Love is Patient Read online

  “I hear you two were a big help in getting this schoolhouse back into shape. I can’t thank you enough for all your hard work. You both did a great job.” She offered the children a smile, hoping they would open up to her a bit more.

  Delia smiled shyly and nodded her head. “I helped wash the windows and the floors. And I helped paint the outside too, but just the bottom of the walls where I could reach.”

  “Well, it looks perfect. This is just about the nicest schoolhouse I’ve ever seen.”

  Owen pulled his eyebrows together suspiciously. “I thought you grew up in the big city. I don’t believe you. Your schools would have been a lot fancier than this one.”

  Mr. Hammond stood off to the side, leaning back against a desk with his arms crossed over his chest. He shook his head at his son, shooting him an angry look. “Owen! Remember your manners.”

  The young boy quickly looked down at his shoes. “I’m sorry, Miss.”

  “No, Owen, you’re right. The school I went to in Boston was quite a bit fancier than this, but I have to tell you a secret.” He slowly lifted his gaze to hers. She offered him a smile as she scrunched up her nose. “It was fancy, but it smelled really bad inside. And, there were hardly any windows to look outside, so it was always dark. It really wasn’t a very nice place to be. That’s why I say this is the nicest school I’ve ever seen. It truly is.” She went over by the window closest to her and waved her hand toward it. “See that? It’s so nice to be able to see outside, and enjoy feeling the sunshine on our skin, even when we’re inside learning. You don’t know how lucky you are to have grown up where you can see for miles.” She took a deep breath in and closed her eyes for a few moments. “And everything smells so fresh.”

  Delia’s eyes were wide as she listened. “What did it smell like in your school?”

  Kathryn laughed as she walked over by the children and crouched down in front of them to whisper her answer. “Well, don’t ever tell anyone I told you this, but in my school it always smelled like dirty feet and horse manure.”

  Owen’s face broke out in a smile before he quickly tried to hide it. But Delia couldn’t. She brought her hand up to her mouth and giggled.

  “That would have been awful!”

  Kathryn nodded seriously. “It was. And that’s why I’m so glad it doesn’t smell like that in here.” She gave a small shudder as she winked at Delia.

  She stood back up and faced Mr. Hammond. As soon as her eyes met his, the smile dropped from her face. She couldn’t tell if he was angry with her or how he was feeling, but something in his stance told her he wasn’t happy.

  “You’ve seen the schoolhouse, so let’s get to the cabin where you’ll be staying. I don’t have all day to be showing everyone around. I have a field to finish planting.” He pushed himself past her toward the door. Kathryn looked nervously toward Mrs. Hammond who was scowling at her son’s retreating back.

  Thankfully, her aunt had come with them too, and now she came over to put her arm around Kathryn’s shoulder as they followed him out the door, leaning in close to whisper in her ear, “Don’t worry about Colt Hammond, dear. He’s a bit rough around the edges sometimes.”

  Mrs. Hammond came behind them with the children in tow and as they walked through the tall grass toward the cabin, Kathryn’s cheeks burned as she wondered what she’d done to make him angry with her.

  But she couldn’t spend too much time worrying, because as they walked, the gentle breeze kissed her cheeks and took away any doubts that had started to creep in.

  This was where she was meant to be. She could feel it in the air around her and with every step she took, her heart swelled even more with joy. She’d never felt like this walking in the city. The ground crunched under her boots and she let her hands trail over the top of the long, feathery grasses along the path. Above them, birds sang from the trees standing behind the small cabin.

  “There’s a well right there with a pump for your water, and just behind the trees there’s a small creek that runs through the property you can use too if you want.” Kathryn looked over to the rickety-looking pump that Mr. Hammond was pointing to as they stopped in front of the cabin. He turned slightly and pointed to a small building off on its own. “And that’s your outhouse. It’s not much, but it keeps the wild animals out. You’ll want to use a lantern after dark. The students will use it during the day too.”

  She hoped the shock on her face wasn’t too evident because she could tell that he was watching closely for her reaction. For some reason, she’d never really thought about the facilities she’d be using out here and the thought of using a rundown outhouse in the middle of nowhere was more unnerving than she cared to admit.

  Mrs. Hammond came up beside her and put her hand on her arm. “Oh, he makes it sound like it’s so primitive. For goodness sake, Colt.” His mother shook her head in disgust at her son before smiling back at Kathryn. “There’s a chamber pot inside the cabin you can use after dark.”

  Kathryn wasn’t sure how much better a chamber pot would be which she’d have to carry out to empty, but she would never let the broody man see her concern.

  And she wasn’t about to let it spoil her excitement about everything else. She was sure she’d get used to the more primitive aspects of life on the prairies over time.

  When she walked through the door into her new home, which was nothing more than one room with a curtain blocking off a bed in the back, she had one more wave of doubt hit her.

  Could she really do this?

  For some reason, the smug look on Mr. Hammond’s face, telling her he knew full well she was a city girl who would never survive out here on her own, made any doubts quickly fall away.

  One thing Mr. Colt Hammond was about to learn about her was that she would never back down from a challenge. This had been her dream all her life, and she was more determined than ever to follow it through.

  Even if she did have to brave a crumbling down outhouse full of spiders in the dark.

  Chapter 4

  “Well, I have to say she’s not quite what I expected. Not really sure what I was thinking, but I guess since she’s Lucy Reeves’s niece I was expecting someone a little smaller. And plumper, maybe.”

  Colt laughed as his friend Caleb’s wife slapped him hard on the arm. “Caleb Bailey. Can’t you think before you speak out loud? What if she heard you!”

  Fae Bailey gave her husband a stern look, then turned to make sure Colt knew she didn’t appreciate him encouraging her husband’s behavior.

  When Fae had arrived in Promise, she’d quickly made her mark on the small town. She’d come from New York, where she’d been raised in an orphanage built on the principle of equal opportunities for education. Fae had agreed to come here and marry Caleb, without ever having met him, with the knowledge she also wanted to help all the children in the area receive an education.

  Of course, she’d hoped to find love with her husband too, which Colt was still surprised had worked out as it had. Especially knowing his friend’s aversion to ever settling down.

  Now, the couple were head over heels in love and running the mercantile in town. It was so out of character with what he’d imagined Caleb ever doing, but for some reason, they’d both settled into married life and seemed happier than any couple Colt had ever known.

  A hard lump formed in his stomach at the thought, and he clenched his jaw tight as he pushed his feelings away. Now wasn’t the time to start thinking about his wife, or how easily he’d been duped into believing they were happily married at one time too.

  “I think she seems perfect, and I know the kids in town are going to love her. Look how taken Delia already is with her.” Fae smiled warmly toward the people they were discussing.

  Colt’s eyes followed Fae’s to where his daughter was enthusiastically telling a story to Miss Reeves with her arms flapping and head nodding excitedly. They were beside a table filled with pitchers of lemonade and every kind of food imaginable set in the center of town
for the new teacher’s welcome party. It seemed like most of the townsfolk had shown up to have a chance to meet her. Well, everyone except for the Pembrookes who ran the private school, and the few “wealthier” families in the area who believed this new public school would be a blemish to their community.

  On this sunny afternoon, the entire ground between the church and the boardinghouse was filled with people as they milled around between the tables, enjoying the chance to have this community get-together after church. Kids ran around, filled with excitement knowing tomorrow would be their first day of school.

  Some of them had never had the chance to have any kind of education, so this was an opportunity he knew was desperately needed in this town. When the private school had been opened a few years ago, it was hard to keep the old school going. The Pembrookes had made sure it was clear the education would never be as good as what could be offered by the new Pembrooke School. The children who went to school there would have the best opportunities for education which would lead them into highly respectable and advantageous careers. It would open more doors for a better life than the small country schoolhouse ever could.

  Colt knew of families who’d almost gone completely broke trying to pay for the best schooling for their children. So many wanted their children to have better lives than what they’d had, and desperation had led a few of them to lose everything. There had been several families who even had to move away to start over somewhere else. But people had falsely believed this new private school was the best thing for the community, until it was too late to realize how much it was actually hurting the small town.

  Keeping the old public school going out on the Hammond property had been hard, and as enrolment declined due to the initial excitement of the private school, finding teachers willing to work for what the community could offer to pay was difficult. There weren’t many women wanting to come out to the middle of the prairies, in a small town without much to offer. By the time many of the families realized they couldn’t continue paying the fees for the private school, it was too late. The public school had to be closed and no one seemed to know how to get it going again.

  Until Fae arrived, and set things in motion to bring it back. And, thanks to an inheritance from his father, Caleb had made sure the school could afford everything it needed.

  Colt continued to watch the new schoolteacher and could only imagine what the child was talking about. He inwardly cringed, hoping it wasn’t anything too farfetched. His daughter had a vivid imagination and tended to add a little extra excitement to her stories.

  But Miss Reeves was completely enthralled as she crouched down to make sure she could hear every detail. He let his gaze stay on the woman while he vaguely heard Fae talking about how nice the new teacher had seemed when they met earlier.

  As she bent down and leaned in to listen to Delia, he noticed the skirt she wore. It wasn’t silk, like the dress she’d been wearing when she arrived yesterday, but it was still a much nicer fabric than most of the women wore around here. He wondered how long it would hold up to being washed with the harsh soaps and cold creek water available to her now.

  “She’s not going to last a month out here. The warm early summer we’re having is nice, but once the full heat hits, she won’t be able to stand it. And there’s no way she’ll ever be able to endure the cold of our winters.”

  Fae gasped and turned back to glare at Colt. “You don’t know anything about her. How are you so sure she won’t be able to handle being here? I’m sure you all thought the same thing about me when I arrived. Are you saying you don’t think I’ll be able to survive the winter out here either? After all, I’m just a city girl from back east too.”

  Colt ignored the look on Caleb’s face who was struggling not to laugh while his wife scolded his best friend.

  “No, I have no doubt you’ll be just fine, Fae. You grew up in an orphanage, so you understand about struggles and hardships. What difficulties did Miss Reeves have growing up? From what I’ve heard, she was raised in a wealthy family and most likely never had to do anything for herself. It’s a completely different world out here than it is where she comes from. That’s all I’m saying.”

  But Fae was already too riled up to listen to him. She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, I think you’re being completely unfair and judging her before you’ve even given her a chance. I see a woman who’s excited for something new. She’s strong enough to walk away from the so-called pampered life you say she had back home to head west, and completely on her own, to start a new life. So, you better just mind your manners and make her feel welcome.”

  Colt’s mouth hung open as he watched Fae walk over to talk to Miss Reeves. Another young woman from town, Mercy Brown, joined the women and he could see Fae introducing them. He noticed Kathryn take Delia’s hand, to make sure the child still felt included, and his chest clenched at the image.

  His friend whistled softly beside him. “Whoa. I’m sure glad it’s you who riled her up this time and not me.”

  “I didn’t mean to upset her. I mean, I have complete confidence that Fae will have no trouble at all surviving out here. She’s just different than Miss Reeves is.”

  Caleb brought his brows together and turned to look at him. “How do you know that? You barely know her. All you know is what you think she grew up with.”

  Colt pretended to ignore Caleb.

  “And, you can’t compare everyone to how Arlene was.”

  Anger rose inside Colt as he fought the sudden urge to knock his friend out. “Don’t bring her up. I’m not comparing anyone to her.”

  Caleb just shrugged, ignoring the fact he was walking on thin ice.

  “Just because Arlene was a city girl, and quickly proved she wasn’t cut out for the more primitive life out here, doesn’t mean every woman who comes here is the same.”

  Colt kept his teeth clenched tightly and bit his tongue from saying anything. Just because Caleb was now a happily married man, he didn’t need to act like he was suddenly an expert on everything that had to do with women.

  Colt was the one who had wasted his time, and a piece of his heart, with a woman who couldn’t handle the frontier life. And he recognized it when he saw another woman just like her.

  Miss Kathryn Reeves wouldn’t be here come the winter.

  He guaranteed it.

  Chapter 5

  “Well, I don’t remember the last time so many people showed up for church. Reverend Moore was beside himself with excitement. The church was overflowing, thanks to all the folks who wanted the chance to mingle and meet the new schoolteacher after.” Mrs. Hammond turned around to smile at Kathryn.

  Just then, the wagon bounced, making her wince slightly as her back banged against the wooden side. She rode in the back with the children, while Mrs. Hammond and her son were up front. Kathryn worried the rickety seat along the side for them to sit on would fall apart with one more bump.

  Delia was sitting right beside her, almost as though she was afraid to let Kathryn out of her sight. But Owen still hadn’t seemed to warm up to her at all. He sat facing away from her, leaning his chin on his arms that rested along the wagon’s edge, his eyes watching the land as they bounced along the dirt road.

  “It was nice to meet everyone. I hope I can remember everyone’s name the next time I see them. Especially all the children I met. I hope they’re all still as excited tomorrow as they seemed today.”

  Mrs. Hammond nodded and turned back to face forward beside her son. “Oh, it will take you some time to remember all the names. And every one of the children you met today was overcome with excitement for the chance to go to school tomorrow. You’re going to be busy, so we’ll let you have a chance to get settled in a bit, then you can come up to the house for supper. I have no doubt you’ll feel tired after all the traveling and excitement of the past few days.”

  Kathryn smiled warmly at the back of her head. Her flowery bonnet covered her head, but Kathryn could p
icture the tight bun her hair would be pulled into beneath it.

  Tonight would be her first night out in the small cabin next to the school, and though she was reluctant to admit it, she was nervous about being all alone out there.

  All her life, she’d had her family and servants around her, but now she’d be completely on her own. She knew the Hammonds were just across the field, but in the dark, she was sure it would seem like they were miles away.

  She gently shook her head, trying to get rid of the small fears that were threatening. Her aunt and uncle had let her stay with them last night, and she’d felt safe and comfortable. They’d tried to convince her to stay there, even if it was just for a little bit longer until she had a chance to settle into her new role.

  Her gaze moved to the back of Colt’s large brimmed hat as he drove the team of horses out of town. She swallowed hard as she remembered the smug look he’d had on his face when her aunt had tried to convince her to stay one more time as they were packing her few belongings into the wagon. For some reason, seeing the expression on his face had made Kathryn even more determined, when otherwise, she was sure she might have taken her aunt up on the offer.

  Now, there was no turning back without admitting to Colt Hammond, and everyone else, that she wasn’t cut out for living here on her own.

  She smiled down at the little girl who was now resting up against her and put her arm around her to pull her in close. Kathryn welcomed the warmth of the small body bouncing into her with every movement of the wagon. It was almost like she could take some courage from the fact that this child believed in her.

  Her eyes went across to the boy with his back to her. She wasn’t sure why he seemed so determined not to let himself get close, but she hoped over time he would accept her. She looked past him to the miles of open fields beyond the wagon. Some of them had just been worked, but she could already see sprouts of green popping through the dirt in the ones planted earlier. It was something she’d never been able to see in the city—the new ground having been plowed and prepared to allow the seed and new life to burst through.