Pearl

by Ruth Ryan Langan

  Millie Potter’s three daughters could attend school only when someone from town was willing to bring them. So far, between Travis Worthing, who could manage only a day or two each week, and the Durfee boys, the three Potter sisters hadn’t missed a day. Nor had Birdie Bidwell, who counted herself lucky each day she was allowed to return.

  The children were thriving. Even those who could manage only an occasional day in the classroom were learning. And so was Pearl. Each day she reminded herself to be content with the little successes.

  To teach the concept of addition to the Potter girls, Pearl invited them to sit on the floor in a circle. Then she removed the pretty bouquet from her desk and spread the wildflowers in the center of the circle.

  “I’m going to give each of you one flower,” she said as she chose three bluebells. “Now, I’m going to add some Indian paintbrush.” She plucked two fiery blossoms and added them to the five-year-old girl’s bluebell. “Now, June, how many flowers do you have?”

  The little girl counted out and replied, “Three.”

  “That’s correct. Because two added to one will make three.”

  She handed three flowers to May and said, “How many do you have?”

  “Four,” the little girl said happily. “Three plus one makes four.”

  “Now, April,” Pearl said, “yours is going to be a little more complicated.” She gave the girl four flowers.

  “That’s not hard,” April said with a shy smile. “Four and one make five.”

  “That’s correct. But when I take back two, how many are left?”

  The little girl counted, while her younger sisters watched with interest.

  “Three,” April said.

  “Do you know why?”

  Pearl was pleased when the little girl nodded. “Two from five leaves three.”

  “That’s very good. Now,” she said as she stood, “I’m going to give you some simple addition and subtraction to do. And I’ll leave the flowers with you, in case you need to work out the sums.”

  She moved to the far side of the room, where the older children were working with columns of figures.

  Seeing the frustration they were experiencing, Pearl turned the project into a game, offering one of Carmelita’s cookies as the prize. In no time, the children had their heads bent over their slates, lost in the wonder of numbers. And much to everyone’s surprise, Travis, who had shown no interest in doing sums, but an abiding interest in anything sweet, was the first to complete the assignment with no errors.

  At lunchtime, the children and their teacher carried baskets outdoors and sat in the shade of an ancient oak.

  “Will you look at that!” Bart Adams shouted.

  Everyone turned to see Cal McCabe, astride his big black stallion, riding toward the schoolhouse. It was obvious that the children were in awe of this man who ran the legendary Jewel ranch.

  “My pa says Cal McCabe can outdraw anyone in Texas.” Bart’s voice was hushed with admiration.

  “My pa said there’s no one who’d dare cross him,” Travis said in a whisper. “He killed his first man when he was no bigger’n me.”

  “Hush, children, ” Pearl said in her most commanding tone. “I won’t permit such talk in my classroom.”

  Their words had shocked her more than she cared to admit. Cal, a killer? Though her heart denied it, her mind reeled with the knowledge. And a tiny voice inside taunted her with the thought that all along she’d sensed something dark and dangerous about Cal McCabe.

  Her heart skipped a beat, and she blamed her heated cheeks on the warm springtime sun. Cal had managed to avoid her since the night they’d shared a kiss. A kiss. Could it be that she had permitted such intimacies with a—a gunman?

  At least now, she thought with a feeling of relief, they were surrounded by children. There would be no chance to be alone.

  She wondered if Cal had thought the same thing. Was that why he’d chosen such a time to pay a call?

  He rode into their midst and slid from the saddle.

  “Children, do you know Mr. McCabe?” Pearl asked.

  “Yes, ma’am,” the children responded in unison.

  “I didn’t realize this was your lunch hour,” Cal said. “I just wondered if you needed anything, since I was in the area.”

  “Nothing, thanks.” She felt a ripple of alarm. He seemed to be making himself at home among the children, with no intention of leaving.

  “I...brought enough lunch to share.” Pearl opened the basket, revealing several pieces of cold chicken and a little bundle of biscuits. “I always bring more than I can eat, in case any of the children forgot theirs. Would you care to join us?” As she spoke, she spread a cloth in the grass and began enptying the basket.

  That was all Cal needed to convince him to stay. He sat in the shade of the tree, with his back against the rough bark, and accepted her offering.

  The children sat in a circle around him. Aware that they were watching him warily, he put them at ease by asking them questions about their new school.

  “Has Miss Jewel rapped any knuckles yet? Or ordered anyone into the corner as punishment for misbehavior?”

  “Miss Jewel wouldn’t do that,” Birdie Bidwell said, jumping to her beloved teacher’s defense.

  “How can you be so sure?” Cal bit into a biscuit and winked at the Potter sisters over Birdie’s head.

  The three little girls blushed and giggled and hid their faces in their hands. It was clear that, despite their almost painful shyness, they found him irresistible.

  “’Cause she’s the nicest lady I’ve ever met,” Birdie insisted. “Miss Jewel said she doesn’t believe in fizz...fizz...”

  “Physical punishment,” Pearl finished for her.

  “That’s right. She said she’ll never rap our knuckles, or spank us with a tree branch.”

  “Or beat us with a stick,” Bart added.

  “No wonder you came back a second day,” Cal drawled. “Maybe she’s not a teacher at all. Maybe she’s a—a fairy godmother.”

  That sent the children into spasms of laughter. Soon they were laughing and talking, and even volunteering stories about their first days in Miss Jewel’s classroom.

  “I didn’t want to come,” Travis admitted to Cal, though Pearl was quite certain he never would have spoken so boldly to her. “My ma made me.”

  “Are you sorry?” Cal asked.

  He shrugged and ducked his head. “No, sir. I like coming here. Sometimes.”

  “How about you, Bart?” Cal asked.

  “I want to learn to read and write. My pa says his grandma was an educated woman. But somehow she got too bogged down in work and babies, and the learning was lost. And now, no one in our family can read. I’ll be the first.”

  There was a note of pride in his voice that had Cal studying the boy with new interest. Then his gaze moved to Pearl, whose cheeks reddened under his scrutiny.

  When they had finished eating, shy little April Potter opened a large basket to reveal an entire cake that her mother had sent as a treat.

  “Oh, my!” Pearl said, with a trace of wonder. “Will you look at what Mrs. Potter has sent us. Is this a special occasion, April?”

  The girl’s red curls bobbed up and down as she replied, “Today is Birdie’s birthday. And Mama said, since Birdie has been coming over every evening to lend a hand with the cooking, she deserved a nice surprise.”

  The birthday girl seemed stunned by the gesture. “Now how’d your ma learn that today was my birthday?” she demanded.

  April shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe she talked to your ma.”

  “Well, however she learned,” Pearl said with a delighted smile, “I think you should do the honors of cutting the cake and serving it to the others.”

  “Yes’m.” Birdie needed no coaxing, and soon everyone was busy devouring their special treat.

  “You can give Mr. McCabe a second helping,” Pearl said. “I’ve learned that he has quite a sweet tooth.”


  Cal grinned and gave her a mocking bow as he accepted another slice.

  For the next half hour, the children were allowed to work off their meal, climbing the tree and hanging upside down from its branches, or chasing each other in a game of tag.

  While the children played around them, Cal lounged beside the tree.

  “I haven’t seen much of you this week,” Pearl said softly.

  “I had a lot of chores to see to,” he muttered.

  “Yes...” She looked away, aware of the flush that started up her throat and cheeks whenever he stared at her in the familiar, watchful manner of a hunter. “It’s just as well. I...had a lot of work to do here, too. And I work better without interruptions.”

  He gave her a lazy, knowing grin that told her she hadn’t fooled him a bit. “So do I, teacher.” He got to his feet, towering over her. As he started to make his way to his horse, he paused and returned to touch a fingertip to her cheek. “But what kind of life would it be without some...interruptions?”

  She backed away from his touch as though burned. “Cal, the children...”

  “Are busy playing. Besides, there’s no rule against touching the teacher, is there?”

  She hung her head, wishing he could touch her again, and afraid he might read the invitation in her eyes.

  He pulled himself into the saddle. “Thanks for lunch, teacher.”

  The children shouted and waved as he rode away, and he lifted his hat in a salute before disappearing below a ridge.

  Pearl stood watching for several moments, then clapped her hands and summoned her pupils indoors. After a few minutes, they settled down at their desks, ready for another lesson.

  “We’ll begin our reading,” Pearl announced. “Travis, I think you can read first.”

  She handed him her precious copy of McGuffey’s Eclectic Reader and walked to the back of the room, where she could listen and observe. Travis stood facing the others. Whenever he stumbled over a word, Pearl would ask him to spell it, and the rest of the class was invited to help him sound it out.

  While he read, the others sat with folded hands, enraptured by the story, which, as always, carried a high moral principle relating to God, country or mankind.

  Pearl prowled to the window, her thoughts on Cal McCabe. His very presence had a way of making her palms sweat, her heartbeat falter. She seemed to forget everything when he was near. The man was definitely detrimental to her powers of concentration.

  But, from what the children had said, the neighboring ranchers had a much different view of Cal from hers. A killer? A gunman?

  Her musings were interrupted when a rickety wagon came into view. She recognized it as the one belonging to Rollie Ingram. On the seat beside him was his older son, Gilbert. In the back, wedged between a sow and her piglets, sat Daniel.

  Both boys stared hard at the school as their wagon passed. She lifted a hand and waved. Gilbert glanced at his father. Seeing him watching, the boy looked away. In the back, little Daniel began to wave. At that moment, his brother shot him a look. The boy lowered his hand. But he continued watching until they were out of sight.

  Pearl felt a pang of loss. She had tried so hard not to think about Gilbert and Daniel Rollie Ingram had made it plain that his sons would not be attending school. Still, she’d hoped....

  “B-E-G-I-N-N-I-N-G, ” Travis was spelling.

  Pearl’s head came up sharply. She returned her attention to her class.

  “Can anyone help Travis?” she asked.

  “Be-gin-ning,” Birdie said, pausing for each syllable, as her teacher had taught her.

  “That’s very good, Birdie. You may finish the story Travis started.”

  The girl walked to the front of the room and faced the class, reading until the story was ended.

  “Birdie, in honor of your birthday,” Pearl said, “and because you have made such progress this first week of school, I’m going to permit you to take the Bible home for the weekend. You may read it aloud to your family, to show them how much you’ve learned.”

  The girl’s jaw dropped. Her eyes rounded in surprise. When she had finally found her voice, she managed to say, “Oh, thank you, Miss Jewel. I promise I’ll take good care of your Bible.”

  Pearl gave the girl a gentle smile. She had no doubt the precious book would be handled more carefully than a sack of gold.

  Pearl dressed carefully for Sunday services, all the while thinking about Cal. Since the lunch he’d shared with her and the children, she hadn’t seen him. According to Cookie, Cal had spent the past two nights with their herd on the west ridge. She wondered if his decision to stay away had had anything to do with her, and the kiss they’d shared. At once she dismissed such thoughts as foolish vanity. Cal McCabe had probably kissed hundreds of women in his lifetime. One more wouldn’t make any difference to a man like him. After all, she thought as she picked up her shawl and bonnet, he had a ranch to run. He was entitled to stay away as many nights as were necessary. And she had students to see to. They should be her main concern now.

  Still, she couldn’t dismiss the thought of that kiss. In a way, she actually hoped that was why he was avoiding her. It would be nice to know that it affected him as deeply as it affected her. Though she couldn’t imagine a man like Cal McCabe losing sleep over her, or staring into space at the thought of one more kiss.

  What utter nonsense, she told herself. If anything, she should be making plans to distance herself from him. She had a reputation to maintain. And the temptation when they were alone would create all kinds of difficulties.

  She made her way downstairs and found Jade and Ruby waiting for her in the kitchen. A plate of biscuits lay between them on the table, along with a dish of blueberry preserves.

  “Hurry and eat something, cherie, ” Ruby said. “Cal has already gone to fetch the carriage.”

  So, he was back home, and going with them. Pearl’s stomach gave a little hitch, but she blamed it on the blueberries. “I’m not hungry. Maybe by the time services are over I’ll find my appetite.”

  “Come, then.” Jade beckoned. “I hear the carriage now.”

  The three young women walked out onto the back porch. When Cal stepped down to assist them, Pearl couldn’t help admiring the way he looked in his black jacket and wide-brimmed hat.

  “Good morning,” he murmured as he reached for her hand.

  The instant they touched, they both felt the jolt. And they both did their best to ignore it.

  Avoiding his eyes, Pearl allowed him to help her into the carriage. As she took her seat and drew her shawl around her shoulders, she shivered, despite the warmth of the spring sunshine. On the ride to town, she was subdued, allowing Jade and Ruby to carry the conversation while she pretended to study the passing landscape. But each time she looked up, she found her gaze drawn to Cal’s broad shoulders, and the strong hands that held the reins.

  In town, Cal hitched the team outside Durfee’s Mercantile, then helped the three young women from the carriage. As Pearl brushed past him, he inhaled the fragrance of lavender and felt an involuntary thrill race along his spine.

  Lord, but the days were long, he thought. Whether he was alone on the trail, or working alongside dozens of wranglers, his mind constantly conjured up images of Pearl, looking cool and lovely. And the nights were becoming intolerable. Thoughts of her intruded, crowding all other images from his mind. Even in dreams, he had no relief. She was there, brushing her lips over his, while those long, tapered fingers moved over his body, driving him half-mad with desire.

  He trailed the three Jewel sisters into the back of Durfee’s, and took a seat beside Pearl. And wondered how in the hell he’d be able to pray, when the devil’s own temptation was right here at his side.

  Chapter Ten

  “That was a fine sermon, Reverend Weston.” Pearl offered her hand, and was rewarded with a warm smile and a firm handshake.

  “Why, thank you, Miss Pearl. I’ve been hearing fine things about your school, too. Not only
from the parents, but from your students, as well.”

  Pearl walked out of the back room of Durfee’s Mercantile wearing a smile of satisfaction.

  “You’re looking mighty pleased with yourself,” Cal remarked. He’d barely heard a word of the sermon. He’d been too aware of the woman seated beside him. Even now, she was too close for comfort.

  “It’s my first compliment. I hope you don’t mind if I savor it awhile.”

  He grinned. “Not at all. You’ve earned it. Enjoy it all you like.” He paused in the doorway. “Jade and Ruby said they’re going to browse in the mercantile for a few minutes. I’ll bring the rig around to the front.”

  When he walked away, Pearl blinked in the warm sunshine. As usual, the little town of Hanging Tree was teeming with life on this late Sunday morning.

  Parents and children began hauling baskets of food from carts and wagons to shady spots where they would refresh themselves before the return trip to their ranches. While the women spread quilts in the grass and set out the food, children ran between wagons, playing tag, and the men loaded supplies from the mercantile into their rigs.

  Pearl felt a tug on her skirt and looked down to see Daniel Ingram smiling shyly up at her.

  “Morning, Miss Jewel,” he chirped. “You look pretty.”

  She knelt until her face was level with his. Despite his shabby clothes and the dirt etched deeply into his skin, his smile was as radiant as a cherub’s.

  “Good morning, Daniel. Thank you. I was hoping I would see you and your brother in school this past week.”

  His smile faltered. “So was I. But Pa said school’s for spoiled rich kids. He said Gilbert and I are too stupid to go to school anyway. He said we’re nothing but useless...”

  His older brother happened to step out of the mercantile at that moment. Seeing his little brother talking to Pearl, he stumbled forward, balancing a heavy sack of grain on his shoulder. Keeping one hand on the sack, he grabbed Daniel with the other hand and yanked him away.