Evelyn (Orlan Orphans Book 5) Read online

  Evelyn

  Orlan Orphans Book 5

  Kirsten Osbourne

  Contents

  Copyright

  Introduction

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also by Kirsten Osbourne

  Copyright © 2016 by Kirsten Osbourne

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Introduction

  Evelyn Sanders is a smart, confident woman, who is tired of the games boys play. She wants to marry, but she needs someone who will be honest with her and treat her like a lady. When one of her students misbehaves in class, and she meets with his father, she is unprepared for the feelings that spring to life for him, despite his seemingly uncaring attitude about his son’s misdeeds.

  Frank Keifer moved to Nowhere, Texas, to start a ranch and escape the unhappy memories of his ancestral home in Georgia. When his son acts up in school, he hatches a plan to make the pretty teacher’s assistant in town his son’s private tutor. Even he isn’t sure if he does it to get his son a quality education or to get to know the pretty lady. Will he be able to trust his heart enough to fall in love again? Or will he spend the rest of his life alone and sad?

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  Chapter 1

  Miss Whitten turned her back to the class to write out the assignment for the first readers’ class on the chalkboard, while Evelyn passed out the essays that had just been graded.

  Evelyn Sanders had been the teaching assistant in the school there in Nowhere, Texas, for several years. She loved her job, because she loved children, but more importantly, she liked to be in charge. Telling people what to do, and having them obey her orders, gave her a special kind of thrill she’d never admit to anyone.

  While she was passing back the papers, she caught Daniel Keifer putting a frog into Jane Jackson’s bonnet. Evelyn rushed in, removed the frog, and went to the backdoor of the schoolhouse to free it. “You’ll need to stay after school with me today, Daniel. Again.”

  Daniel Keifer was their “problem child.” He was always doing something he oughtn’t. Evelyn and Miss Whitten had spent hours trying to figure out the best way to motivate him to put his excess energy into his studies, instead of tormenting his classmates.

  “Yes, Miss Sanders,” Daniel replied, his voice belying the agreement of his words.

  Daniel and his father had moved to Nowhere just a few months before, and Evelyn knew the boy had no mother. What had happened to her was a mystery, but she was certain Miss Whitten would be finding out soon. She would have to go visit Daniel and his father to discuss the boy’s problems.

  Miss Whitten frowned at Evelyn. “What happened this time?” she whispered after Evelyn joined her at the front of the room.

  Evelyn whispered what she’d seen, and Miss Whitten gave a brief nod. “I guess I’m going to need to talk to his father.” Her voice made it plain just how much she did not want to have to talk to his father.

  “Yes, you are. Have you met him yet?”

  Miss Whitten shook her head. “He’s one of the few parents I haven’t met. I’ll send a note home with Daniel, asking when a good time for me to come by would be. Would you be willing to go with me? You know, half the women in town would have heart attacks if I went out to see him on my own.”

  “Of course, I will.” It was Evelyn’s least favorite part of the job, but she’d do it. She knew that Miss Whitten couldn’t very well go see a single father on her own.

  Two hours later, Daniel was sitting at his desk writing lines. “I will not torment the other students in class,” had been assigned to be written two-hundred times before the boy could leave. Evelyn found things to do around the classroom, doing some of their Friday afternoon cleaning, despite the fact it was only Thursday.

  An hour after school was over, the door of the building opened with a loud bang. “Where’s my son?”

  Evelyn looked up from the desk she was polishing to see a tall, handsome man in rancher’s garb enter the building. “Mr. Keifer?” she asked.

  “Yes. Why’s Daniel so late?”

  Evelyn frowned. “It’s nice to meet you, sir. I’m Evelyn Sanders, the teaching assistant here.”

  The man folded his arms across his chest and glared at her. “Why did you keep my boy after school?”

  Evelyn bit back the sharp retort she wanted to make. No, she’d have to keep calm to deal with this man. “He put a frog in the bonnet of a little girl during class today, so I had to keep him after class.”

  “You don’t know that it was him! It could have been the boy beside him.”

  “It could have, except for the fact I was passing out papers at the time and watched it happen. I assure you, Mr. Keifer, I’m well aware of what goes on in this classroom, and Daniel is not being accused of something he didn’t do.” She glared at the man, determined not to back down from his stare.

  Mr. Keifer frowned at his son. “Is that true? Did you put a frog in a girl’s bonnet?”

  For a moment Daniel looked between Evelyn and his father, looking as if he was trying to decide if he should lie. After a moment, he shrugged. “Yessir. She told me she wouldn’t kiss me if I was the last boy in Texas and richer than King Solomon.”

  “What are you doing trying to kiss girls anyway? You’re thirteen! You’ve got your whole life for kissing girls. Now you’re supposed to be learning, not kissing.”

  The boy shrugged. “She’s right pretty, and she makes eyes at me. I know she wants me to kiss her, and she acts like she does, but then she acts like she doesn’t. Makes me crazy.”

  Mr. Keifer’s eyes went back to Evelyn. “Why aren’t you watching out for things like this in your classroom? Shouldn’t the girls be kept away from the boys?”

  Evelyn blinked once, trying to determine if she’d heard correctly. “This is a one-room schoolhouse. How do you propose we keep the boys away from the girls?”

  “That’s your problem, not mine.” Mr. Keifer looked down at his son. “Come on. Time to go.”

  Evelyn walked around to see if he’d finished his lines. “How many have you written?”

  The boy dotted an I and passed her his papers. “Two hundred.”

  Evelyn looked over the papers and nodded. “You’re dismissed.” She looked at Mr. Keifer. “Miss Whitten and I will need to speak with you at your earliest convenience about Daniel’s behavior.” As much as she hated the prospect, she would do it, because it was her job.

  “Look, Miss whatever-you-said-your-name-was. It’s your job to keep the boy in line during school hours. Don’t come to me thinking I’m going to make your job easier, because I’m not.” With that, Mr. Keifer clamped a hand down on his son’s shoulder and strode from the room.

  Evelyn stared after him, furious. It wasn’t his job to ensure his son didn’t cause problems in their school? What was his job then?

  She gathered up her things and shut the door of the school behind her, heading across the street to the ice cream parlor. Two of her adopted sisters were going to meet her there, and she was anxious to tell them how awful her day had been.

  When she arrived, she saw both Penny and Gertie sitti
ng at a table off to one side of the room. She collapsed into a chair at their small table. “What a day!”

  Gertie looked at Evelyn with wide eyes. She was obviously surprised to see the unflappable Evelyn upset. “What happened?”

  “Daniel.” No other words needed to be spoken. Evelyn had complained about the boy so often at the supper table, they all knew who he was.

  “What did he do this time?” Penny asked sympathetically. She had only graduated a couple of years before and was now working in the mercantile, making shirts for area men. She had dreams of opening her own dress shop, but for the moment, she’d do the work that was there.

  Evelyn sighed. “I caught him putting a frog in Jane’s bonnet.”

  Gertie bit her lip to stifle a smile at that. “Jane’s a sweet girl. She comes by the library at least one afternoon per week.” Gertrude was the librarian for the small library there in Nowhere.

  “She’s wonderful and certainly doesn’t deserve frogs in her bonnet.” Evelyn sighed, wishing she could give the boy’s father a piece of her mind. “Of course, it’s quite obvious where he learned to act the way he does.”

  “Is that so?” a deep voice asked.

  Evelyn closed her eyes for a moment, bracing herself for the verbal storm she knew was coming. She knew better than to talk about one of her students. “It is so.” Evelyn got to her feet, more than ready to go toe-to-toe with the volatile man.

  “I’ll have you know I don’t put frogs in girl’s bonnets,” Mr. Keifer said, his eyes twinkling.

  Evelyn crossed her arms over her chest and glared. “How dare you make a joke out of your boy’s bad behavior! If I had a boy who acted the way he does, I’d be too embarrassed to show my face in public, and you stand there laughing about it!”

  “It’s not like he killed someone or burned down the schoolhouse. He was having fun. He’s a boy, and that’s what boys do.”

  Evelyn looked around for the boy in question. “Where is he? Out tormenting more innocent girls?”

  “He’s waiting in the wagon.”

  “I see.” She didn’t, though. Why would a father leave his son in the wagon while he ate ice cream?

  “I saw you come in here, so I followed. I thought about what you said, and I think you should come by on Friday night to talk about Daniel’s behavior. I’ll make sure I have food on hand for you to cook for us.” He tipped his cowboy hat as he headed toward the door.

  Evelyn chased after him, furious at his words. “You can’t expect me to come to your house and cook your meal!”

  “That’s exactly what I expect. If you want my attention, you’ll have to make sure I’m fed first. Good day to you.” He strode out of the ice cream parlor while Evelyn stood sputtering after him. Why the man needed discipline even as much as his son did. Someone needed to take a switch to both of them!

  Evelyn turned back to her sisters, her face red with anger. As she walked back toward the table, a man caught her arm. “Are you sure you won’t go out with me, Evie?”

  Evelyn wrenched her arm free of the young man’s grasp. “Abner, I told you last time you asked that I’m not interested in a man who plays childish games.”

  Abner was known to take out a different girl every night, and that wasn’t what Evelyn was looking for at all. She wanted—no she needed, a man who would treat her like a lady. One who was looking for a real relationship. She was not going to have her head turned by an immature child, like Abner.

  He smiled the grin that had won him the hearts of half of the girls in town. “Oh, come on, Evie. I’m not playing any games. You’re the only one I love.”

  She shook her head. “I know better. Go back to your other young ladies and leave me alone. I’m not afraid to tell Cletus about you!”

  Abner took a step back, the fear on his face palpable. Cletus Sanders was not a man to be reckoned with. Sure, he was crazy as a loon for marrying Edna Petunia, but he was also the richest man in town. And now that he had his law degree, it was known all over town that he planned to make a bid for judge with the next election. No, Abner didn’t dare face the man.

  Evelyn saw that her words had worked, and she rushed back to rejoin her sisters. Penny held up a glass dish filled with ice cream. “I got you some ice cream.”

  Evelyn gladly took the frozen treat. “Thank you. Maybe some sugar will make me feel better about having to deal with that man tomorrow night.”

  Gertie grinned. “Are you really going to cook for them? I’d love to see that!”

  “It’s not like I don’t know how to cook,” Evelyn protested.

  “Of course you know how to cook,” Gertie responded. “It’s taking orders you don’t know how to do! And that man isn’t going to take no for an answer.” She looked positively elated at the idea of her sister fighting with the man.

  “No, I don’t suppose he is going to take no for an answer, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to do whatever he wants, just because he wants me to.” Evelyn shook her head. “If he wants a cook or a maid, then he can hire one. I’m not his servant.”

  Penny and Gertie exchanged looks. “No, you’re not anyone’s servant,” Penny assured her. “But that boy probably hasn’t had a home cooked meal in months. I wonder what happened to his mother…”

  Evelyn groaned. Her sisters knew her well. “Fine. I’ll fix a meal for them, but just one! I’m not going to let the man manipulate me again.”

  “Of course you won’t, Evelyn. You’re not the type to be manipulated easily. Why, you must be the only young woman who has ever been able to resist Abner’s charms.”

  Evelyn rolled her eyes. “Abner’s not worth the time it takes to reject him.”

  Penny stifled a giggle as a girl at the next table glared at Evelyn. “I don’t think Annie Petrowich agrees with you!”

  “Annie Petrowich thinks the most important thing in the world is making sure you’re wearing your white gloves when you leave your house in the mornings. Does she realize we live in Texas? It was over eighty degrees out there today, and she was in her gloves. No, I’m not really all that worried about whether or not Annie Petrowich likes my opinion of Abner.”

  Annie glared at Evelyn again. “You don’t know when to stop talking, do you, Evelyn?”

  Evelyn shrugged, not caring about Annie’s opinion. The girl had been a pain in her backside since she had first set foot in Nowhere. “I guess I don’t.”

  Annie said nothing more, just continuing to glare at Evelyn. Finally, the three sisters finished eating and left, starting their walk home.

  “I wish Cletus would let us have an automobile,” Evelyn remarked as they walked. “I would love to learn to drive one.”

  Penny giggled at the thought. “I could just see you with a scarf tied around your neck as you drove about town, almost knocking over would-be suitors.”

  “I wouldn’t run over suitors!” Evelyn protested.

  “Not if they were acceptable to you!” Penny agreed.

  Evelyn knew her sister was right. She was too picky by far. She’d already declined four marriage proposals and far more suitors. It was a good thing Cletus was so good to them about the men they would marry. He said they could marry for love or live out the rest of their days under his roof. He didn’t mind either way.

  Evelyn had a feeling she’d always live in the Sanders’s house. It was a lonely thought, but what else could she do? There just wasn’t a man out there who was man enough for her.

  If a fellow was interested in her heart, he would need to take it like a man.

  Chapter 2

  When they walked in the front door a while later, Edna Petunia was in the kitchen, cooking for her large family. Evelyn and eleven other girls lived in the huge house with Cletus and Edna Petunia.

  Evelyn walked into the kitchen and put on her apron. The girls took turns helping with supper, and it was her night. Again. It felt like it had just been her night the day before.

  “What’s troubling you?” Edna Petunia asked after a brief gla
nce at Evelyn’s face.

  Evelyn sighed. “Daniel Keifer. Again. I swear that boy is going to put me in an asylum someday!”

  Edna patted Evelyn’s shoulder before moving back to the chicken she was rolling in flour to prepare it to fry. “What did he do this time?”

  Evelyn briefly related the story as well as Mr. Keifer’s reaction to it. “And now he expects me to cook dinner for his family tomorrow. Do you believe?”

  “Sounds like he has his eye on you.”

  “There’s no way. No man interested in me would act that way!”

  “Just because you’re used to men falling at your feet and begging for your hand, doesn’t mean they all will.” Edna Petunia glanced over her shoulder at her adopted daughter.

  Evelyn refused to respond to that. She glared at Edna instead.

  “We’ll bake a cake together after supper for you to take with you, and you can cook whatever he has on hand when you get there. Do you want to take one of your sisters with you as a chaperone?”

  Evelyn shook her head. “No, Margaret will go with me.”

  “Margaret Whitten will be the perfect person to have in your corner. Don’t let him intimidate you.”

  “Intimidate me? Why would I ever let a man do that?” Evelyn breezed out of the kitchen to set the table, thinking on Edna Petunia’s words. No, he wasn’t going to intimidate her one bit.

  After supper, Evelyn joined Edna Petunia and Cletus in the formal parlor, sitting with some math pages she’d agreed to grade.

  “I don’t know that I have the ability to behave well enough to be a judge’s wife, Cletus,” Edna Petunia said, her knitting needles clicking away as she sat snuggled up to Cletus. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”

  Cletus wrapped his arm around Edna Petunia’s shoulders. “I’m sure. We need a fair judge in this town. It’ll be easier to watch out for my girls.” His glance moved across the room, landing on Evelyn. “Any men in your life?”