Katie Read online

  Jacob leaned in closer, absorbed in Katie’s story. “What?”

  “It’s been wonderful for us! We are all very good friends with each other and now many of my sisters are married. They have husbands and children and in-laws of their own, and now we’re one huge family. I love it!” Katie continued.

  “What does that have to do with me?” Jacob asked crossly.

  “I think that you’re lucky to have such good friendships with the other boys,” Katie explained. “I think you should try to stay near them instead of running away. Does that make sense?”

  Jacob nodded slowly. “I guess so. But...”

  “But you wish Mr. Cavett would stay here, too?” Katie guessed.

  Jacob nodded again, more emphatically this time. “Hm. I wonder...”

  “You wonder, what?” Katie asked, a little nervous. In her experience, any time Jacob had an idea, usually mischief was involved.

  “You said he had a job to get back to in New York. Do you think we could convince Headmaster Cavett to stay if we found him a job here in Nowhere?” Jacob asked.

  Katie sighed. “Oh, Jacob. I don’t know if that would work. After all, we already have a school in Nowhere, and Miss Carroll is the teacher. We don’t need a Headmaster.”

  “He could do other jobs! He’s very smart!” Jacob protested.

  Katie fought back laughter. “Jacob, it’s very sweet of you to want to help. But I’m afraid the decision is up to Mr. Cavett. Come on. Why don’t we go inside? You can talk with him if you’d like.”

  Again, Jacob shook his head stubbornly. “I don’t want to. I think I want to be by myself.”

  Freddy let out another loud ribbit.

  “Oh, and Freddy, of course,” Jacob quickly added.

  Katie nodded. “All right. Don’t stay out here too long. And please behave yourself. You don’t want to lose privileges before the Christmas service, do you?”

  “Yes, ma’am!” Jacob agreed.

  Katie ruffled his hair one more time, then stood up and walked back inside the church. She saw Aaron sorting through piles of paperwork at his desk.

  Katie wondered if she should say something about what Jacob had told her. Ordinarily, she would have wanted to warn Aaron that one of his pupils was so upset. But she didn’t particularly feel like talking to him. Like Jacob, Katie was hurt, too.

  Meanwhile, outside, Jacob was hatching a plan to convince Aaron to stay in Nowhere with the orphans. He recruited Jonah, Callum, and the other boys to help him.

  Callum looked at the other boys nervously. “Does Miss Sanders know about this plan?”

  Jacob hesitated for a moment, then flashed a broad smile. “Yes, she does! She thinks it’s a great idea,” Jacob lied. He knew that Katie had said no such thing, but they didn’t have much time left. Christmas was only a few days away, and Headmaster Cavett would soon journey to New York, leaving them behind in Texas forever. It wasn’t right, and Jacob was going to put a stop to it.

  “We just need some thread, some zippers, and a little tacky...” Jacob explained. The boys hung on to his every word. Although he was one of the youngest and smallest, he was also one of the leaders of the group, never hesitant to come up with a bold plan. When Jacob talked, the others listened. And Jacob had a lot to say.

  Inside the church, Aaron watched as Katie Sanders gathered her things and prepared to leave. He wanted to go to her and find out how she was doing and if she needed any help getting ready for the Christmas service. He knew that she was working with the boys on something musical, but he didn’t know any of the details. It seemed to occupy the boys, which was very helpful for him as he tried to make arrangements for their permanent home placements.

  Things seemed to be coming together, even though the situation wasn’t as nicely wrapped up as he would have hoped. Lazarus Ballinger had said there was a job waiting for him, but it wouldn’t wait long. Aaron knew that if he didn’t return at once, Lazarus would find a different headmaster to take his place. He had seen many fine young men fired for not perfectly complying with Lazarus’s orders.

  As he often did, Aaron wished for the days when Lazarus’s father, Robert, had run the business. Robert was an intelligent, caring, and patient man who was always generous with his employees. He had high expectations, but he also understood when they were ill or had to care for family members. He had taught Aaron the importance of holding the boys to rigorous standards. Aaron knew he wouldn’t be half the teacher or man he was without the influence of Robert in his life. In a way, Robert was the father he had never had.

  That was why it stung even harder that Lazarus was such a miserable employer. He had none of his father’s good traits with the same high expectations for his staff. Aaron sometimes wished he could quit and start his own school, but he didn’t have the funds for that. As an orphan, he had no savings to speak of. Now, his meager salary from Lazarus provided a place to sleep, food on the table, and little else. Aaron didn’t complain, though; he knew there were others throughout the country who had it far worse.

  But sometimes, he liked to daydream about buying the company and firing Lazarus. Aaron laughed at the thought.

  Sarah Jane caught Aaron chuckling and walked up to him. “It’s good to see you smiling. I haven’t seen you laugh in a while. How are you?”

  Aaron grinned. “Thank you, Sarah Jane. I was just having a ridiculous fantasy. Nothing that will ever come true, that’s for sure.”

  “Well, whatever makes you smile. I’m about to turn in for the night. Did you need anything?” Sarah Jane asked. She liked to visit the orphans and Aaron in the evenings to see if they needed any extra blankets, pillows, tea, or water.

  “Thank you, Sarah Jane. We’re fine. But we appreciate your and your family’s hospitality,” Aaron said gratefully.

  Sarah Jane nodded. “It’s no trouble. We help when we’re able.”

  “Good night, Sarah Jane.” Aaron picked up another piece of paper and stared at it.

  “Good night!” Sarah Jane left Aaron to his paperwork and went back to her family’s living quarters. She hadn’t heard a peep from Katie about her relationship with Aaron in a few days’ time. Moreover, Katie wasn’t her normal, cheerful self. Sarah Jane made a note to herself to ask Katie if anything was wrong. All of the other Sanders girls had found happiness and joy from finding her true love. Sarah Jane was determined to make sure Katie did, too.

  Chapter Eight

  The day before the Christmas celebration, Aaron rose earlier than usual to pack his belongings. He had arranged a ride to Austin in the middle of the night, only a few hours after Micah’s Christmas service. Aaron wanted to make sure he was prepared even if the festivities were distracting.

  He walked to the small closet where he had stored his belongings and pulled down his trunk. He pressed the latch to open it, but it seemed to be stuck. Aaron frowned and tugged a little harder, but the trunk wouldn’t open. Frustrated, he took a deep breath and stood up a little straighter, knelt down, and tried again.

  Aaron looked around for something he could use to pry the trunk open. He didn’t understand. The trunk had never given him trouble before. He creeped out to his makeshift office, still in his night clothes, and grabbed a letter opener. The church was silent. Aaron checked to make sure all fifteen boys were sleeping in their assigned spots in the pews. He liked to make sure none of them had run off in the middle of the night or done some other crazy thing. He knew his charges meant well, but they were growing boys and had to be constantly monitored.

  The thought made him worry about who would keep an eye on them after he returned to New York. He clutched his stomach as he imagined it. Thinking too much about the boys without his influence often gave him a feeling of unease. Aaron tried to remind himself that they were no longer his charges. He would be making a fresh start at a new school, and the boys would end up with good families in Nowhere. Even though he’d had trouble, from what he’d seen of the small town, the people would rise to the occasion and help
out the boys, knowing they were truly in need. Still, he didn’t like to think of it.

  Aaron used the letter opener as leverage to pry open the trunk.

  “What in the...?” Aaron looked at his belongings in confusion. Tacky covered the inside latch of the suitcase, explaining why it hadn’t opened during his earlier attempts. He hadn’t brought any tacky with him. How had it ended up in his trunk?

  Aaron shook his head in disgust. He didn’t have time for this nonsense. It would be a full day of work, sorting out all of his paperwork and arrangements for the boys, preparing the boys for proper behavior at the Christmas service, and ensuring he was ready for the journey to New York. The following day sounded like a busy one from his conversations with Sarah Jane and Micah. In addition to the Christmas service, there would be some type of Christmas dinner.

  Aaron shuddered as he remembered some of the boys’ manners at the last formal dinner they had attended in New York. He hoped he would have enough time to review basic etiquette with them before the following day. Aaron sighed. There was so much to be done. He finished cleaning the tacky from his suitcase and noted happily that none of his belongings had been ruined. He was still confused at how the tacky had ended up there in the first place, but he had to move on.

  Aaron gathered all of his clothes except for a suit he would wear that day and another he would wear for Christmas. He folded them and placed them neatly in the trunk. When he had finished, he pulled on his suit, socks, and shoes. As he bent down to lace them, he realized that the shoes had been tied together with knotted string.

  Suddenly, Aaron was suspicious. First, his trunk had contained tacky. Now his shoes had been tied together. He groaned. How could he have missed it? The childish prank could only have been committed by one student.

  Aaron marched out to the church, still in his tied-together shoes. He didn’t care about waking the boys anymore. He shuffled to the pew where Jacob was sleeping. “Jacob, wake up!” Aaron hissed.

  “Cherries and plums,” Jacob murmured pleasantly, still sleeping.

  “Right this instant!” Aaron cried, his face growing red with frustration.

  “Delicious!” Jacob smacked his lips. “What a Christmas treat!”

  “There will be no Christmas if you don’t wake up!” Aaron shouted. At this, many of the orphans sat up, rubbing their eyes and looking around in alarm.

  “No Christmas?” Callum asked sadly.

  “Who did this?” Aaron asked, pointing at his shoes.

  “I can’t see what you’re talking about,” Jonah pointed out.

  Aaron tried to step toward the front of the church, but he tripped over the tied-together laces and fell to the ground. The sound finally woke Jacob. He bounced up and raced over to Aaron, helping him up. Jacob bent down to untie the laces. Aaron stood up tall, smoothing out the wrinkles in his shirt, and cleared his throat. “Someone needs to take responsibility for this at once, or I’ll be forced to cancel your participation in the Christmas service.”

  Jacob stepped forward right away. “Please, sir, it was all my idea! Don’t punish the other boys. It was my fault.” Jacob hung his head. “I understand if you say I can’t sing tomorrow.”

  Aaron felt an unexpected lump in his throat. He was touched that Jacob had come forward right away and admitted his wrongdoing, and also that he hadn’t wanted his friends to take the blame for his antics. Then he remembered the damage the boy had done to his suitcase and how he’d tripped. His face grew concerned. “Let’s discuss that privately, Jacob. Everyone else, back to bed. You’ll need your rest.”

  Jonah shook his head in confusion. He respected Headmaster Cavett, but the man had been acting very strangely for the past several days. Jonah suspected that Cavett would miss the orphans when he returned to New York. The man would never admit it, but Jonah knew it was true. Jonah sighed and made himself comfortable on the pew. As one of the oldest boys, he knew he didn’t have much chance of finding a permanent home. If there was any way that Cavett could pull off a Christmas miracle and find him one, Jonah would be eternally grateful. But that seemed to have little chance of happening, so for now, he would enjoy some sleep and be grateful that he had a roof over his head.

  Aaron walked Jacob outside where they could speak freely. “Jacob, I could have been hurt, and my property could have been damaged. What you did has consequences.” He shook his head. His anger had disappeared and was now replaced with an ache. He was going to miss the little ball of energy. And right now, Jacob seemed devastated. It was impossible to be mad at someone who looked like that miserable. Aaron softened his tone. “What’s going on, Jacob?”

  Jacob buried his face in his hands. “I’m so embarrassed, Headmaster. I’m sorry for my actions.”

  Aaron was at a loss. “Why would you do something like that to me?”

  Jacob shrugged and looked up at Aaron, his eyes shining with tears. “I didn’t want you to leave.”

  Aaron exhaled. He hadn’t expected that. “I see. But you can’t do things that could hurt other people. Do you understand that? I could have tripped and gotten hurt!”

  Jacob nodded solemnly. “Yes, sir. I’m very sorry. It won’t happen again. Especially because you’re leaving.”

  Aaron fought the urge to laugh. He sat down, patting the ground for Jacob to have a seat next to him. Jacob joined him. “I’ve tried to teach you so many things. My biggest concern is that after I leave, no one will be here to keep you in line.”

  Jacob shook his head. “No, sir. That won’t happen because you’ve taught us very well. We remember everything!”

  Jacob seemed so eager to please that Aaron smiled. “Thank you, Jacob. But I’ll always worry about you.”

  “Then don’t leave,” Jacob pleaded. “We would all be so happy if you decided to stay. We don’t want to have another teacher. We only want you!”

  Aaron sighed. “Part of being an adult means doing things that you don’t necessarily want to do. You’ll understand one day. My job is in New York city, and my boss told me I need to go back there. So that's what I’m going to do.”

  “Oh.” Jacob’s face fell. He looked down at the ground and picked up a stick. He used it to push around some dirt.

  “That’s enough serious talk for now. Let’s enjoy today. Tomorrow will be very busy,” Aaron said. “Up!” He leapt to his feet and offered Jacob a hand.

  Jacob grinned. “Okay. What lesson are we starting with first?”

  Aaron paused before he answered. “Change of plans. No lessons today.”

  Jacob’s jaw dropped. “No lessons? This is the best day ever!” Jacob ran inside to tell the other orphans the good news.

  Aaron followed behind, chuckling. The boys had made steady progress since coming to Nowhere despite the upheaval in their lives. One day off wouldn’t hurt, especially since it was their last normal day together. The following day was a holiday, so there would be no time for lessons. Today was a day to make memories. Aaron's smile faltered as he realized he may never see the boys ever again.

  He took a deep breath before going back inside. He had to put on a brave face for the boys. It was his last day of being their Headmaster, and he would make sure it was a great one.

  “Excuse me, Edna Petunia, what are you doing?” Katie asked as she entered the kitchen. Edna Petunia was bent over a pie crust, pouring the contents of a small bottle inside.

  Edna Petunia straightened up and took a sip from the small bottle. “This is a special pie. Peppermint extract! Want to try?” She held the bottle out to Katie.

  Katie wrinkled her nose. “No, thank you. I should get to work.” Katie didn’t care for Edna Petunia’s peppermint sticks. She kept them hidden in her bosom and brought them out for a snack from time to time. Katie wasn’t sure how Edna Petunia had converted the sticks into extract, and she didn’t want to find out.

  “Is there a cat in your liver?” Edna Petunia asked, frowning.

  “A cat in my liver?” Katie repeated. Edna Petunia had a host
of colorful phrases, but this was a new one.

  “You know, a cat in your liver. You’ve been walking around with a sour expression on your face for days,” Edna Petunia complained as she finished pouring the bottle into the pie crust. She picked up a bowl of cream and began mixing it. “Seems like a cat crawled inside you and is pawing at your liver.”

  “I don’t know that expression,” Katie said. “How many pies did you tell Sarah Jane we would bring?”

  “Well, now I know you’ve got a crab in your kidneys!” Edna Petunia hooted.

  Katie shook her head. She wasn’t in the mood for joking. She wanted to bake the pies and finish getting ready for the Christmas celebration the following day. She was exhausted and wanted to get a good night’s sleep before the holiday. Plus, staying focused on the preparations meant less time to spend wallowing over Aaron’s rejection.

  Edna Petunia considered Katie’s question. “Five pies, I think I said. Or was it fifteen? Hm.”

  “Edna Petunia! That’s a huge difference! How can you not remember?” Katie cried.

  Edna Petunia shrugged. “I have a lot on my mind.”

  “Now I’m going to have to spend all day in the kitchen,” Katie grumbled.

  Edna Petunia frowned. “See? That’s not something you would normally say. Where’s the sunny, cheery bastard I know and love?”

  “Let’s just get started.” Katie pulled out a rolling pin. “Where did you move the flour?”

  Edna Petunia picked up a sack of flour from where it was hidden behind a crate of apples. She held it out to Katie, but as Katie grabbed for it, she pulled it away. “Not until you tell me what’s wrong with you. I hate seeing you so unhappy.”

  “Nothing’s wrong with me,” Katie protested. She didn’t want to tell Edna Petunia about her feelings for Aaron. It would make her feel even worse to talk about it.

  “All right, then,” Edna Petunia turned around and continued to mix the cream. “I guess it doesn’t matter that we took you in, fed you, clothed you, and kept you safe these past several years. You don’t need to tell me anything.”