuckled, the sound making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He could listen to her laughing all day long.
“Yes, Ma’am.” He watched the indecision play in her eyes, as the slight breeze caused red tendrils of hair to frame her face. Go on, take a chance. Say yes.
“Well, in that case, how could I refuse?”
“See you this afternoon then. Have a good day.” He helped her into the buckboard and then stood watching until it disappeared from view.
“You going to stand there all day?”
Embarrassed, Paul turned to find Davy and some of the other men looking at him, amused grins on their faces. Davy handed him a coffee.
“Nope. I got work to be doing. Don’t you?”
The grin Davy sent him showed his friend knew Paul’s attraction to Miss Murphy was real. Does he know I intend on making her my wife? Maybe he should ask Davy for some tips on courting Miss Murphy. His boss had married a mail order bride, and despite some initial hurdles, they seemed happily married now. Paul looked at Davy before deciding not to say anything. Davy was a great boss, but they were hardly confidants. He had work to do.
Paul swallowed his coffee. He wanted to get to work quickly to keep his promise to collect Laura from town. He had only taken the job because it gave him a reason to visit the ranch on a daily basis, and now she was working in town as a teacher. His face clouded.
Everything said Laura Murphy wasn’t the right woman for him. He was a carpenter and ranch hand; she was educated well enough to be a teacher. Ma would never approve, for one thing, but that didn’t stop him thinking of her all day long.
Chapter 25
“Good morning, children, this is my friend Miss Murphy. She is going to be your teacher until Miss O’Callaghan returns from Boulder. Can we all say good morning, please?”
“Good morning, Miss Murphy.”
The sing-song response of the children did nothing for Laura’s nerves. She wiped her hands down the side of her skirt again. Why had she let the other girls talk her into this?
She sent a frantic look at Sorcha, but her friend just smiled and closed the school door behind her. Laura turned to face the class once more.
“Good morning. I am new to Clover Springs, so you will all have to be a little patient with me. I don’t know your names. Perhaps you could write them on your slates. Put them on your desk for me and I will do my best to learn them.” Having a great memory worked out well sometimes. Laura moved down the aisle separating the two rows of desks. Most of the children had complied with her request, but a couple of the boys hadn’t started to write.
“Is there a problem?”
“No, Miss.” The boy who answered her looked her up and down in such a cheeky manner, Laura was shocked into silence. It took her a couple of seconds to remember her chance of managing the classroom depended on dealing with troublemakers before they got a chance to make trouble.
“Oh, I see. You need help writing your name?” Laura kept her tone as sweet as possible, eyeing the boy as the rest of the children laughed.
“I ain’t dumb. I can write my own name.”
“I am not dumb.” At his confused look, she explained. “You said I ain’t, but the correct way to say it is I am not.”
“I don’t have to listen to you. You aren’t a real teacher. Anyone can see that.”
“What’s your name?”
“Shaw. Bertram Shaw.”
One of the kids Mr. Kelley had warned her about.
“Well, Mr. Shaw, you are both correct and incorrect. I may not be the usual teacher, but I am currently in charge of this class. I won’t allow insubordination in my classroom. Please do as I ask or take yourself to the corner and stand there for five minutes.”
“I don’t have to.”
“Ten minutes.”
“I’m not doing what you say and none of the rest of them is either.”
“Fifteen minutes. If you haven’t worked it out yet, Mr. Shaw, you will spend the entire day on your feet with your back to the class. Or you can choose to write your name now. Your choice.”
The class fell silent, watching the battle of wills.
“Twenty minutes, Mr. Shaw, and if you make me wait any longer, recess will be cancelled, as I will have fallen behind in my schedule.”
“Do as Laura, I mean Miss Murphy, says. I don’t want to miss recess.”
“Thank you, Ben.”
“Nobody going to listen to no cripple. Are you?” Bertram Shaw’s confident stance faltered as he was greeted with silence from the rest of the class.
“Given your appalling manners, poor grammar and inconsiderate approach to your fellow students, I believe some extra time in school will do you the world of good. You will remain for thirty minutes after school.”
“You can’t do that. Ma will kill you.”
“I doubt that, Mr. Shaw. Now please let us move on. Write your name on your slate. Although, after this morning, I don’t think I will have trouble remembering it.”
The class exploded into laughter as Bertram Shaw, red as a flame, wrote his name on the slate. Then he remained sitting.
Laura coughed and discretely nodded to the corner. With bad grace, he stood up, muttering, and moved to stand in the corner.
Smiling, Laura walked back toward the teacher’s desk. That might teach him for being mean to Little Beaver, Ben, and goodness knows who else.
The day passed without further incident. She was enjoying herself more than she ever thought possible. The children had open minds and were eager to learn. She had taken a quick look at their textbooks the night before. Remembering how dull she had found lessons, she tried to make her class interesting and fun. Judging by the reactions of the students, her plan had worked.
“Excuse me, Miss, but are you coming back tomorrow?”
“When is our teacher coming back?” a girl lisped through her missing front teeth.
“Yes, Steven. I will be here until Miss O’Callaghan or Miss Freeman returns.” Laura focused on the girl. “Sorry, Meg, but I don’t know when your teacher will be back.”
Steven beamed in response before realizing both of his and Meg’s slates were turned to the blank side. “Wow, Miss, you have a good memory. You couldn’t see our names.”
“Laura’s special. She can memorize all sorts of books and… Sorry, Miss Murphy. I forgot.” Ben’s face flushed as the children looked from him to her and back again.
“Don’t worry, Ben, and no harm done.” Laura crossed her fingers, hoping she was right. Only time would tell. She looked over the students and found Bertram Shaw staring back at her, a look of devilish delight on his face. He meant trouble.
What can a child do to you? Laura gave herself a talking to, despite feeling like someone had just walked over her grave. It was time for the children to go home. After they had all run outside, Laura tidied up for a few minutes before walking out the door to find the boys waiting for her. They weren’t the only ones waiting.
“Afternoon, Miss Murphy. I promised you a ride back to the Sullivans’.”
“Can we come, too, Mr. Kelley? It’s a long walk in the heat.”
Laura hid a smile as Ben and the other children looked imploringly at Paul. He sent her a look before sighing with defeat.
“Jump in the back. Hold on tight, though.” Paul got down and walked over to where Laura was standing. “You survived the first day.”
“Barely. The Shaw boy was everything you said and more. Thank you for the warning. I was ready for him.”
“I think you could handle most anybody, Miss Murphy.”
His words were lovely, but it was the look in his eyes that made her miss her step. He caught her before she fell, holding her for a few seconds.
She thought he was going to kiss her. The women of the town would have a fit. She coughed, causing him to color slightly before helping her into the wagon.
She tried hard not to touch him as they drove home, but the bumps of the road had other ideas. They hit one particularly large dip, causing her to fall against him. He laughed.
“One might think you did that on purpose, Mr. Kelley,” she said, using her schoolteacher’s voice.
“Not at all, Miss Murphy.”
She moved back slightly to put a decent distance between them, but the gap was narrower than before. He glanced at her, his eyes smiling, causing her to flush once more. She liked him and knew he liked her, but still she couldn’t bring herself to say yes. From what Mary had told her, his mother would never agree to a match between them. His ma wasn’t the only obstacle. She couldn’t shake the fear he would change once they were married. Johnny had. Johnny didn’t change, she scolded herself. You just didn’t see him for what he was until it was too late.
Chapter 26
Laura almost sang as she walked to school the next morning. She had an idea for a quiz and wanted to have it all set up before the children arrived.
She couldn’t believe how inspired she was. Learning had always come easy to her; it was one of the advantages of having a mind like hers. But she had found school boring. She wanted to make it a different experience for the children of Clover Springs. It hadn’t taken long to see there were a couple of bright children in the school. Keeping them interested would be as much of a challenge as helping the less able children to improve.
She wrote her questions on the board, a smile playing around her lips as she imagined the looks of delight when the children arrived. Soon she heard Davy’s voice outside as he dropped off Meggie, Jenny, Ben and Little Beaver. Nandita’s children weren’t far behind them. Steven came in somewhat later, but he didn’t return Laura’s smile.
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