“You’re not who we expected.”
She frowned, her expressive eyes filling with dismay. “What do you mean?”
“Are you Miss Wilkes of Springfield, Massachusetts?”
“Yes.”
“Miss Emery Wilkes?”
“Yes. Miss Emery Anne Wilkes of Springfield, Massachusetts.”
Ben groaned. “We thought you were a man.”
She let out a relieved breath. “Is that all? It’s an honest mistake. I was named after my maternal grandfather, Emery Anthrop, though my parents have always called me Emmy.”
He took another step toward her. “But you don’t understand. We didn’t want to hire a woman—we were specifically looking for a man.”
Her frown deepened as the truth settled over her. “I’m just as capable and hardworking as a man.”
“I’m sure you are, but every woman we’ve hired has been married within three months of arriving and then we’re forced to look for another schoolteacher. We want more consistency for our students.”
She swallowed and lifted her chin a notch, though her quiet voice didn’t match her determined confidence. “You have nothing to fear on that count. I have no intentions of marrying.”
“Neither did the others.”
“You have my word.” She looked pained, clearly expecting him to believe her.
He wanted to, but experience had taught him otherwise. “I don’t think your word will be good enough for the school board.” They were just as adamant as Ben. They had better things to do than replace their teachers every three months.
Her shoulders drooped and she shook her head. “I’m not wanted?”
The simple question was laced with a deeper pain—one Ben knew all too well. He’d spent his entire childhood believing he wasn’t wanted.
He didn’t answer. Couldn’t.
“Surely the school board won’t turn me away after I’ve come so far.” She looked at him with uncertainty. “They won’t...will they?”
Ben wished he could offer some hope. She had come a long way after all, and according to her application, she was more than qualified. But Mr. Samuelson, the newly appointed superintendent of the Little Falls school, was a hard man and once he had his mind set, it was difficult to change. Ben could just about imagine what he’d say to this attractive young lady. It wouldn’t take long for a line of beaus to come knocking on her door.
“We need to find somewhere for you to stay.” Ben started toward the kitchen. “But, first, I’ll get you a cup of hot coffee to warm you up.”
He entered the cozy kitchen and grabbed a mug, glancing at her when she stepped over the threshold. She was so young and defenseless, he wondered how her family felt about her coming all the way to Minnesota. If he had a daughter, he doubted he’d let her go so far alone—especially if she was so pretty.
“We’ll need to face the weather and go down the hill to my friends, the Coopers.” He handed her the mug of coffee, taking note of her long, slender fingers and her clear skin. “They’re friends of mine and the best chance we have of getting you somewhere safely tonight. They’ll put you up for a few nights until we can get you back on the stage Monday morning. The school board will pay for your trip home.”
“I’m not going home.” She held the coffee mug in both her hands, her back straightening with determination. “I’ve come west to teach and that’s what I intend to do.”
He crossed his arms. “Then I’m afraid you’ll have to do it somewhere else, Miss Wilkes. The school board decided to hire a man, and we won’t be happy until one is found.”
It looked like the school board would need to start looking for another teacher, and Ben would need to find a new boarder—one who wasn’t as fetching as Miss Emery Anne Wilkes.
* * *
Emmy was not going back east—not after she had come so far and sacrificed so much to leave Massachusetts. There was nothing holding her to the east, nothing but dreadful memories and angry words.
The hot coffee didn’t set well in her stomach as she stood near the front door in Reverend Lahaye’s home a few minutes later, a bag of necessities by her feet, tying her bonnet strings in preparation to go to the Coopers’ home. She watched Reverend Lahaye wrap a long scarf around his neck and then put mittens on his large hands. He was not what she had expected—but then, nothing was as she had expected. If it wasn’t snowing, she’d already be at the superintendent’s home, begging him to give her a chance. As it was, she’d go to him as soon as possible and assure him she was there to stay. She had no intentions on marrying—ever. After William’s unexpected death two days before their wedding, she had vowed to never love again. She refused to put herself in a position to suffer through the same heartache twice.
Surely, they wouldn’t turn her away once she gave her word that she didn’t plan to marry.
Reverend Lahaye glanced at her with his dark brown eyes as he put a knit cap on his equally dark hair. He was much younger and far more handsome than she had expected. When he’d answered the door, she had thought she’d arrived at the wrong house. In her mind, Reverend Lahaye was old and married—nothing like the man standing before her.
Kindness and gentleness radiated from his countenance, though she’d had a moment of panic when she realized they were alone in the house. But what woman wouldn’t?
“Do you have a scarf?” he asked.
“I’m afraid not.”
“What about mittens or a warmer coat?”
She shook her head. She hadn’t anticipated such weather for several months—time enough to buy the needed items.
“You’ll freeze to death in that bonnet and coat.” He took the lantern from the ledge near the window and walked to a door on the right side of the parlor. He opened the door and stepped inside, the shadowed light revealing a bed and a bureau in the large room. His bedroom?
She stood patiently and waited until he returned. When he stepped into the parlor again, he had a large item draped over his arm. It looked like the skin of an animal, but she’d never seen anything like it.
“What is that?”
“It’s my old buffalo robe. I used to wear it when I was a circuit preacher.” He set the lantern on the ledge again and held the robe out for her.
She blinked at him. “What am I to do with it?”
“It’ll keep you warm. Much warmer than that.” He nodded at her fashionable winter coat. “Trust me,” he said. “You’ll thank me when we’re in the midst of the storm.”
He held it open with the fur toward the inside and the skin on the outside. She turned to let him put it on her shoulders.
She swam in the heavy material and it dragged on the floor. She could easily wrap it around her body two or three times. “I don’t know that I can trudge through the snow in this thing.”
His expression softened and a bemused smile tilted his wide mouth as he looked her over. “It’s a little bigger than I remember, but I’ll help you.” He handed her a cap, scarf and mittens. “You’ll need these, too.”
The buffalo robe engulfed her and she could hardly raise her arms. “I don’t think I can manage to put them on.”
He took the robe off again, which allowed her to remove her bonnet. She placed it in her bag and then put on the winter items.
Without warning, he draped the robe over her