“I was bringing Clara and Reece the dinner I ordered for them at the café.” He slipped his hands into his pockets then glanced at Violet. “I won’t tell anyone what I overheard.”
“Oh, half the town has probably heard the story by now and the other half will know soon enough. Tell whoever you want. I don’t mind.” Violet gave them a quick smile before disappearing into the coatroom.
Quinn opened the schoolhouse door for Helen then gave her the same crooked grin Reece often used when he knew he was in trouble. “Does that square me with you, Miss McKenna?”
“I suppose it does.” She glanced up at him when they reached the grass. “Of course, I’m still waiting for you to keep your half of the deal we made last night.”
“I got suckered into that deal and you know it.” He narrowed his eyes at the innocent smile she gave him and lifted a brow before setting his hat on his head. “Good day, Miss McKenna.”
“Good day, Mr. Tucker.” She rang the school bell as she watched him stride toward Main Street and wondered what it was about him that she found so attractive. In Austin, she’d preferred gentlemen with a certain level of suavity, affluence and ambition; but those very qualities were the ones that had left her ringless at her engagement dinner. Quinn seemed to be a different sort of man—honest, unassuming, devoted and a bit desperate in his attempts to be a good uncle. Perhaps that was what she found attractive.
A small hand tugged at her skirt. She dropped her gaze to find Reece’s sparring partner standing before her with a greenish-yellow ring around his left eye. She knelt down. “How are you, Jake?”
He shrugged. “Aw, I’m fine, ma’am. Pa told me to be sure to give you this.”
She took the envelope he handed her then thanked him and sent him into the schoolroom with the rest of the children. She tore open the letter, which was so brief it was almost a waste of good paper. She was to dismiss the children thirty minutes early so that an emergency meeting of the school board could convene at the schoolhouse that afternoon.
She pulled in a calming breath. No need to panic. Despite all of her hopes to the contrary, she’d seen this coming. Perhaps it didn’t have to be a bad thing. After all, this meant her job performance would be reviewed by all the members of the school board—not just Mr. Etheridge. The two other members had seemed nice and welcoming when she’d met them at the beginning of the term. But what if Mr. Etheridge was able to convince them that she was inept at her job?
She could always return home. Her parents had made sure she knew their door was always open to her, but she didn’t want to leave Peppin. In this town, she was known for what she did and who she was. In Austin, people knew her for what her family did and who they were in society. She’d received this teaching position based on her own merit, not on the influence of her family. She meant to make the most of this opportunity and that did not mean getting fired only five weeks into the semester. If Mr. Etheridge thought it would be easy to get rid of her, he had another think coming. She might not be able to be a wife and mother, but she had no intention of letting her replacement dream slip through her fingers without a fight.
Copyright © 2015 by Noelle Marchand
ISBN-13: 9781460378892
Hill Country Courtship
Copyright © 2015 by Laurie A. Kingery
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