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  Julia nodded, not wanting to argue with the common thoughts about educating boys. She knew she wouldn't win anyway. "I see you're already sitting divided into classes. I'll write the assignments on the board for you to study for everyone but the first reader group, and I'll work with them at my desk. Everyone else, please work quietly." She found she was much less nervous than she expected to be now that the time was at hand for her to actually teach. The students sat before her with their hands folded, and they began work immediately. Someone had trained them very well to pay attention and do what they were told during class.

  The day progressed very well for Julia. The children were well-behaved, and the day moved quickly. At lunch time, several of the older girls asked if they may stay inside so they could work on the knitting and crocheting they'd brought with them. Julia granted them permission and watched them as she ate her lunch, wishing she was allowed to sit with them. She was only eighteen, and at least two of her students were within a year or two of her age. She couldn't become too friendly with them, though, because she couldn't risk forming a close friendship with a student and losing her authority.

  At the end of the day, as she watched her students leave, Julia felt slightly let down. She'd loved the work, but she had hoped she would change the world of at least one of her students. She knew that this group had been trained well by former teachers and none of them really needed their world changed.

  She dismissed the students at four and quickly swept the classroom, making certain everything was clean and ready for the next day. She had just finished up and was closing the windows when she spotted Tom driving up. She took her bonnet from the hook behind her desk and carefully tied it under her chin. It wouldn't be good for her to seem unkempt around town while she was the schoolteacher.

  Chapter Five

  "How's the teacher today?" Tom asked after helping her into the wagon. As much as he hated that she was away all day, he was proud of her for what she did.

  She sighed. "It was a good day. I'm exhausted, but I think everything went well. All the students were very well behaved."

  "You sound like that's a bad thing." He looked at her questioningly as he sat down and took the reins. "Did something bad happen?"

  Julia shook her head. "Nothing bad happened at all." She knew her voice sounded disappointed, but she wasn't sure how to stop it from sounding that way.

  "And that makes you sad?"

  "I was hoping that my first day would be going into class and finding out that all of my students desperately needed me to change their lives. I wanted one of them to have trouble learning or have trouble at home where they needed me. Instead, I have a classroom full of well-behaved students who are right where they should be educationally. The only real problem is that the older boys aren't there, but that's nothing unusual. It wasn't like that in my school, but it's normal in rural areas from what I understand."

  He laughed softly. "You realize you're upset because there were no problems, right?"

  She shrugged. "I wanted to change the world with my teaching, or if not the entire world at least one child's world."

  He squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry it wasn't what you expected it to be."

  "It's all right. I won't be doing it for very long anyway. At least I was able to do some teaching." She hated to admit that she was disappointed in her day, but she really was. She didn't know why she wanted to have troubled students, but that's what she'd always imagined she'd be facing. Now she would just have to get used to the fact that she wouldn't have her well-behaved students for long.

  *****

  When Julia left the school on the Friday of her second week as a teacher, she drove the buggy past the stagecoach. As the stage pulled away, there was a young woman standing looking around bewilderedly, obviously searching for something. She could see the other woman had tears in her eyes so she pulled over and asked, "Are you here to meet someone?"

  The girl nodded. "I'm here to meet my fiancé, Tom Harding. He was supposed to be waiting for me."

  Julia felt her heart fall into her stomach. She knew there was only one thing she could do, so she did it immediately. "Come with me. We'll talk." She waited as the other woman threw her bags into the back of the buggy, and grabbing a handhold, climbed up to join her. "My name is Julia."

  "I'm Anna Simmons." Her voice was soft, and she looked so sweet sitting there beside her, making Julia wish that Tom could have had her for his wife. He deserved someone soft spoken and sweet, unlike her.

  "I was Julia Simmons until two weeks ago. I'm going to tell you a funny story." At Anna's nod, Julia told the story of her arriving and Tom confirming she was 'Miss Simmons.' She told her how she kept trying to protest, but how Tom had just kissed her every time. "And that's how I ended up married to your fiancé."

  Anna made a face. "I can certainly understand how that could have happened. I told him I was certain that once I arrived, I would just try to run back home, so he must have just kept kissing you to keep you from running away." She shrugged. "I'm not upset, because he was a stranger to me, but I don't know what I'm supposed to do now."

  Julia smiled at the other woman. "Well, I think there's only one answer. You go home with me." They had a spare room she could put her in, and Anna could work to decide what to do from there. They could use her first month's wages to send her back to Massachusetts if they needed to.

  "So what's Tom like?" Anna asked, her face devoid of expression.

  Julia grinned. "He's a wonderful husband to me. I honestly couldn't ask for a better man. I'm still teaching until another teacher can be found, and he's been very supportive of me throughout it all."

  "Will he mind that you're bringing me home with you?" Anna looked nervous at the idea.

  Julia shook her head. "No, of course not. He'll understand that he's the one who stranded you by marrying me, so it's our responsibility to help you. We have a spare room that you can use until you decide what you want to do."

  Anna bit her lip. "I guess I really have nowhere to go, do I?"

  "We would buy you a ticket back home if you need us to, or there are plenty of unmarried men around. You could stay with us until you found one you were interested in marrying. Or you don't happen to be a certified teacher do you?"

  Anna looked at her in surprise. "I was a teacher before I left home. Why? Does this town need a teacher now?"

  Julia looked at Anna with surprise. Hadn't she listened to anything she'd said? "They don't allow married women to teach here, so I'm just working until they find someone to replace me. If you wanted to teach, you would have a place to stay, because there was a family in town who had agreed to let me board there."

  Anna nodded, obviously thinking about it. "Could you introduce me to the school board at church on Sunday? If you don't mind that is."

  "Oh, I don't mind at all. Mr. Hanson will be pleased to have someone interested in the post, because he's very eager to get rid of me." Julia shrugged. "He really has a problem with a married woman teaching, but I'm not certain why. I've never really understood why a married woman can't be as good of a teacher as an unmarried woman. I'd think a married woman would be more focused on the students and not thinking nearly as much about who she's going to marry."

  "I'm not certain I understand the reasoning either, but I do know it's a rule in most places." Anna looked out the window. "How far is it to the ranch?"

  "We're almost there. Tom doesn't know you're coming, so be prepared for him to be surprised. He never got your telegram, you know. It went to Mr. Hanson, because you just used initials, and Tom and Mr. Hanson have the same initials."

  "I guess I did everything wrong, didn't I? If I'd gotten on that train the day I was supposed to instead of being too afraid to leave town, none of this ever would have happened."

  "Oh, is that why you were late?" Julia parked in front of the ranch house, and carefully stepped down. She picked up her books and lunch pail to carry inside. "If you want to leave your bags, Tom will happily ta
ke them in for you when he unhitches the horse." She patted the horse's neck as she walked toward the house.

  Julia hurried inside and immediately went to the kitchen. She hadn't yet started supper, and now she had three mouths to feed instead of two. When she turned, she saw that Anna had donned her apron and had set her bags on the floor beside the table. Julia smiled. "You don't have to help with supper. Your room is at the top of the stairs. Go ahead and get comfortable."

  "Oh, I love to cook," Anna protested. "What are you fixing?"

  Julia shrugged. "I think I'm just going to make stew with some salt pork, and maybe some biscuits to go with it."

  "I'll make the biscuits," Anna offered.

  As Julia worked, she kept half an eye on the other woman, immediately feeling inadequate. She had to measure out everything that she put into biscuits while Anna was just taking a handful of one thing and throwing in a little bit of something else. How had she become such a good cook? "Did you cook a lot for your family?"

  Anna shook her head. "I was an orphan, raised in the orphanage in Beckham, Massachusetts. I helped in the kitchen there a great deal. When I was too old to stay any longer, I became a teacher, but I really didn't enjoy it, so I decided to become a mail order bride." She looked down at her hands which were covered with flour. "I should have fulfilled my obligations and just come instead of deciding to wait longer."

  Julia frowned. "Honestly? I'm glad you waited. I never would have married Tom if you hadn't, and I'm very happy with him."

  Tom opened the door then and stopped short. He walked to Julia and pressed a kiss to her cheek, giving her a confused glance.

  "Tom, this is Anna Simmons. I found her standing in the street as the stagecoach drove off. Didn't you send her a telegram?"

  Tom shook his head. "I'm so sorry. I plum forgot about it. I should have sent it two weeks ago."

  Anna smiled, her eyes not meeting his. "It's all right. I understand that mistakes happen."

  Tom frowned. She wouldn't even look at him. She was a pretty girl, but she was nothing compared to his Julia. Julia had flame red hair that made her stand out in a crowd, while Anna's was brown. He'd done much better than the little mousy girl that looked to be afraid of her own shadow. "Where are you going to stay while you're in town?" he asked.

  Anna looked at Julia, her eyes begging the other woman to answer for her.

  Julia smiled at Anna kindly. "She's going to stay with us until she decides what she's going to do. She's trying to decide if she wants to find a husband here, stay in town to teach, or head back to Massachusetts. I told her if she wants to go home that we'll pay for the ticket."

  Tom wanted to argue that it wasn't his responsibility to pay for her ticket back to Massachusetts, but he really felt as if it was. He shouldn't have married Julia after she had told him her name, but he had given her no choice. He'd ruined the lives of both women by not listening, but he would do everything he could to make up for it.

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  A Chance to Love Again

  By: Callie Hutton

  An Oklahoma Lover Series novella

  To Mason and Carson. Grandma loves you.

  Acknowledgements

  My very dear friend and editor, Char Chaffin, makes all my messy words come together. Thank you muchly.

  My personal assistant, Maria, does all the tedious, annoying things for me that allows me time to write. Thanks so much for your help. You are truly a godsend.

  My husband, Doug is my biggest champion and supporter. Who would have thought after thirty-eight years we could still make each other laugh?

  Thanks to all the hardy souls who settled Oklahoma, and through sweat and toil, made it the wonderful state that it is today.

  Chapter One

  Guthrie, Oklahoma

  June, 1906

  The brown-haired young boy rounded the corner, smacking his arm on a counter, bouncing off the display. With a yelp, he crashed into Rusty McIntyre. “Oomph.”

  Rusty was shoved back into another counter filled with thread. Dozens of spools crashed to the ground, rolling in every direction. He straightened up and glared at the child who had finally come to a halt. “What’re you doing, boy? You can’t run around like that in a store. Where’s your mama?”

  “Um, she’s—”

  “Never mind, just get down on your knees and pick up all these threads.” Rusty knelt and started to gather them up. The boy hesitated for a moment, then joined Rusty on the floor, scooping up threads, then dropping them just as quickly.

  Rusty leaned back on his heels and used a fistful of thread to push back the brim of his hat. “I’ll get these.” He waved in the direction of the shelves stacked with canned goods. “You go fetch the ones that rolled over there.”

  The boy scooted away just as a woman hurried up the aisle. “Will, what in heaven’s name have you done?”

  “Nothing, Mama. I was just going to look at the candy barrel.”

  Rusty stood, his hands full of thread. He deposited his load onto the counter and fixed the woman with a stare. “Is that your boy?” He nodded in the direction of the kid trying to hang onto the spools.

  At the tone of his voice, the woman’s face went from anxious to surprised in a split second. She straightened her shoulders and offered him a cool glance. “Yes. That is my son.”

  Rusty rested his hands on his hips. “Ma’am, I don’t mean to criticize, but you need to take better notice of what your boy is doing.”

  “Indeed?” Her eyebrows rose to her hairline.

  “He came barreling around that corner like his feet were on fire. Crashed into me, which caused this entire counter of thread to land on the floor.”

  The woman turned to the boy. “Will, please apologize to the—gentleman.”

  Rusty almost grinned at her hesitation to call him a ‘gentleman.’

  The kid hung his head. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not me you have to apologize to, young man. You have to go on up there to the front of this store and tell that woman behind the counter that you’re sorry. Then you need to fix up the display that you—”

  “Wait just a damn minute!”

  Rusty jerked and glanced from the boy to the woman. She was so red in the face, he wouldn’t be surprised if her cheeks caught fire. Her eyes snapped, and she worked her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but was too agitated to get it out.

  “How dare you presume to tell my son what the proper thing is for him to do!”

  She surprised the hell out of him by poking him in the chest. Not once, or twice, but several times until he had backed up and was pressed against the counter with the thread all piled in the jumble in the middle.

  Despite her agitation, he couldn’t help but notice her smooth skin, dark blond hair and crystal blue eyes. And when she’d come racing down the aisle after her child, he’d taken in her curves. Yep, a fine-looking woman.

  “He is my child, and I am perfectly capable of instructing him on proper behavior.”

  Rusty leaned in toward the woman. “If that’s so, then this disaster would have been avoided.”

  “Oh, how dare you! Have you never been a child, anxious to get somewhere? Or were you born old and crotchety?”

  “Old?” He narrowed his eyes at her.

  “Yes. Old. You are a grouchy old man.”

  The blood rushed to his face at the audacity of this incompetent mother defending her recalcitrant child by calling him names. “Ma’am, I hate to add to the misery you already have by being saddled with this unruly child—”

  “How dare you!”

  “—but you are addled, and I am not old.”

  “It doesn’t matter. You are grouchy, and mean to children.”

  “Mean?”

  The boy had been watching them go back and forth, his eyes wide. Finally, he walked up to his mother and tugged on her hand. “Ma, can we go home now?”

  She took the boy’s hand
as all the air seemed to go out of her body, and looked down at the kid. “Yes, Will. We’ll go home now. But first we must straighten up this counter so Mrs. Wells doesn’t have extra work to do at the end of the day.”

  He nodded.

  “And, I’ve told you many times not to run in stores, haven’t I?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  The woman turned to Rusty and looked down her nose. “Is there something I can help you with, sir?”

  He almost laughed at her dismissal, but instead, tugged on the brim of his hat. “No, ma’am. Have a pleasant day.” With lengthy strides he left the store.

  ***

  Rachel Stevens glared after the man. Of all the nosy, mean-spirited, rude people she had ever encountered in her entire life, that—that man was by far the absolute worst. How dare he chastise Will? She was a good mother. A very good mother, and he had no right to insinuate anything different.

  “Ma, you’re crushing my hand.”

  “Oh, sorry.” She released Will’s hand and began to sort out the threads. “Go on over there and check the floor to make sure we have all the threads.”

  After about fifteen minutes of sorting and straightening the counter, she chose the last few items on her list and brought them to Mrs. Wells to add up her bill.

  “What was that all about?” Mrs. Wells nodded toward the back of the store as she tied a string around the fabric Rachel selected for a new dress.

  “Oh, nothing, really. Will was disobedient and dashed around the corner and knocked into a grouchy man who took it upon himself to chastise my child.”

  “Never saw that one around here before.”

  “And I hope to never see him again.”

  “Good looking, though.”

  “Huh. I didn’t even notice. I was too angry to notice anything.” The lie rolled easily off her tongue. He was a good looking man. The sunlight through the store window had highlighted the red streaks in his brown hair. He obviously worked for a living, with the way his shirt stretched across his muscular chest. His eyes were a shade of green she’d never seen before. But that wasn’t important. She had no need for a man.