Turning away from her, Paps bellowed a deeply spoken farewell to the store owner before looking back at the schoolteacher. “Sure you don’t need to buy anything at this here store afore I start the team a moving?”
She shook her head. “No, I had a chance yesterday to shop. The conference lasted only five days, so I had one free to explore Fort Bridger with Miss Grayson. Perhaps you’ve met her, the teacher in Glenda?”
Paps grunted and moved his head to indicate he hadn’t. Without another word, he clicked to his team of mules and tapped the leathers softly to their backs. Her week of vacation might be over, yet Grace didn’t care. She’d be glad to be home in Belle.
If she had looked over her shoulder at that moment, she might have been concerned. As it was, she stared straight ahead and spoke to Paps of the exciting ideas she’d learned that week. The old man might not be an educator, true. Still, he listened and nodded his head in the correct spots of the conversation.
Behind her, the store proprietor and a black-haired man stood on the boardwalk and watched the wagon leave. The man pointed in her direction and spoke with a trembling voice. Shock marked his expression. The store owner answered his questions, supplying the schoolteacher’s name and the town where she lived. He smiled over the idea that someone would be interested in a spinster teacher.
He didn’t understand that the other man had just seen a ghost.
On the thirty-mile trip to Belle, Grace asked about the happenings in the town over the last week. Paps rubbed his jaw and thought. “Suppose the buzz round town is mostly Martin’s accident. Too, everyone’s excited for the cake walk and dance this weekend. Folks enjoy winning things, even if it’s only someone’s lopsided cake.”
Paps shifted on the seat and angled his head to spit over the side of the wagon. Grace looked away and pretended not to see the man rid his mouth of the clump of tobacco. Once his mouth was free, he continued with the news from Belle.
“Heard tell that Hoyt Cole plans to get married. Other than that, the only happening I can recall was the latest story of Spencer Brannon. Can’t believe that boy thinks he can work a herd. Falls from his horse more than he rides the range.” Then the man began to retell the story of Spencer’s latest debacle.
Grace shook her head in response to Paps’ story. She felt sorry for the man who tried hard to live up to his cousins. She was glad for the fundraiser. The cake walk would be the perfect time to visit with parents and pupils alike. She liked to connect with each family before the start of a new term and appreciated not needing to rent a buggy to do that.
The freighter finished his tale and looked at her, surprised when she didn’t laugh. She smiled weakly at him, realizing she’d been lost in her thoughts and hadn’t listened. Apologizing, she encouraged him to tell her more about news from the outlying ranches around Belle. He grunted deep in his throat but started another story. Grace moved the warm air around her face with her beautifully painted fan and forced her mind to concentrate. She knew the man loved an audience for his stories and would continue to talk until they reached Belle. Concentrating became forced as she looked at the fan and remembered the man who gave it to her on the night that changed her life.
By the deep guffaws coming from Paps, she realized she’d missed his story. What a terrible companion for the man! She’d turned maudlin today, remembering that terrible time in her life. Perhaps she should get rid of the fan to forget about the man who presented it to her. A jolt of grief knifed through her at the thought of parting with this last connection to him.
Belle Creek lay just ahead of them. Beyond that, she saw the outline of buildings and knew they were almost home. Grace swallowed a sigh of relief, not wanting the kind livery owner to hear it. Paps had been kind to bring her from Fort Bridger. Still, fatigue and sentiment made her long to be alone.
Like a gentleman, he directed the mules to the schoolhouse and her small dwelling that connected to the back of it. The coziness of those two rooms drew her and she quickly thanked her driver and hurried into the rear of the school.
The one long room had been divided for the teacher. She entered into her combination kitchen and sitting room. To the far end stood a wall with a door placed into it. On the other side was her bedroom. It shared a wall with the large schoolroom. Truly, it was all the space she needed to be comfortable and allowed her privacy she wouldn’t have if she’d needed to board with various families as some teachers did.
That had been the way she’d lived in Missouri. At first, the school board had required her to move each month to stay with a different family. Since her aunt lived within the district, Grace had been able to convince them that she should simply live with her. By then Errol had started romancing her and she hoped to hide her romantic activities by not living with the nosy families. Months after Errol disappeared it became impossible to hide the result from anyone in the town.
Thinking about that result brought her aunt’s last letter to mind. She’d been full of complaints. The farm didn’t bring in enough income. She didn’t have a washing machine like
