by Unknown
Lili looked up at him with knowing eyes. “Oh, Papa, don’t you know anything?”
“Huh?” he asked, dumbfounded by the tenor of her voice.
“The way Miss Merriwether was looking at Molly, I don’t think she would want to marry Mr. Atkins.”
“Why would you say a thing like that?”
She stopped in her tracks, forcing him to do the same. “Miss Merriwether likes us. Can’t you tell?”
“She does?”
“Papa, you’re silly,” she tacked on. “Come on. We both need ice cream.”
***
Abbreviated days meant less sunshine and cooler air. Once brightly colored, leaves of every shape and size had turned a crisp brown and fallen to the cold, hard earth. During recess breaks, many of the students gathered the dry leaves into piles and took turns diving into them, sometimes burying the younger students, to their great delight. However, even they complained of the temperatures and were contented to come inside and linger by the potbelly stove.
With October Fest a thing of the past, Liza busied herself in her classroom, arriving earlier than usual on frosty mornings to stoke the fire and haul in fresh drinking water. When the big boys arrived, she enlisted their help to carry in the large buckets of coal to keep the fires burning throughout the school day, always hoping that someone other than Rufus Baxter or Clement Bartel would turn up first.
With every passing day, both boys had become increasingly more difficult to handle, and she feared what would happen when the day came that she couldn’t handle their rude innuendos. She still held to the opinion that it was Clement who led in the escapades and Rufus who followed. If she could just convince Rufus to think for himself, she was sure he would blossom academically. Of course, with the obvious abuse his father had doled out, what chance did the boy have for thinking positively about himself?
Liza shifted her backside in the teacher’s chair, then reached up a hand to sooth her aching neck muscles. She’d decided to stay later today and correct a week’s worth of assignments, enjoying the warmth of the potbelly stove and its remaining glowing embers. The only sounds she heard were those of the ticking clock above her head and the dead leaves that whispered past the window nearest her.
On her desk sat a letter from Aunt Hettie, finely penned. She frowned as she perused her own careless handwriting, feeling guilty for having rushed through her response. However, the clock on the wall registered half past six, and she didn’t relish walking home in the dark. Still, she’d wanted to take the time to write her. So much had happened, and it seemed a shame not to keep her aunt and uncle informed of her dealings.
Quickly, she scanned the missive, checking one last time to see if she’d missed anything important.
Dearest Uncle Gideon and Aunt Hettie,
How wonderful it was to receive your latest letter. As always, I love to hear from you. I am happy to find you are in good health and faring well in my absence. I trust the weather there in Boston has been warmer than usual. It has been a typical fall here in Kentucky, according to the citizens of Little Hickman.
I wish you both could pay me a visit. You would be proud of the way I have fixed up my little cabin, Aunt Hettie. It has turned out to be a fine dwelling for me, neat as a pin, and decorated in just the way I like it. As you know, I was not so pleased when I first laid eyes on it. However, the gentleman who owns the place did a fine job of fixing it up, with the help of the townsfolk, of course. It is actually beginning to feel like home, particularly since all of the furniture I ordered finally arrived just over two weeks ago.
I am pleased to tell you that I am enjoying my time in the town of Little Hickman. My students as a whole are wonderful; that is, if I don’t count two particular boys who always seem to want to cause me problems. I have been looking for ways to discipline them that will not increase their hostilities, although that is indeed a tough assignment for this young, rather inexperienced, teacher.
I’m afraid I have done the unthinkable as a teacher, Aunt Hettie. I have picked my favorites among all of my students, one of which happens to be the daughter of the man who owns the cabin I live in. He is a widowed man with two young children, but I told you that in an earlier letter.
Liza frowned at herself for having included that last paragraph. Would Aunt Hettie now think her interest in the child resulted from the fact that Lili’s father was a widower? No matter, it was too late to change it, and she surely could not blot out the lines with ink. She’d written rather sloppily as it was.
She turned her eyes back to the letter, and then stopped when she heard a rustling sound from outside the window. She glanced up and caught the slightest hint of movement, a shadowy figure lurking and then instantly pulling away when she’d lifted her head.
Without hesitation, she folded the letter, deciding not to read what remained, and stuffed it into the already addressed envelope. Next, she extinguished the kerosene lamp on her desk. Dusk had settled, leaving her surroundings dimly lit, but another lamp at the back of the classroom created enough light to see her out.
A feeling of unease made its home in the pit of her stomach as she began gathering up her belongings. The trek home would be cooler than usual, not to mention unnerving now that she’d heard someone—or something—lurking.
Common sense told her she need not worry. The silhouette could have been anything, a neighbor walking his dog past the school, curious as to why the schoolhouse light was on. Perhaps he’d chanced a peek inside and left upon seeing the teacher at her desk. Then there was the possibility of a pesky raccoon or opossum making a racket while climbing the large oak next to the building. The scavengers were always scrounging for things to eat.
She scolded herself for having allowed her imagination free rein and went about tidying up the rest of her desk, suddenly realizing how late the hour. As if to accentuate that point, her empty stomach grumbled in protest.
As she pushed her chair back, the legs screeched against the floor, startling her. She laughed nervously at her own jumpiness. Liza gathered up her satchel, stuffed it with the items she wished to carry, and took it to the back of the classroom where her coat, hat, and scarf hung from a hook. Her back to the door, she didn’t hear a sound when it opened, and was stunned to turn around, one arm in her coat sleeve, and find Clement Bartel gawking down at her.
“Clement, what are you doing here?” The boy towered over her like a full-grown man.
“I seen the lights on, Teacher. Thought I’d pay you a kindly visit.” She didn’t like the low quality to his voice, nor the fact that he’d closed the door behind him.
“I’m sorry, Clement, but we’ll have to visit during school hours. Perhaps during the recess period we could…”
He moved in closer, his dark face reflecting bold desire.
“Clement, it is not appropriate for you to be here at this hour.”
“It ain’t very appropriate for you, either,” he returned. “No tellin’ what could happen to one so perty as you.”
She bristled when he touched a clammy hand to her arm. “Need help puttin’ this coat on?” he asked, giving her a grin. The stench of his sour breath hung in the air like untended garbage, while his dirty hair lay in separated clumps across his pimpled forehead.
“I can manage, thank you. What brings you here?” It was best to remain calm and controlled, she reminded herself.
Lord, please give me wisdom to say the right words so that I don’t create a bigger problem for myself than I am able to handle.
“Comed into town to buy a few supplies fer Paw,” he said, a feral grin planted across his thin lips. “Saw the lights on in the school and thought I’d check on ya. Wondered if you was lonely.”
“Actually, I’m just leaving, Clement, but I appreciate the thought. You best head back up to your place.”
“What’s the hurry? Ain’t no school tomorrow.” He took a step closer, and her nerves tangled.
“It’s getting late, Clement,” she said, swallowi
ng hard.
Dear Lord, please see me through this predicament.
***
“Where is that fool woman?” Ben muttered to himself, climbing aboard his rig and heading for town. He hadn’t wanted to leave the girls, but since he’d already put Molly to bed a half hour ago, he was sure Lili would tend to things just fine until he returned.
He told himself repeatedly it was not his place to worry about Liza, but he couldn’t stifle his worry when the clock pushed seven and she had not come home. Dusk was no time for a woman to be roaming these parts, and he meant to tell her so just as soon as he laid eyes on her. Of course, she would balk at his protective nature, but he didn’t care.
He steered the horses over the familiar rise and fall of the well-trodden dirt track; not that they needed steering; the beasts could have gotten to town without the help of reins. The brisk night air nibbled at his nose and cheeks, but sheer adrenalin kept his blood running warm.
The school and yard were dark when he approached, but something told him to stop anyway. This time he would check the outhouse first rather than last on the chance that someone had played another prank on her. It didn’t seem likely, however, since, despite all the odds, she was maintaining good rapport with her students, even the Hogsworth twins, wonder of wonders.
He drew the horses to a halt, jumped down, and heaved the reins over a hitching post. That was when he noticed a pale glow of light trailing a path under the school door. A strange kind of premonition slithered through his veins, cautioning him. He took the entrance steps slowly, stealthily.
“Just because yore my teacher don’t mean we can’t be special friends,” said a male voice, not quite husky enough to qualify as manly.
“Clement, I would like you to leave now. We’ll talk another t-time.”
“What say you give me a little…”
Ben wrenched open the door and crossed the room in less time than it would take to drop a pebble in a pond. The young man had both his hands on a flailing Liza, his strong grip on her arms preventing her escape.
“Unhand her,” Ben said coolly, fighting with every ounce of staying power he could muster not to toss the lad clear to the other side of the building. He could do it, he told himself. He could bloody him up quicker than it would take the boy to beg for mercy.
The faintest glint of terror rose in the young man’s eyes at the shock of facing someone bigger and stronger than he was, but the look was short-lived. With sadistic eyes and posture to match, he dropped his hands to his sides, releasing his teacher, and then made a grunting sound. Liza moved to Ben’s side, her short, heaving breaths clear indication of her fright. Ben longed to look her over carefully, but he couldn’t allow himself that luxury just yet, not until he took care of this rabble-rousing teenager.
“Well, lookie here, Teacher. It’s yore boyfriend,” Clement said. “I’m downright jealous.”
“Keep your mouth shut, Clement. Are you okay, Liza?”
Her yes came out more in the form of a simple nod and a faint little squeak.
“Ain’t nothin’ wrong with her,” Clement said, raising both hands in a show of peace. “I was merely bein’ friendly.”
“Didn’t look too friendly to me,” Ben issued.
Clement laughed, a guttural sound from down deep. “Oh, it was approachin’ on mighty friendly. She was likin’ it, too. Matter o’ fact, we was startin’ to get real cozy. Another minute and…”
Ben’s fist came up as if it had a mind of its own and planted itself squarely on Clement Bartel’s jaw. The boy went down without a fight, the impact sending him several feet backward and knocking him down, but not until his shoulder made contact with the corner of a desk, and he’d pulled over a chair en route to the floor. Squawking like a rooster who’d lost all its tail feathers, the boy lay there rolling around and holding his face.
“Ben!” Liza shrieked in fright. Her hand went to her throat while she looked from him to Clement and back to him with boulder-sized eyes. “You hit him.”
Ben half grinned. “I did, didn’t I?” He walked over to the boy and yanked him to his feet by the scruff of his collar. “Hasn’t anyone ever taught you the proper way to treat a woman?” At that, Clement cleared his throat and hurled a wad of bloody spittle into Ben’s face.
When he might have been enraged at the act, Ben merely chuckled, wiped his cheek with the back of his sleeve, and said, “Well now, I guess you could say we’re even. Come on, we’re going to pay the sheriff a nice little visit.”
“I ain’t goin’ to no sheriff.”
“Oh, but you are,” Ben assured.
“I done nothin’ wrong,” Clement wailed in protest, even as Ben shoved the boy’s arms behind him and led him in the direction of the door. Clement’s shaky, crooked gait indicated his inability to put up much of a fight.
“No? I’d say manhandling the teacher qualifies as a criminal act.”
“There weren’t no manhandlin’. I told you she liked it. Matter of fact, she’s been askin’ fer it.” With that remark, Clement threw Liza an angry, if not sultry, look, and Ben tightened his hold on the boy’s wrists, deciding to ignore the crude remarks and praying for a large dose of old-fashioned self-control.
The notion that Clement meant to harm Liza turned Ben’s stomach inside out. What might have happened if he hadn’t arrived when he had? The bruises Ben had seen on Clement’s stepmother were clear proof that he was capable of crime at its worst.
At the door, Ben turned to find Liza still standing like a statue. “Come on,” he issued. “You have a complaint to file.”
Chapter Eighteen
Are you sure you’re all right?” Ben asked on the ride back home. A barrier of silence had stretched between them until he finally broke it down.
“Yes,” she managed shakily.
“The boy should be sitting in jail,” Ben muttered through clenched teeth.
“I think it’s enough that he not be allowed to return to school,” Liza said, her hands folded around her handkerchief. “The truth is, he drags the other students down with his cruel taunts. He wasn’t interested in learning anyway.”
“If you’d pressed charges, Will would have thrown him in a cell, Liza. He told you as much.”
“And what would that have accomplished? He couldn’t keep him there forever, and chances are Clement would have come out even angrier. Besides, it wasn’t as if he truly hurt me. In fact, the only thing he really accomplished was to frighten me.”
“What if I hadn’t come when I did?” Ben asked, turning his gaze on her. Liza felt his eyes bearing down on her, his anger still fresh and close to the surface. Never had she witnessed such a violent reaction as she had when she’d seen Ben trounce on Clement.
“I don’t want to think about it,” she answered.
The absence of warmth combined with the events of the evening caused a shiver to run the length of her body. Ben sensed it and put a big steady arm around her shoulder. “Come here,” he said, drawing her close.
She should have resisted his touch, but the fact of the matter was she was too cold and exhausted to do much about it. Thus, she folded into his embrace, dropping her head against his expansive chest, her cheek soaking up the heat of his rough woolen jacket.
“Why did you come?” she asked into the inky blackness. Cloud-covered skies prevented the moon from showing its face on this colder than normal evening.
Whether intentional or not, he tightened his grip on her. “I got worried when you didn’t come home,” he said with a touch of gruffness. “What were you thinking by staying so late?”
“The time got away from me. I had a mound of assignments to correct and after that a letter to write and…”
“You couldn’t have done that in the safety of your cabin?”
“I was comfortable where I was. I didn’t feel like leaving immediately after school.”
“You need to use some common sense,” he said with a hint of anger. “It’s not safe for a woman to be
roaming these parts after dark.”
“But…”
“There are wild animals of every kind out here, not to mention the hill folk I’ve warned you about. Clement is a good example of what can go wrong when a defenseless woman is…well, you see what I’m saying.” He made a huffing sound, then charged ahead with, “Until you get a rig or a horse of your own, I intend to drive you back and forth, that’s all there is to it.”
“What?” Now her own ire went up, as did her back. “That’s completely unnecessary, and I am not defenseless,” she wanted to make clear. She pulled away from his warmth. “Many of my students walk greater distances than I do. Why should I have the luxury of riding?”
“You’re being silly, and you appeared quite defenseless to my eyes when Clement had his hands on you.”
It was hard to argue with that, so she closed her mouth up tight and dropped her shoulders.
“It doesn’t make sense for you to walk when I can just as easily pick you up when I pick up Lili.” His voice had dropped in tandem with her shoulders. She sensed his watchful eyes as they darted from the dark trail ahead back to her face.
“Oh, I suppose,” she finally relented. “But on nice, sunny days I shall continue to walk.”
“As long as you come home right after school,” he ordered.
“Why are you so bossy?” she asked with folded arms.
He leaned over until his hot breath touched her earlobe. “Why are you so stubborn?”
And since she had no answer for that particular question, she closed her mouth up tight again.
***
Clement’s absence made a remarkable difference in the classroom dynamics. Many students’ expressions went from sullen to bright, closed to open. Liza interpreted the change in atmosphere to mean they felt safer, happier. Without knowing it, many had refrained from expressing themselves at the risk of hearing a snide remark from the back of the room. Clement’s taunts and jeers had earned him many reprimands, but they had only served to quiet him temporarily, his crossed arms and smug looks an indication of his obstinacy. Moreover, Liza had surmised he enjoyed it when she disciplined him, for that meant he’d gained her full attention.
