Mrs. Brown gave Colt a sorrowful look before turning away as the wagon bounced away in a cloud of dust.
Colt wasn’t in the mood to stand around and talk to Caleb or any of the others who had gathered around, so he went over to his own wagon and climbed into the seat.
Everything had gone wrong from the moment he pulled into town this morning, and while he had his own troubles to deal with, now Colt had a sickening feeling he’d just made things even worse for poor Mercy Brown.
Chapter 14
“All right, children. We’re all finished for the morning, so you can get your lunch pails and go outside.” Kathryn leaned against her desk and watched as the students jumped to their feet and ran out the door. She wiped her forehead with her hand, pushing the strands of hair back that had become matted to her skin.
It was a hot day and even with the windows open there was no relief. There was no breeze at all, leaving the room inside stuffy and warm, making it difficult for the children to concentrate. She was considering moving the class outside under the big tree for the afternoon where it might be a bit cooler, otherwise she was sure there wouldn’t be much learning happening today.
She remembered from the few times she’d visited her aunt as a child how hot the summer days could get on the wide-open prairies. Even when there was a breeze, quite often the moving air was still warm and heavy, offering no relief until the sun was set for the day.
Grabbing the strawberry jam sandwich she’d made herself this morning, Kathryn made her way outside.
“Miss Reeves! Come sit with us!”
She smiled over at the group of young girls, including Delia and her friend Hazel, who’d called to her. They were sitting nicely beneath the big tree while the boys from the class were busy running around playing tag already. She would let them play for a few minutes more before telling them to sit down and eat their lunches too.
“It’s not much cooler outside, is it? I was hoping there might be a breeze by now.” She sat down and smiled at the girls who were all moving to make room for her. Already, she’d grown so attached to these children, and seeing the kindness they always showed to others, made her proud to have a hand in helping them grow.
Her legs were out to the side, so she spread her skirt out to make sure everything stayed covered. She was sure both her mother and sister would be completely mortified if they saw her right now, sitting on the dusty ground without any thought to her clothing. But things were done differently out here, and she was already becoming so comfortable with the way of life, she never gave it much thought anymore.
The girls all chattered excitedly, seemingly completely unaffected by the heat. Kathryn smiled as she tried to keep up with the stories they were sharing. Just as she was taking the last bite of her sandwich, a loud commotion broke out over by the steps to the school.
“You’re a no good, dirty weasel.”
“Let go of me!”
“I said, take it back!”
She jumped to her feet as the loud, angry voices rose above the dust that was being thrown around as two boys scuffled on the ground.
It seemed like she was miles away as she raced over to break up the fight, and her heart sunk to her toes when she realized the boy on top, ready to throw his fist into the other boy’s face, was Owen.
She made it just in time to grab his wrist and stop him. “Owen. Robert. Stop this!”
She pulled hard, lifting Owen off the other boy, but as she did, Robert kicked his feet and connected with Owen’s shin. He jerked his arm from her grasp and jumped back on top of the other boy, punching him in the shoulder.
“Boys! Enough!”
By now, all the children were standing around, the boys shouting and cheering them on, while the girls were screaming for them to stop.
Delia’s terrified voice was the only one Kathryn could hear. She was pleading with her brother to stop, and Kathryn knew without looking that the young girl was crying.
Finally, with one last pull, she was able to get Owen back on his feet and a few steps away from Robert. Thankfully, one of the older boys in the class moved over to stop him from coming after Owen.
“Let go of me.”
As Owen said the words, he quickly moved, loosening her hold, and making her lose her balance. She stumbled forward just as his arm swung around, his little fist slamming into her cheekbone.
In shock, she brought her hands up to ease the sting, but as soon as she saw the devastated look on Owen’s face, any of her own pain quickly disappeared.
Before she could say anything, though, he turned and ran away.
“Owen, wait. Where are you going?” Delia tried to run after her brother, then stopped as Kathryn put her hand out to stop her.
“It’s all right, Delia. I will go and talk to him.”
“But…but…he hit you! Are you going to give him a whipping?”
The tear-soaked eyes pleaded with her not to hurt her brother.
“Delia, no! How could you ever think I’d do such a thing?”
Delia looked down at the ground, before shrugging. “Well, sometimes our ma would get mad at us. I don’t think she liked us very much, though.” Her eyes lifted and met Kathryn’s. “But you like us, don’t you?”
Kathryn didn’t know whether to stay here and comfort the girl in front of her, or chase after the brother who had just run off. Not to mention, all the other children standing around uncertain of what to do.
Crouching down, she took Delia’s hands in hers and smiled at her. “Sweetheart, I do like you. And your brother. Very much. Nothing you could ever do would make me change my mind. And I most certainly would never hurt either of you.” She squeezed the trembling hands tighter. “Now, I need you to stay here with your friends while I go talk to your brother, all right? Can you help to make sure no one gets into any trouble?”
Delia’s eyes lit up at the thought of getting to be like the teacher for a few moments.
Kathryn stood up and faced the crowd of upturned faces. “You can continue playing outside for a while, or rest in the shade and read from your readers. Delia is in charge, so listen to her.” She looked over at one of the older girls named Mary and gave a slight wink. Mary was a very well-behaved and mature girl, so Kathryn knew she would help to take care of everyone for the time she was gone.
Quickly, Kathryn started to follow in the path that Owen had taken. He’d gone the opposite direction from the house, headed toward the trees on the far side of the property.
What had happened to cause the boys to fight in the first place? Her heart pounded in her chest as fear gripped her. What if she couldn’t find Owen? How was Mr. Hammond going to react when he heard what had happened? A good teacher shouldn’t ever have let the kids get into a fight like that. She should have been paying better attention.
She slowly walked along the tree line, peeking into the bushier spots to see if Owen was hiding away in the thicker areas. Sweat dripped from the ringlets of hair that were now hanging all around her face. She pushed her sleeves up higher, not caring that every time she moved more branches aside, scratches were being left on her skin.
Finally, when she was certain she would have to run to the house and get his father, she could make out the faint sound of someone sniffling. She knew Owen was going to be terribly embarrassed for her to catch him crying, so she called out to let him know she was close.
“Owen, are you here?”
She moved one last branch and looked into the small hideaway inside the trees. Owen sat leaning against a tall tree in the middle, with his knees pulled up to his chin and his arms wrapped tightly around them.
She bent down to crawl in beside him, not paying any attention to the dirt beneath her.
“Do you mind if I come and sit in here with you? It’s a beautiful little spot here.”
She’d already figured out that this was a place he was familiar with when she noticed how well packed the ground was in the small area. And she could see where he’d moved some o
f the branches and twigs around to make it even more hidden away.
He didn’t say anything as she sat down beside him. He kept his eyes looking down at his shoes while his chin rested on his knees. The redness in his eyes tore at her heart, knowing how much pain he was in.
Without thinking, she reached out and pulled him into her arms. She knew she should be scolding him for fighting, and finding out what had happened, but instincts told her that this boy just needed someone to hold him and love him.
So, that’s what she did.
At first, the tension in the small body made it difficult, but after a few moments, he collapsed into her embrace. He leaned his head into her shoulder and let her arms go all the way around him.
“I’m sorry, Miss Reeves. I know I shouldn’t have been fighting. And now I hit you, and you probably hate me. I know you’ll want to leave, and it’s all my fault.”
“Owen! I could never hate you. Don’t ever say that. And I’m not going anywhere over a silly little fight.” She let her hand move over his soft hair, then leaned back and looked down into his eyes. “Do you want to tell me what you were fighting about?”
His throat moved as he swallowed hard, then he moved back into the same sitting position she’d found him in. She was sure he wasn’t going to tell her anything, but he surprised her when he started to quietly speak.
“He said he heard his pa talking last night about my ma and how she ran off on us. Then he laughed and made fun of me because we must be pretty awful for a ma to not even love her own children, so I hit him.”
Every word Owen spoke tore at Kathryn’s heart. The pain and hurt she could hear in his voice broke her, so she just pulled him back into her arms and let him cry. It was something she sensed he’d needed to do for a long time.
“Owen, I don’t know what happened with your ma, but I know without a doubt in my mind, that mothers love their children no matter what. But sometimes, life just doesn’t work out the way we planned, and I’m sure it wasn’t easy for your ma to leave. All I know is that you and Delia are wonderful children, and I know for a fact how much your pa loves you, and your grandma too.” She pulled back and looked down into his tear-soaked eyes. “And nothing you did caused your ma to leave. Or Delia. You’re not awful, and Robert is going to be punished for what he said to you.”
He swallowed loudly. “Am I in trouble too?”
She smiled at him before nodding. “Well, I can’t let you hit other children in school, even if you do think he deserved it. I’m going to have to keep you both after school for a bit today and you can help me wash the chalkboards and floors.”
“I guess that’s not too bad. Are you going to tell my pa?”
She could see the worry in his eyes.
“I’m afraid I have to let him know, Owen. But your pa will understand, and I’ll tell him I’ve taken care of the punishment.”
“But I hit you.”
“It was an accident, Owen. I’m not mad.”
“I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to hit you.”
“I know. Sometimes accidents happen.”
As she smiled down into his upturned face, something shifted in the young boy’s eyes. For the first time since she’d arrived in Promise, she didn’t see complete despair in his face.
She’d finally broken through the shield he’d put up, and she was determined to pull him completely out of his shell and back into the happy child she knew he could be.
Chapter 15
Colt leaned over the basin and cupped his hands to bring the cold water up to his face. He closed his eyes and let the coolness soothe his skin, even knowing the heat from the day wasn’t going to let the relief last for long.
He lifted his head and reached for the towel beside the window, while his eyes moved to watch the women outside.
During the heat of the summer, many days the women around here would go back to cooking their meals outside over a fire, using metal hooks to hang the pots on. Lighting a fire inside the house when it was so hot outside made it unbearable to live in, so while it might make the work a bit more difficult, most women preferred it this way.
He checked to make sure Owen had remembered to bring the buckets of water up to set beside the fire where his mother and Miss Reeves were cooking. His mother always made sure water was nearby to stop any sparks that may land on dry grass or, as had happened many times over the years, even onto the hem of her dress as she cooked.
His eyes moved to the young woman beside his mother. Kathryn had been coming up to the house right after her day of teaching every day for the past couple of weeks now, letting his mother show her how to cook on the frontier.
He knew how tired she must be trying to do it all, managing the children all day in school, then helping with the cooking and cleaning up after. And on Saturdays, she was out doing her laundry, just as his ma had taught her.
Of course, she always had Owen and Delia helping her, so he supposed it took some of the workload off her.
Ever since the day Owen had gotten in trouble for fighting at the school, he’d seemed to open up to Miss Reeves and had been nicer to her. Colt was glad he’d worked through some of the anger he’d obviously been feeling when the new teacher had first shown up, but at the same time, it worried him about what would happen now when she left.
He was sure Owen wanted to trust her, but he was still holding himself back a bit in case he started to care for her, and she decided to leave him too. Colt knew with Miss Reeves’s personality, though, it was only a matter of time until Owen gave her his complete trust.
And he would be left devastated again, with Colt to pick up the pieces.
He finished drying his face, then walked out onto the porch, noticing how the sweat was already starting to drip from his neck again. The temperature had been high for days and if they didn’t soon get some rain, he hated to think what would happen to all the crops in the fields.
“Miss Reeves, why don’t you come sit down for a bit. I’m sure ma can manage now.”
Her cheeks were a fiery red, and strands of hair hung down and stuck to her forehead from the heat. She turned at the sound of his voice and smiled, causing his breath to catch slightly.
How could a woman still be so beautiful even looking as ragged as she was at the moment?
Giving his head a shake, he swallowed hard and walked toward them.
“It’s fine, Mr. Hammond. Your mother has been generous enough to teach me how to cook and survive on my own out here, so I’m going to do everything I can to help. It’s the least I can do for everything your family has done for me since I arrived.”
“I’ve asked you to please call me Colt. I’ve never been able to get used to being called mister. It makes me sound like an old man.”
His ma scowled at him. “Now, young man. Your pa was well respected around here and many people addressed him as Mr. Hammond. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“No, Ma. You’re right. But it suited him better than it does me.”
He caught the smile on Miss Reeve’s face as she quickly turned back to stirring the pot of beans before replying, “Well, I’ve told you to call me Kathryn, and until you do so, I won’t be using your given name either. It wouldn’t be proper.”
Colt sighed and shook his head. It was ingrained in him to address a woman by her correct title but even so, he said, “How many times do I have to tell you that out here on the frontier we aren’t too worried about what’s proper and what isn’t.”
“Colt Hammond. Just because you don’t care about proprieties, it doesn’t mean the rest of the folk around here don’t.”
He bent over and kissed his mother’s cheek, feeling the heat that came off her reddened cheeks. He knew he shouldn’t rile her up so much, but sometimes it was just too easy. “Ma, you’re the most proper woman in the Dakota Territory. But even you have to admit we all have to make certain concessions out here that might not be acceptable in the cities back east.”
“Well, you’
re right about that. I just don’t think you should be encouraging everyone to become total heathens either just because we don’t follow proper rules out here all the time.”
He laughed and went over to sit on a stump he used for chopping wood. “Be careful you don’t get too close to that fire, Kathryn. I see a spark just about landed on your skirt.”
He made sure to emphasize her name to see his mother’s reaction. But he was more shocked at his own reaction as the word had rolled off his tongue. It had seemed so intimate to call her by her given name, and something inside his chest clenched.
But the woman in front of him just laughed, completely unaware of his sudden discomfort as she patted at the fabric of her skirt. “I’m actually surprised I haven’t completely burned my skirts. Until I came out here to live, I hadn’t ever considered how dangerous cooking could be.”
He held his breath when she looked back at him and smiled.
“Thank you, Mr.…I mean, Colt. I should have changed into my other clothes after school today, but I was in a hurry because after we eat, I need to get back home and make my pies for the fair tomorrow. I brought the one I made last night for you all to try for supper tonight. Hopefully, they’re getting better.”
Along with the regular cooking his mother had been showing her, Kathryn had been determined to learn how to bake a pie after she’d heard about the upcoming fair to be held in Promise. Every year after the crops were all in the field, the community came together for a summer celebration where the kids could play, food was plentiful, and good-natured contests abounded to see who would take home the ribbon for the best pies, jams, and quilts.
Love is Patient Page 7