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  It remained on her lips until she glanced up and met eyes with him. Then her brow furrowed, and the smile slipped from her face as she turned from him and back to the children. Oliver’s breath caught up with him as he looked away. It almost broke his heart to see her give him such a cold reaction. He swallowed. How did this girl already have so much control over his emotions? They’d only just met, and not under the best of circumstances. He let out a slow breath and glanced her way again. Her smile had returned, and somehow, that relieved the tension in his shoulders. He dragged his gaze away from her so as not to disturb her happiness again. Even though they might have met under strange duress, he hoped that they might at least come to a peaceable friendship with one another, though he already knew in his heart that he wanted nothing more than to see her smile all the time.

  Chapter 3

  Once things settled into a normal day, Hannah breathed a little easier. The children responded to her as well as they always had and seemed to adjust to the new surroundings quickly, too. She had to admit that she enjoyed being able to concentrate on the smallest children while leaving the older ones in Oliver’s care. He was a competent, kind teacher, who smiled more than he frowned. The older ones seemed to take to him straight off. Though she felt the pinprick of jealousy in her heart over that as well, it was bittersweet. Her greatest fear in becoming the full-fledged teacher was how the older students would respond to her since she wasn’t much older than them.

  “What happened to your leg?” one of the older children asked Oliver as he limped from one side of the table to the other. Though she didn’t want to glance in that direction, Hannah found herself straining an ear to hear the answer.

  Oliver set his foot on the edge of the bench and pulled up his pants leg, exposing the wooden false-leg. He rapped his knuckles against it, drawing the attention of all the students, as well as Hannah’s gaze. He smiled and said, “I served in the war for only two months when I was shot and had to have this amputated. It made it so that I went to college instead of spending more time on the battlefield.”

  “Wow,” one of the boys said. “Does it hurt?”

  Oliver shrugged. “Only when it rains.”

  Then he chuckled, which made the whole room laugh politely with him. It eased the tension that the male teacher was at least willing to joke about it. Hannah marveled at him a little. How could he be so nonchalant about losing a limb? How could he still have his spirits so high when he wasn’t whole? Hannah had to make a conscious effort to smooth the furrows in her brow. She didn’t think she could be so cheerful as he if she’d lost one of her limbs. With a deep breath, she tried to put it out of her mind and concentrate on the children’s school work.

  The end of the day came on more quickly then she realized. Lavender came in and let them know that it was already eleven in the morning. They were to finish their class sessions by that time to allow the kitchen help to prepare lunch and tea for the guests in the hotel who required it. A general cheer rose up from the children as they realized their day of work had ended. They sprinted out of the building so quickly, one would have thought they’d spent an entire day inside. Hannah couldn’t help but smile at them as she watched them go.

  Missy stayed behind to help with cleanup, and with dread, Hannah headed over to where Mr. Holt sat at the teaching desk, to gather up her things. Mr. Holt looked up at her as she stopped beside the desk. He offered her a warm smile. “I’m sorry that we started out on the wrong foot, but I hope that we can work together for the benefit of the children. They can sense tension between adults, and I’d hate to stifle their learning because of personal conflict between their teachers. I’d never have accepted the offer of this position had I known the post was taken.”

  Hannah felt properly chastised. She’d been blaming Mr. Holt for the situation when it wasn’t his fault at all. He’d actually done everything he could to accommodate her all day. She’d noticed he’d attempted to stay out of her way and allowed her to take on the lead position with the children. He’d been kind and willing to work with her. She let out a slow breath she didn’t know she’d been holding and offered a hand. “You’re right, Mr. Holt. Let us have a new beginning and work together for the sake of the students.”

  He stood and smiled wider, exposing the slightest dimple on both sides of his cheeks. His eyes sparkled with mirth as he took her offered hand. His warm hands enveloped hers, sending a shiver through her whole body that wasn’t unpleasant. “Excellent,” he said.

  She swallowed as he released her hand and found herself wanting to run away from him. Flustered, she gathered up her things quickly, bobbed a quick curtesy, and then began for the door. She spotted Missy along the way. “Thank you for your help today, Missy. Do you want to walk with me?”

  Missy nodded, gathering up her belongings and then rushing to catch up with Hannah. Together, they stepped out into the bright, late morning sun. Hannah’s heart continued to race in her chest. She realized then, that he was the first man to take her hand in that way without gloves on. She’d met the men at the dance earlier in the year, in the same way, but through the gloves, the heat of their hands was muted. She couldn’t feel every callous or line on their hand, as she’d just done with Mr. Holt. Unfamiliar feelings overwhelmed her. Now that she’d thought about it, no young man had ever looked at her the way he did or talk about wanting to be her friend.

  “Miss Walsh, you’re walking too fast. Where are we going?” Missy called out.

  Hannah stopped in her tracks and turned toward the thirteen-year-old girl, blinking. She peered around from where she stood and realized she’d been heading the wrong direction, back through town, toward the old school building, where she always found solace when she’d had an argument with one of her sisters or Noah and needed someplace comforting and safe to be alone. Why did she need comfort now? And why was she dragging Missy along with her? She shook her head, still rattled by her own thoughts. Then she remembered an errand she needed to run anyway. “I need to stop by the general store and pick up some flour. I promised Lydia that I’d get some on the way back.”

  Missy smiled easily and pushed her straight brown hair behind her ears. “All right. I’ll come with you. Sheriff Vic wants me to occupy my own time in the afternoons since we don’t have school. Could I come back to the livery with you as well? I’ll carry the sack of flour.”

  “Of course, you may.” Relief released the tension in Hannah’s shoulders. She enjoyed spending time with Missy while tutoring under Miss Edna. Missy was an easy young woman to get along with.

  Cinnamon and other spices filled her nostrils the moment they entered the general store. She stepped straight up to the counter and then blinked in surprise at the man standing behind it. “Good morning, Mr. Forest.”

  Emmet Forest smiled wide, “Good morning to you, too, Miss Walsh.”

  “I don’t know why, but I’d expected Curt to be back in the store. It’s been a month since the Andrews gang attacked,” she said with a frown, remembering the incident when the gang attacked and burned down the school and shot Miss Edna.

  He nodded. “He’d planned to return but decided instead to visit family in Germany. He left quietly... about two weeks ago.”

  “Oh,” she said in surprise. “I hadn’t realized. Usually it’s Lydia who makes trips to the store. I haven’t been in quite a while.”

  Emmet’s smile didn’t falter. “No need to apologize. What can I do for you ladies this fine day?”

  Hannah fell into a comfortable conversation with him and didn’t fail to notice that it was easier talking to Mr. Forest than it had been to talk to Mr. Holt. She frowned at the thought when Emmet had his back turned toward her to get the flour. Missy had been wandering through the store with her hands folded behind her back. The young woman really didn’t have much to do. Hannah decided that she must give the girl one of her novels to read when she came over to the livery. Hannah had spent hours during her school years with her nose in a book.

 
When Mr. Forest returned from the back with a sack of flour, Hannah started to reach for it. Missy stepped forward and tut-tut’d her. “I told you that I’d carry the flour.”

  “Oh, if you insist.” Hannah offered her a warm smile and let the younger girl carry the sack while they started back down Main Street to the livery.

  The sun shone down from its zenith, warming Hannah’s shoulders as she walked through town, greeting those whom she saw. A brisk breeze blew through her hair, reminding her it was still winter, and she’d neglected to put her bonnet on. Though she was glad for the warm spell, she worried for the daffodils that had already sprouted in front of town hall. She peered up at the building with different feelings than she usually had by it. Normally, she felt proud of her town and the people in it. They’d all been like family and stuck by each other, even in hard times—even as they’d all lost loved ones in the War. But when she glanced up at the building today, she didn’t have those same feelings.

  Though the town needed to invite men in order to infuse itself with strength and protection, they also brought with them too many other preconceived notions. They didn’t know about how things had always been, and they didn’t necessarily listen to the talk of the women in town. If Mayor Mathew had listened, he would have known that Miss Edna had chosen Hannah to be the next school teacher. He wouldn’t have sent for another teacher. And Mr. Holt would have never come.

  That was unfair of her. Mayor Mathew had been busy with rebuilding the town, he was overwhelmed with too many demands. The whole train of thought made Hannah frown at herself. She always had a difficult time keeping every thought captive. They always got away from her and tended toward hateful or jealous endeavors. If only she was stronger... maybe if she’d been a man instead. Maybe then she would have had more say in things and not get glossed over immediately just because of her age and small build. She sighed and continued walking.

  By the time they got back to the house, it was nearly twelve-thirty. Lydia already had lunch on the table as they walked in. Mama sat in her usual rocking chair, sewing a quilt. Noah and Rebecca and Jake were nowhere to be seen. When Lydia saw Hannah come in through the door, her face puckered with pity. “Oh, Hannah Beth. I heard what happened. It’s just awful. I can’t believe they hired another teacher. From what I understand, he just showed up last night. No one had even seen him until this morning.”

  Hannah shook her head. “It’s okay. Mayor Mathew said that I would work as Mr. Holt’s teaching assistant for the term. I can just start teaching fully in September, which was what Miss Edna had originally planned anyway.”

  Even as she said the words, she hardly believed them herself. Even though the words were true, she couldn’t help but feel she was being slightly dishonest. Honestly, she was not okay. Not at all.

  “That’s fine then, I suppose,” Lydia said, seeing Missy for the first time with the sack of flour. Lydia took the sack from her and nodded a greeting. Then she turned back to Hannah. “I just hate when you make a bunch of plans and believe things should turn out one way only for them to be dashed to bits.”

  Hannah nodded. At least her sister could understand how she felt. It made her feel a little bit better. Lydia was good at cheering people up and understanding people’s feelings. It was often her best trait. “Do you have enough to allow Missy to stay for tea and perhaps supper? Sheriff Vic wants her to stay occupied, so we’re going to do some private tutoring.”

  “Of course. I always make enough food to run a ranch, even though we don’t have one.” Lydia chuckled at her own joke as she turned to put the flour away.

  Just then Noah crashed through the kitchen door, panting. “There you are!” He hollered, meeting gazes with Hannah. He rushed forward and grabbed hold of her arm.

  Chapter 4

  “Jake sent me to find you. Come on.” Noah tugged Hannah’s arm as he started back for the door. “I went to the hotel, but you weren’t there.”

  Hannah pulled her arm from her little brother’s grasp. “What’s this about? I was just about to have tea with Lydia and Missy.”

  Noah peered around his sister, widened his eyes a bit at Missy, and then straightened and blushed. He shook his head. “No matter. Jake said it wouldn’t take long.”

  “You still haven’t said what it’s about or acknowledged our company.”

  He pulled the hat from his head and bowed slightly toward Missy. “Sorry about that, Missy. It’s good to see you.” Then he shoved his hat back on his head and grabbed hold of her arm again. “Now come on. Jake wants to show you two kinds of desks for the school so you can pick which style you want the carpenter to build. They already been waiting nearly half an hour. So, come along!”

  Hannah blinked, her heart fluttering in her chest. She didn’t know she’d get to make this kind of decision. She peered over at Missy and offered her an apologetic smile. “Do you want to stay here and get tea or come with us?”

  Missy laughed. “I’ll come, too. I’d love to see what the desks are going to look like at the new school.”

  “Great.” Hannah could hardly contain her excitement and having Missy smile and share in the revelry made her all that much giddier.

  When they got to the carpenter’s shop, Hannah felt the level of her excitement culminate until they rounded the corner and found Mr. Holt standing with Jake and the carpenter. Hannah’s heart sank to her stomach for the second time in so many hours, and she felt the dread of what was to come.

  Oliver turned and saw the joy on Hannah’s face fall at the sight of him again. It couldn’t have hurt more if she had punched him in the gut. He really needed for her to give him a chance instead of jumping to the conclusion that he was her enemy in every situation. She pursed her lips as she came forward and clasped her hands behind her back. She bobbed a small curtesy as her gaze brushed across his. “Mr. Holt.”

  Then she curtseyed again toward Mr. Black, the carpenter, and offered him a greeting as well. Missy followed her lead. When she got to Jake, she shot a glance toward Oliver again. Her expression told him that she didn’t want him here, but just the same, he was already here, so he’d might as well make the best of it.

  Oliver stepped toward Hannah. “It’s lovely to see you again so soon, Miss Walsh.”

  She furrowed her brows at him. “Thank you.”

  He huffed a laugh, trying to hold back the remainder of his mirth. She eyed him again, but he tried to keep an innocent face. Hannah was apparently trying to be cold to him. It was her nature to be honest. Everything about her expressions told Oliver that she couldn’t hide how she was feeling if her life depended upon it. He’d never quite met a female like her. Every other woman he’d met hid behind a veil of makeup and half-truths. They tended to be full of mystery and secrets. But Hannah Walsh didn’t seem to have a bit of guile in her. He didn’t doubt for a moment that she would be constant, unchanging, and terrible at keeping secrets.

  Jake cleared his throat. “I called both of y’all here to see what you think of these desks. Mr. Black says that he can make the desks similar to the ones that you had before, or he can make these more modern desks like he’s seen back east.”

  Oliver peered at the two drawings. He recognized the newer style of desk, made specifically for two children with drawers to put books in underneath. The older desks that had been in the school before were plain tables with benches. If they went with the newer desks, each child could have individual chairs, and according to the plan, it seemed what the carpenter intended. He looked up at Hannah and tried to read her expression. It seemed the obvious choice to go with the newer desks, but she seemed uncertain.

  She met eyes with the carpenter. “What is the cost difference?”

  The carpenter frowned and answered, “The newer desk makes the price almost one and a half times the price of the older ones.”

  “The Brokkens are footing the bill for this, Hannah. You needn’t worry too much about the difference in price,” Jake added.

  She shook her head.
“Deborah and her family are trying to help rebuild the whole town. They only have so much money. If we pull too much of the resources for the school, then other parts of the town might suffer. I can’t have that. If we have to cut corners by going with the plain desk that the children are already used to, then we should do it to help Deborah.”

  Unselfish. Oliver would need to add that to the growing list of virtues he continued to discover in Hannah’s possession. He opened his mouth to ask the cost difference in total to offer to pay for it himself if he could afford it, but the carpenter himself spoke up. “If we forego the individual chairs and build benches the way that we had them before, we could cut the price difference in half. It would make it more affordable, and still allow the children to have the modern desk with the drawers.”

  Hannah offered Mr. Black a warm smile. “It would make me feel better if we could work out that compromise. I know the children would enjoy the extra storage space, and I also know they wouldn’t mind sitting at benches they are already accustomed to.”

  Jake clapped his hands. “I think it’s an excellent concession. How do you feel, Mr. Holt?”

  Oliver lifted a brow and then smiled toward Hannah. “Well done. Excellent decision.”

  Hannah frowned at him again. “Are you saying you would have made the same choice without me?”

  It was a challenge, and Oliver felt it. He carefully measured his words but didn’t want to take too much time mulling them over for fear that his answer would sound contrived. “Honestly, I would have chosen the modern conveniences entirely. But that would have been a mistake. Because I am new to Brokken and don’t know this Miss Deborah myself, I wouldn’t have realized the extra burden I’d have been placing on the parties of interest. This was a decision better made by those who know the town and the children better than I.”