Part 3:
Katie slammed around her bedroom, getting dressed for school. Her father had lectured her last night about being more respectful of Miss Blake. She wondered if her mother had seen the looks that Miss Blake and the mayor gave each other when they thought no one was looking. She wondered what her father would do if he knew she had seen him leaving Miss Beckie’s place more than once. Sometimes she hated her father. She didn’t say a word at breakfast. She didn’t look at either of her parents. She didn’t look at her little sister, Amanda, either. Katie walked slowly to school, holding Amanda’s hand and being careful of the mudholes. Her mother had worked hard to get the mud out of her dress the last time she hadn’t been careful. She hated making her mother do extra work.
Miss Blake was standing in the doorway of the schoolhouse. It was a big school, one the town was proud of. It was a double, actually. There was no wall between the rooms, at least not yet, but the desks faced opposite ways. So far, they had only been using one side, and it was overcrowded. Miss Blake hated having anyone challenge her authority. And she was especially hard on Katie. However, she was sugary sweet to Amanda. Katie sighed as Miss Blake rang the bell and then she trudged into the building.
In the middle of the morning math lesson, the door opened. Katie’s father and Mr. Goldberg came in with some of the other school board members, and Mr. Bass. Miss Blake looked up and smiled warmly at the men, her eyes lingering on the mayor a little too long for Katie’s liking. She breezed past her father, ignoring him completely, and joining Allie and Missy in the school yard. "I can not believe that woman!"
"Relax, Katie. She can’t do anything with the entire school board there. You know my father would never stand for it. He may own the saloon, but he’s a good man. Besides, my stepmother would kill her. She loves your mom like a sister."
"You’re right, Allie. I know that. I just can’t help it."
"Yeah, and you know I keep an eye on her when we’re not in school," Missy said. I can not believe my father can’t see her for what she is. She acts so wonderful."
"Your father believes everyone is good. He says so in almost every sermon he gives."
Justin didn’t leave Miss Beckie’s until mid morning. He stopped to check on Angel before he left. She was still asleep. He told Luke he’d come back before going out to the barn to get his horse and riding out of town. He passed the school house on his way. He was riding slowly through town and so had a chance to get a good look at the children. He smiled to himself. They were cute kids. He looked twice, then a third time, at the three girls huddled in the corner of the school yard, then shook his head and spurred Cookie on.
The stagecoach ride was bumpy. The train had arrived early, surprisingly enough, and he caught the first stage instead of the last. He’d had no sleep in nearly two days, unaccustomed to the noise of the train. He sighed and leaned back, trying to block out the squeaky wheel. He was the only passenger. He closed his eyes and finally fell into an exhausted sleep, jerking awake when the coach stopped. He stepped out and stared up at the hotel, wanting a bath and a bed. The driver threw his bags down and climbed back up to his seat before guiding the horses to the livery stable.
Angel woke slowly, blinking. She vaguely remembered Justin coming to see her the night before. She knew he had been the one to send her to bed, and she was pretty sure he had told everyone to leave her alone. She slid out of bed. It was time she told Miss Beckie the whole truth. She moved around her room, getting dressed and mentally preparing herself for this. She hadn’t told anyone the real reason she was here. Not even Justin, and she had always told him everything. But that was before it happened . . .
"Miss Blake, I’m very sorry to interrupt your day. We would like you to meet Mr. Bass. He is the new teacher the school board has hired. We know it has been difficult for you to teach so many children of such a broad age range. Now that Mr. Bass is here, it should get a little easier."
Miss Blake listened attentively to the mayor and smiled warmly at Mr. Bass. Lance watched her, noticing the way she was looking at the mayor. The other men didn’t notice anything amiss, but Lance had known Joshua Chasez long enough to realize something wasn’t quite right. He was coldly polite to her and felt immense relief when the school board took him to the other side of the school building, to his classroom. "We should be able to put in the wall this summer. There are funds, but with the way the weather is this time of year, we can not take the chance." Lance tried to listen to the preacher, but his mind kept wandering back to the mayor and Miss Blake. His anger grew steadily and he felt he needed to get home and talk to his sister.
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