by Zoe Matthews
Luke showed Katrina how to properly greet the horse and Katrina instantly fell in love. The horse was butterscotch colored with an almost white mane and tail. Luke handed Katrina a piece of apple to give to Stormy and the horse gently took the treat and crunched contently.
“She’s beautiful,” Katrina said softly as she stroked the horse’s neck.
****
“She’s very gentle and perfect to learn to ride. Sage learned to ride on her,” Luke explained as he watched Katrina continue to stroke Stormy. He felt pleased at her obvious delight. He had been worried she would show disgust at being around horses.
He had noticed how nice Katrina’s dresses were. They reminded him of the type of dresses Pamela had liked to wear. Since Katrina had arrived, Luke had found himself unconsciously comparing her to Pamela. At first, he had seen her just like Pamela was. In fact, on that first day of meeting her, he started to count the months to next spring when he could release her from the contract he had made with her and send her back to Texas. He just knew she was going to hate living on the ranch and teaching the children who came from families with little money.
However, he was also aware that she had already visited all the ranch children who would be attending the school. He knew she was planning to visit some of the nearby ranches in the next few days. He could tell she loved children and loved to be a teacher. Sage had already started to bond with her. He knew Sage desperately wanted a mother and loved to spend time with her Aunt Anna, and now Katrina.
Luke helped Katrina onto the horse and proceeded to give her instructions on how to ride. He found she was a quick learner and soon they were both slowly moving around the yard on their horses. Katrina was very interested in the ranch and how it was run and asked many questions. She also showed a lot of interest in the nearby mountains and he found himself promising to take her to them soon.
Luke kept the tour short for this first ride, only about an hour. He soon was leading them back to where they had started. He got off Black, tied the reins to a fence post, and then helped Katrina down making sure she could stand on her own before he let go. While his hands were still on her, he looked into her crystal blue eyes. For the first time since his marriage to Pamela, he felt an attraction to another woman. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and quickly stepped back.
“Thank you for showing me around the ranch,” Katrina said with a smile. “I know you are very busy. The ranch is beautiful.”
“You’re welcome,” Luke answered her. “You did well riding Stormy. I think we should have a few more riding lessons, but you can ride Stormy to school, if you like.”
Katrina’s eyes lit up. “I would love to ride her. Thank you. I will take good care of her.”
“I know you will,” Luke responded. He heard Anna call from the porch of the main ranch house. Katrina thanked him again and walked towards Anna. He watched her walk away, feeling confusion at his reaction to her smile.
CHAPTER 9
On the first day of school, Katrina arrived over an hour early so she could make sure everything was ready for the children. She had come on her own with the plan that Luke would bring Sage for her first day. The last few days had been very busy for Katrina. She had visited three other nearby ranches to meet their children and to make sure the families knew their children would be welcome in the Big Spring Ranch School.
She also had a few other short lessons on horseback riding and had loved each session. Not only had she found she loved horses, but she enjoyed spending time with Luke more than she thought possible. After her experiences with Joshua, she did not think she would want to get to know another man. She came to Montana to be a teacher, to make a difference in children’s lives, not to fall in love.
Katrina loved how the finished schoolhouse looked. The Saturday before, she and Anna had made sure the schoolhouse was as clean as it could be. They cleaned the windows until they shined. They scrubbed the wood floors and the wood stove in the corner. Sage and Aida had helped by washing the new chalkboard and placing the books Katrina had brought with her from Texas on the shelf. They were so excited that school was finally going to be starting.
She sat down behind her new desk and went over each of the ten children that were going to be attending. The age range was wide, from five years old to fifteen. Six of the children lived on the ranch. The other four children lived on three of the surrounding ranches. She thought all the children would do fine in school, although she did have a few reservations about two brothers who lived on one of the ranches. They were the oldest of the ten children, ages 15 and 13, and they did not want to attend. Both wanted to work on their ranch with their pa and felt school was worthless. Their father felt the same way, but their mother insisted they take advantage of having a schoolhouse nearby and was thrilled her sons would be able to get some schooling. Their father eventually agreed and Katrina was grateful that the boy’s mother could see the benefits of an education. She hoped the two boys would enjoy their time in her classroom.
She went over her notes that she had made for each student. After a few minutes, she knew she was as ready as she would ever be. She ended up pacing around the small room until she heard a horse neigh from outside. She almost ran out the front door to greet her first student, and saw that it was Luke riding on Black, leading Sage and Aida on a smaller horse.
“Hi, Miss Taylor!” Sage shouted a greeting while Luke helped the two girls to the ground. Katrina greeted the excited girls and then watched as Luke tied the horse they had ridden on a post next to her own horse, Stormy.
“I’ll be glad when this first day is over,” Luke admitted to her with a smile. “The waiting and excitement has been just about killing Sage.”
“I’m probably as excited as she is,” Katrina commented. “The first day of school is always something to look forward to.”
A few other children arrived as Luke mounted his horse, touched his hand to his cowboy hat in farewell and rode off. Katrina turned to greet the new children, but it was all she could do to not watch Luke ride off. He looked so good on his black horse and when he touched the brim of his hat, her heart skipped a beat as it tended to do whenever she was around Luke.
Over the next few minutes, eight children had arrived and soon they were seated behind the desks staring at her, ready for the first day of school to begin. Sage and Aida shared a desk in the front row along with some of the other younger children, while the older children sat in the back. At the last minute, the two oldest boys, Shawn and Chad, arrived and slid into the remaining desks. Neither of them said anything to her greeting. Instead they scowled at her, as if they were doing their best to let her know they did not want to be there. Katrina hoped that she could help them see the benefits of education quickly. Otherwise, she knew they would likely cause some trouble.
Katrina stood in front of the room and looked over her group of pupils as she waited for them to quiet since a few of them were whispering to each other.
“Good morning, class,” she finally said and everyone quieted. A few of the children who obviously had been in school before knew what to say.
“Good morning, teacher.”
“Let’s try that again. My name is Miss Taylor,” Katrina smiled at her students, hoping to set them at ease. “Good morning, class.”
“Good morning, Miss Taylor,” each of the children repeated together, although the response was still weak.
“Very good,” she complimented them, knowing that the morning greeting will be better the next day. “Every morning before we start our classes, we will read from the Holy Bible and sing a song. Each of you will have the opportunity to help with this. I will read the scripture today.”
Katrina had chosen a verse out of Proverbs. “When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul, discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee.” She then led them in a hymn.
Over the next few minutes, she had each student stand and tell the class their name, ag
e and how much schooling they had. Even though she already had this information on each of them, as she had asked each child these questions when she had visited them the week before, she felt this would be a good way for the students to learn about each other.
The rest of the day passed quickly. She briefly tested each student in order to place them in the correct McGuffey reader. A few students did not have slates, so she gave out her extras, glad she had thought to bring a few. She found that Shawn and Chad could read and write, as well as do some arithmetic, but they were behind in comparison to where they should be grade wise, which was a great source of embarrassment to them. She tried not to make a big deal of it, promising them that they would learn quickly and be able to catch up to the grades they should be in within a few months.
When it was finally time to dismiss the class for the day, Katrina was exhausted, but also very pleased how the day had gone. All the children had quickly left with the exception of Sage and Aida who helped her sweep the floor and clean the chalkboard. Both girls were quickly becoming her favorites, although she knew she should not have any.
Sage was always willing to help. She helped a young boy who was older than she was, but who had been very scared about starting school. She sat next to him and they had looked at pictures together in one of the books from the shelf while Katrina had been talking to some other students. She also had shared some of her lunch with another little girl who had not brought one because she had not known she was supposed to.
Aida was a little quieter than Sage, but she also was eager to please and was helpful. One time when Katrina had inadvertently dropped her chalk on the floor, Aida had jumped up to pick it up and gave it to her.
Sage and Aida were very different from each other, not only in looks but also in temperament. Sage looked like Luke and her uncles, with dark brown hair and blue eyes. She loved to talk and was always chattering about something. She was a happy child and her eyes seemed to sparkle with mischief. She was constantly moving and loved to give hugs.
Aida had dark, almost black, straight hair and equally black eyes, with very fair skin. Katrina knew Aida’s mother was concerned about sunburn since she had heard Sally admonished Aida to keep her sunbonnet on when she was outside. She was a quiet child and when she was with Sage, she would follow her around and participate in pretty much whatever Sage wanted. She had a sweet smile and also loved hugs. When she wasn’t with Sage, she would talk more, and Katrina was hoping to help her come out of her habit of being quiet around Sage while keeping the close friendship between the two girls intact.
That evening during dinner, Sage told the entire family all about her first day at school. She would tell a story, making sure Katrina would verify that the event really happened. Katrina loved how excited she was about her first day.
She looked at Luke and watched him as he listened to his daughter. She was glad to see that he seemed happy. Lately, he seemed more relaxed and would joke around with Alex and Anna. Katrina also noticed Anna glancing from her to Luke and back to her again with a puzzled expression on her face, almost as if she was trying to figure something out.
The rest of the week and the next went by quickly and smoothly. Serena and Paul returned from the cattle drive and Katrina was pleased to see how happy Serena seemed.
One Saturday a few weeks later, Anna gave birth to her baby, with Katrina and Serena’s help, and the local midwife from Pine Valley. She had a baby boy whom they named Matthew. The morning after the birth, Katrina was in Anna’s cabin helping her with the baby. Anna fed her new son and settled him next to her for a nap. She then patted the chair next to her bed in an invitation to sit.
“Tell me what is going on between you and Luke,” Anna requested with a twinkle in her eyes.
Katrina felt confused. “What do you mean? Nothing is going on between Luke and me.”
“I think there is. Both of you can’t keep your eyes off each other at meals. Either he is looking at you or you are looking at him. Did you know that before you arrived to Big Spring Ranch, Luke rarely ate meals with us? Sometimes he came in after everyone else was done and the table was cleared. I usually kept a plate warm for him and he would eat by himself. Other times he would join us, but he would eat quickly and not talk to any of us, except Sage. For the last few weeks, he has been present for every meal.”
Katrina looked down at her lap with this news. She did not know how she felt about what she was hearing.
Anna continued, “He used to be grouchy and ornery. I tended to avoid him and only talked to him when I had to. I usually let Alex or Paul handle him. He seems happier now that you are here.”
“I don’t know if you should give me all the credit,” Katrina protested. “I have hardly talked to him. The only time I have spent with him is when he is giving me riding lessons. He never talks to me otherwise.”
“I think I am going to give you all the credit,” Anna said satisfactorily. “I don’t know what will happen between you two, but I am grateful he isn’t so angry. “
“Do you know why he has been so angry?” Katrina questioned Anna again, hoping she would tell her some of Luke’s history.
Anna hesitated. “I do, but I don’t think it is my place to tell you. I can say that his marriage to Sage’s mother wasn’t very good. The rest of the story you will need to get from him. I don’t even know the full story.”
“I don’t know why you think he will tell me anything,” Katrina replied. “We have hardly talked about anything other than the school and horseback riding.”
“I have a feeling you will be the one he tells.” Anna settled herself down under the covers. Katrina noticed she looked tired and stood to leave.
She was glad the conversation was over. She felt confused with her feelings regarding Luke. She knew she was starting to see a side to him that everyone else in the family rarely saw, and she was not sure how she felt about it.
****
The next day, Luke approached her as she was making her daily visit to Anna after school had let out for the day.
“I was wondering…” Luke hesitated, looking uncomfortable, but determined at the same time. Katrina waited patiently for him to continue. “Paul and I need to go up to the mountains to round up some stray cattle before winter sets in. I was wondering if you would like to come with us. Serena will also be coming.”
Katrina felt her heart lurch and she could not help but smile. “I would love to,” she responded happily. “Will Sage be coming, too?”
“Nah, we will likely be gone all day and it might get a bit dangerous for her. She is not used to being on a horse that long. I have made arrangements for her to stay with Aida’s family that day.”
“I would love to come,” she said again. “I have wanted to see those mountains since I arrived.” The fact that Luke wanted her to come along would make the trip even more enjoyable.
The rest of the week passed quickly. Katrina continued her duties as teacher and thoroughly enjoying her new job. All the students were used to her and even Shawn and Chad had settled down and seemed to do their best. It helped that she was able to move Shawn ahead quickly as he was catching up to his age group fast. Chad showed an aptitude with numbers, especially when she pointed out to him that knowing how to do arithmetic would help him on his father’s ranch when he was older. She also visited Anna and baby Matthew every day after school. By the end of the week, Anna was up, and had made a few trips of her own to the main ranch house to visit for a few hours.
CHAPTER 10
Saturday morning finally arrived and Katrina woke up early because she was not sure what time they were leaving. She assumed it would be soon after breakfast. She found Serena in the kitchen and she quickly helped make breakfast for the family. After cleaning up the kitchen after the meal, they both quickly packed a large lunch of beef sandwiches, hard-boiled eggs, apples, and cookies Serena had made the day before. Sage was dancing around the kitchen with excitement because she was going to be spending the day wi
th Aida. She kept asking when she could leave for her friend’s house. Katrina finally told Serena she would walk Sage over to Aida’s house.
“What do you think you will do today?” Katrina questioned the girl as she skipped beside her, all the while holding Katrina’s hand.
“We are going to make a tree house,” Sage announced with determination. Aida’s pa said he would help us. Then we are going to have a tea party in the tree house. It’s going to be a secret house. We aren’t going to tell anyone else about it, although Aida says she has to let her little brother play in it if he wants to, her ma said.”
“Aida is a good sister to her little brother,” Katrina commented.
“I guess so,” Sage shrugged her shoulders. She stopped talking for a moment and actually stopped skipping, which Katrina knew was a sign that she was in deep thought. “Do you think I would be a good big sister some day?”
Katrina was surprised at the change of subject. “I think you would be a wonderful big sister,” she reassured her.