Love is Patient - Kay P. Dawson Page 0,3
sorry, Miss, but you likely don’t want me to take your hand. I’m afraid my gloves don’t do much for keeping the dirt out, and I’d hate to get any on you.”
She laughed, the sound sending warm shivers through his body. “Don’t be silly. I’m not scared of a little dirt.” She reached out and took his hand, shaking it as she smiled up at him. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Hammond. I think I might remember seeing you once or twice on my visits to town when I was a girl, but I doubt you’d remember me. I can’t wait to see the schoolhouse, and the little cabin I’ll be staying in.”
He swallowed and tried to catch up to what she was saying. But from the moment she’d taken his hand, without any concern about the sweat and grime, he’d been at a loss for words. The excitement she was feeling was palpable, and for a moment he truly did feel guilty for not making sure he’d been cleaned up.
The truth was, he knew deep down he’d done it on purpose. He knew this woman wasn’t going to be any different than his wife had been, so he hadn’t wanted to give her any false pretenses about what she could expect from living out here.
But she’d surprised him by not seeming to be affected at all. Colt knew it wouldn’t last, though. His eyes moved over her silky dress that would never stand up to life out here. It was clear she’d grown up pampered and never wanting for anything, so he would give her until the first snowfall, if she even lasted that long.
“It’s nice to meet you too, Miss Reeves. I’ll just go in and get changed so I can take you out to the schoolhouse. Hopefully, you won’t be too disappointed in your living quarters.”
He almost laughed to himself as he walked away, knowing full well she was going to be mortified when she saw the little shack set back from the school that she’d be living in. It was the original cabin used by the teachers, including his old teacher Miss Fernly.
There wasn’t much in the little cabin, although his mother had fixed it up quite a bit when she’d briefly lived in it after he’d been married. So, he knew it was perfectly adequate.
He just didn’t believe it would be enough for a city girl to live in, so he was prepared for the fit of hysterics—and not the laughing kind—he was most likely about to witness.
Hopefully, it wouldn’t take long because he had a field to get back to work in and coddling a fainting city girl wasn’t in his plans for today.
Chapter 3
“This is perfect! It’s just how I pictured it would be.” Kathryn slowly turned, letting her eyes take it all in. The chalkboards were scratched and faded, not at all like the pristine ones she’d had in her own school in Boston, but she could imagine the lessons that had been shared on them.
The desks were made by hand, but she could tell they were sturdy and would give the students somewhere comfortable to spend their days. Her fingers reached down to open one of the brand-new readers sitting on her own desk, and she inhaled deeply as the scent of the fresh paper reached her nose.
“It’s likely a great deal smaller than what you’re used to, but this little schoolhouse has taught many children through the years. Well, until it had to be closed down a few years ago when the new private school was built in town. I’m afraid we never imagined it would be reopened, so it had started to fall into a bit of disrepair.”
Kathryn smiled over at Mrs. Winnie Hammond, the kind older woman who was still standing near the doorway with her arms around the two shy children on either side of her.
When she’d been introduced to Mr. Hammond’s twin children, Delia and Owen, they’d both been polite but reserved in their greetings. She sensed that Delia was desperately fighting the urge to talk to her, but for some reason her brother was making sure she kept her distance.
“I hear you two were a big help in getting this schoolhouse back into shape. I can’t thank you enough for all your hard work. You both did a great job.” She offered the children a smile, hoping they would open up to her a bit more.
Delia smiled shyly and nodded her head. “I helped