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Authors: Sharlene MacLaren
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less likely to have to make repairs on the place later.”
“Makes good business sense,” Willie muttered.
“Yer right about us all havin’ crops that need tendin’,” Thom said. “I got fences to mend on the east side of my property, an ailing horse, and cabbage fields what need weedin’.”
Each one added to his personal list of ongoing tasks until they’d exhausted the subject. Sully finally climbed down off his horse and headed inside the house. “This pump work?” he called from the kitchen area.
“Well’s good, pump needs priming,” Ben answered. “Water’s probably rusty from lack of use.”
“Cupboards are hangin’ crooked. Chimney got any cracks?” he asked.
“Not that I know of.”
“Sink’s black. Ceiling looks a little warped.”
Ben smiled. “Did you come out here to work or to grumble? We already know this place is a shambles without your rubbing it in.”
“Just pointin’ out a few things.”
“Yeah, well, you’d do well to get to work. Never know when that schoolteacher might show up. Wouldn’t set well with her if you didn’t look busy,” Ben said, setting a roofing nail in place.
“You met her yet?” Jeb asked after hauling out the old three-legged table and adding it to the pile of rubble.
“I have.” Best to keep his answers short, he determined.
“What did you think?” That from Jeb Gunner.
Ben smiled to himself. “What does it matter?”
“Just curious. She look tough enough to handle the likes o’ them Hogsworth twins or Rufus Baxter?”
Ben laughed. “That remains to be seen. She doesn’t appear to be much taller than my Lili, but I have a feeling she’ll give them a run for their money regardless of her size. She struck me as a regular spitfire.”
“That’s so.”
“Well, now, ain’t this interestin’?” Sully chimed from below.
“What’s that?” Ben hollered back.
“Just found me a brand new picture fer hangin’. ’Twas stashed on the top shelf of this here wardrobe. Nice country scene with a river runnin’ through, pretty mountains in the background. Words inscribed on it are Patience Is a Virtue.”
Ben set to driving each nail faster and harder. He should have left the picture at home. He might have known someone would come across it, even if he’d done his best to hide it.
“Where’d it come from?” Willie asked.
Ben yanked a few more nails out of his hip pocket and fastened another shingle in place.
“Ben?”
“What?”
“You buy this picture for the schoolmarm?”
“No, I bought it for the cabin,” he clarified.
“Ah, the cabin,” Sully said with a chuckle. “Mighty nice gesture.”
Chapter Five
Liza trudged through mud up to her ankles on her way out to the necessary behind the little schoolhouse. Why nature seemed to call at the most inopportune times she couldn’t say. Drenching rain soaked through to her scalp and saturated every inch of her clothing. And it was not the sort of rain that looked as if it’d be letting up anytime soon. At least it had held off until mid-afternoon, giving her plenty of time to walk to the school, survey the surrounding properties, and wash the six classroom windows from the outside. She’d spent the rest of the afternoon inside her classroom taking inventory of her stock, meager as it was, dusting shelves, rearranging books, and going over class lists.
Two little white sheds, one with the word Girls painted in black on the door and the other, Fellows, stood at the back of the property. Hurrying along the beaten path, she glanced out over the open fields before throwing wide the door, thinking she had glimpsed two shadows lurking behind some trees, but too distracted to pay the matter much attention.
Moments later, muffled footsteps approached. Disconcerted, she waited for any kind of clue to the indistinguishable sounds but came up with nothing. She thought about asking who was there, but the very notion seemed silly, if not downright awkward. Perhaps
“Makes good business sense,” Willie muttered.
“Yer right about us all havin’ crops that need tendin’,” Thom said. “I got fences to mend on the east side of my property, an ailing horse, and cabbage fields what need weedin’.”
Each one added to his personal list of ongoing tasks until they’d exhausted the subject. Sully finally climbed down off his horse and headed inside the house. “This pump work?” he called from the kitchen area.
“Well’s good, pump needs priming,” Ben answered. “Water’s probably rusty from lack of use.”
“Cupboards are hangin’ crooked. Chimney got any cracks?” he asked.
“Not that I know of.”
“Sink’s black. Ceiling looks a little warped.”
Ben smiled. “Did you come out here to work or to grumble? We already know this place is a shambles without your rubbing it in.”
“Just pointin’ out a few things.”
“Yeah, well, you’d do well to get to work. Never know when that schoolteacher might show up. Wouldn’t set well with her if you didn’t look busy,” Ben said, setting a roofing nail in place.
“You met her yet?” Jeb asked after hauling out the old three-legged table and adding it to the pile of rubble.
“I have.” Best to keep his answers short, he determined.
“What did you think?” That from Jeb Gunner.
Ben smiled to himself. “What does it matter?”
“Just curious. She look tough enough to handle the likes o’ them Hogsworth twins or Rufus Baxter?”
Ben laughed. “That remains to be seen. She doesn’t appear to be much taller than my Lili, but I have a feeling she’ll give them a run for their money regardless of her size. She struck me as a regular spitfire.”
“That’s so.”
“Well, now, ain’t this interestin’?” Sully chimed from below.
“What’s that?” Ben hollered back.
“Just found me a brand new picture fer hangin’. ’Twas stashed on the top shelf of this here wardrobe. Nice country scene with a river runnin’ through, pretty mountains in the background. Words inscribed on it are Patience Is a Virtue.”
Ben set to driving each nail faster and harder. He should have left the picture at home. He might have known someone would come across it, even if he’d done his best to hide it.
“Where’d it come from?” Willie asked.
Ben yanked a few more nails out of his hip pocket and fastened another shingle in place.
“Ben?”
“What?”
“You buy this picture for the schoolmarm?”
“No, I bought it for the cabin,” he clarified.
“Ah, the cabin,” Sully said with a chuckle. “Mighty nice gesture.”
Chapter Five
Liza trudged through mud up to her ankles on her way out to the necessary behind the little schoolhouse. Why nature seemed to call at the most inopportune times she couldn’t say. Drenching rain soaked through to her scalp and saturated every inch of her clothing. And it was not the sort of rain that looked as if it’d be letting up anytime soon. At least it had held off until mid-afternoon, giving her plenty of time to walk to the school, survey the surrounding properties, and wash the six classroom windows from the outside. She’d spent the rest of the afternoon inside her classroom taking inventory of her stock, meager as it was, dusting shelves, rearranging books, and going over class lists.
Two little white sheds, one with the word Girls painted in black on the door and the other, Fellows, stood at the back of the property. Hurrying along the beaten path, she glanced out over the open fields before throwing wide the door, thinking she had glimpsed two shadows lurking behind some trees, but too distracted to pay the matter much attention.
Moments later, muffled footsteps approached. Disconcerted, she waited for any kind of clue to the indistinguishable sounds but came up with nothing. She thought about asking who was there, but the very notion seemed silly, if not downright awkward. Perhaps
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