Not Quite A Mail Order Bride (Mail Order Brides) Read online

  Luke called on Martha the next day and offered her the teaching position. After he explained the details, he asked if she had any questions. “I do,” she said. “Were there any concerns or objections at the meeting?” He looked uncomfortable. “Out with it, Luke. Tell me the truth.”

  “Well, there was Jake. Your being a Yankee bothered him. His father was a Confederate soldier, killed at Manassas. Don’t pay no mind to him, The others were enthusiastic about having you.”

  “I’ll have to think about it before I give you an answer,” she said. “I’ll let you know when I decide. Thank you for your efforts, Luke.”

  She left the room and a befuddled Luke behind. Sarah came into the room. “What just happened, Luke? Martha is crying. Did they decide not to offer her the position?”

  “No, I offered her the position. She asked if there were any objections. Jake Vintner complained because she was a Yankee. I put him in his place and told him you, Jed, Martha said and my Clara were Yankees. The others were enthusiastic.”

  “I don’t think she will accept it now. So help me, if that jerk causes me to lose my sister’s company, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

  “Will you talk to her?”

  “No, I don’t believe I will. I promised her I wouldn’t pressure her and I won’t break that promise. Luke, you of all people should understand. She’s fragile right now. She just lost her husband, remember? She doesn’t need me trying to talk her into anything, even though I think it’s in her best interests to stay out here. Jed and I don’t need her to teach. She doesn’t want to feel as if she’s sponging off us. She needs to be wanted.”

  “All of the other men in the room wanted her. It was just the one biased idiot.”

  “Sometimes one is enough. She had a letter from Ma asking when she’s coming home. I don’t believe she has decided whether to stay here or go back to Owego and the library.”

  “I guess the next step is up to her,” Luke said, and started to leave.

  “Luke, would you like for her to stay?”

  “Yes, of course I would, Our school needs a teacher. The children need a good teacher,” he said.

  “That wasn’t what I was asking,” Sarah replied.

  “I need to get back,” he said. And he left.

  * * *

  Two days after the meeting, two of their neighbors rode up to the main house at the J Bar B. Jed met them as they dismounted. “Good morning, Cody, Mason, What brings you our way this fine bright morning?”

  “Jed, we’ve come to talk to Miss Martha. Could we speak to her?” Cody asked.

  “Come on in and have some coffee. I think Sarah just made a fresh pot. I’ll get her,” Jed said.

  They sat in the living room with their coffee, while Jed went for Martha.

  Martha came back into the room with Jed. “Cody, Mason, I’d like for you to meet Sarah’s sister, Martha Sanders. Martha, this is Cody Jenkins and Mason Parker. They would like to talk to you. Would you like me to stay?”

  “Yes, please do. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Cody and Mason, was it?” she said. “You wanted to talk to me?”

  “Mrs Sanders, the other parents asked us to speak for them too,” Cody said. We understand Luke told you about the meeting?”

  “Yes, he did, and please call me Martha.”

  “Yes’m. We just want to make sure you understand none of us support Jake in what he said. The war’s been over for years, but he’s still fighting it. His way does not represent the view of our little group. We want you to know we think you would be a wonderful teacher for our school. We think your qualifications speak for themselves. Having you for a teacher would be a big benefit for our children They’ve had no schooling since the last teacher moved away. We need you and would like to ask you to take the position, for our children’s sake.”

  “Gentlemen, I appreciate your coming over, and your kind words as well. Your visit will help me make my decision. I should have it made before the first of the week. Thank you for coming. Now, if you’ll excuse me?”

  They stood as she left the room. “Jed, what do you think she’ll do? Will she stay?” Mason asked.

  “I really don’t know. Sarah and I both want her to stay, they were always close.”

  “Will you talk to her?” Mason asked. “Tell her how much we need her.”

  “Sarah has made me promise not to push her. Besides, I think you did a good job of that yourselves.”

  * * *

  Martha and Sarah were talking to Luke. “Luke, will you tell your neighbors I will accept the teaching position. I would like to go to Laramie and talk with the teachers there and see what books they are using, and brush up on the way things are taught in Wyoming. I will ask Jed to get someone to drive me so I can do that.”

  “Martha, that’s wonderful.” He took her hands. “I am so pleased you decided to stay. It means a lot to me.” He couldn’t help but notice the softness of her skin and the warm feeling he felt flow over him. He looked down, and realized he was still holding them. He let them go and felt his face flush.

  “I liked the feeling I had from the touch of his hands,” Martha thought. “It gave me a warm rush at the intimate contact. I liked the reaction to my staying,”

  “It’s not necessary to apologize, Luke,” Martha said. “You did nothing wrong. Would you mind if Sarah and I went to the school house and looked at it more closely?”

  “Of course not. It’s your school, now. Just tell me what you need and I’ll see to it immediately. Also, let me know about the books. I think the ones there were used when Will and I went to school and they’re probably falling apart.”

  As they left, Martha said, “I could learn to like that man.”

  “There’s a lot to like. He can be a warm person when he lets himself.”

  After a trip to Laramie, where she met the teachers in the elementary school, Martha said to Luke, “None of the books at our school are being used in the Laramie school. This is a list of what they are using. This list is the supplies that would be nice to have.”

  “I’ll get on this right away. When are you going to begin?” he asked.

  “I would like to do it as soon as possible. While we are waiting for the books, we could be getting the classroom ready,” she said.

  “You haven’t been there in the past couple of days. I think you’ll find most of the cleaning up has been taken care of. The fireplace has been cleaned and all of the surfaces scrubbed,” he said.

  “I’ll come over tomorrow and if we can get the word out, we could hold our first class on Monday,” Martha said, “How many students do you think I’ll have?”

  Luke answered Her question, “Counting Will, I think there will be eleven. I’ll make a list for you and give you the approximate ages. I’ve known all but one or two of them since they were born, so I can make a pretty good guess.”

  “That’s good,” Martha said. “Now all we have to do is get started.”

  “Will is really anxious to get started. This is going to be his first year and I want to get him off to a good start.”

  “He’ll be all right, Luke. He’s a smart little boy. Hetty brought him over when Sarah and I were there the other day. You can be proud of him. He’s well mannered and polite,” she said.

  “Well, I have to give Clara the credit for that. She was always telling him the proper thing to do.”

  Martha noticed the fleeting sorrow flash across his face when he said his late wife’s name. “Am I wrong in not missing Daniel more,” she wondered guiltily. “No, I’m not,” she decided. “Daniel would have wanted me to get on with my life. I wonder if Luke will ever do that?”

  * * *

  Most of the children made their way to school the first day on horseback. The younger ones were brought in a wagon by one or both of the parents. Martha spent the first two hours getting acquainted with the children, where they lived, tried to guess what they remembered from their previous schooling. Two and one half hours into the day, there was
a sharp knock on the door. When she answered, she saw a scraggly whiskered man about forty years old. He was wearing worn jeans, boots and a plaid shirt. With him was a boy about eleven, wearing denim overalls.

  The man spoke. “Ma’am, my name is Jake Vintner and this is my boy, Clayton. Can he… I mean, would it be all right for him to come to school? He won’t give you no trouble or anything.”

  Martha recognized the name from Luke’s recount of the meeting. “Of course, Mr Vintner. He’s more than welcome. Clayton, find yourself a seat with the other children your age and I’ll be in there is just a minute. Now, Mr Vintner, I’m happy you decided to bring Clayton to school today. We start promptly at eight each morning and we’ll finish at three. I expect each student to complete his assigned work prior to class. I was raised on a farm, so I know there are times when he won’t be able to make a class. I will give him the assignments he missed to complete. Do you have any questions?”

  “Yes Ma’am. I’ll see to it he gets all of the work done. I appreciate you letting my boy in and all,” he said.

  “Yes, now I had better get back to my class before they get unruly. Thank you for coming.” She turned and went back into the classroom.

  CHAPTER TEN THE CLASS

  Martha had obtained the paperwork for certification as a teacher, and completed it. “Jed, I’d like to go with you the next time you go to Laramie. I want to turn in these papers, and meet with the Laramie County Superintendent. Once I’m certified, they will furnish our books.”

  “I need some things from the store, let’s go in tomorrow and get it done,” he said.

  “Wonderful,” Martha said. “It should be easy enough. I have my New York Certification. They may just accept that.” The next day, on the visit to Laramie, she went to the office of the Laramie County School District. Upon meeting with the superintendent, he immediately signed her papers.

  “You may now draw your books from the school repository,” he said. “All you will need to do is give them the names and ages of your students.” She had brought the list Luke had given her, with the name of Clayton Vintner added, bringing the total to twelve.

  After Jed loaded them into the wagon, Martha said, “This is going to surprise Luke. He expected to be required to purchase the books from the list I gave him after I visited with the Laramie teachers.”

  At the general store, Asa Thompson said, “I have mail for both of you.” Included were two letters for Martha.

  “One is from Ma wanting to know when I’ll be coming home?

  Sarah said, “I’ll bet mine is on the same subject telling me I shouldn’t be trying to talk you into staying here.” Martha didn’t tell Sarah about the other letter. That would be her own secret for now.

  As they headed home, Martha said to Sarah. “The students are going to be excited about the books. I had told them we would have to wait at least three weeks before we got them. I can begin in earnest now.”

  “I’m glad it’s working out for you, Sis. How are you and Luke getting along?”

  “That man is one of the biggest puzzles I’ve seen,” Martha said. “The other day when he was rearranging some of the desks, his hand brushed mine. I felt a spark and evidently he did too. He apologized and moved away. I just wish he would wrap his arms around me and kiss me. He won’t do it though. Do you know he hasn’t moved a thing in the house since Clara died? He’s very active and loving with his boys, The two days we had school, he brought Will and we chatted a few minutes each time. If I’m to find a husband, I guess I’m going to have to look elsewhere.”

  * * *

  Taking in a view of the Front Range while driving the buggy to school, Martha thought, “I don’t remember seeing snow on those peaks before. I guess I missed it, but it sure is beautiful. Oh well, we’ll have plenty of snow before long.” She thought no more about it.

  After getting a pail of water from the well, Martha was standing in the doorway, waiting for the rest of her students to arrive, she thought, “The wind is picking up too. It has a bite to it.”

  One of the last students to arrive was Clayton Vintner, who had turned out to be one of the harder working students. As he came in he said, “Papa says it’s going to snow today.”

  “Really,” she said. “Why does he think so?”

  “When a storm is coming, the rheumatism in Papa’s back gets bad and he said it kept him awake last night.”

  “Well, we’ll have to make sure we have plenty of wood for the fireplace,” Martha said. “Why don’t you check it out, Clayton?”

  “Yes’m. I’ll make sure.” With the help of two other boys, they brought in an armload of wood each and piled it in the corner.

  She started the older children on their geography lessons and another group on arithmetic while she worked with the young ones on penmanship. She switched the subjects later in the morning.

  Since it was windy and chilly outside, they ate lunch in the classroom, with each student opening their lunch pails to see what their parent had packed for them that day. Martha had packed cold chicken and honey biscuits for her own lunch. Those that had the need, went to one of the outhouses in back of the school. As she came back in, one of the little girls said, “Miss Martha, it’s cold outside.”

  “Why don’t you move closer to the fire and get warm, Mary?”

  An hour after lunch, Martha heard the sound of boots outside the classroom. Luke walked in. “Martha, we’d better get the children over to the ranch house. It’s blowing pretty hard and starting to snow. We’ll keep them there and if their parents come, they’ll find them. They’ll know we took them in. I don’t think it’s a good idea for them to go out by themselves. You either for that matter. One of the hands will help them get the horses to the barn.”

  “I’ll just finish up here and then I’ll go on home then,” she said.

  “Martha, I don’t think that’s a good idea. It can get real nasty in a hurry,” he said.

  “Luke, I’m an adult. I’ve been through snowstorms before. I’ll be all right.”

  “Martha, this is Wyoming. You haven’t been through one of our storms. Now come on,” he said.

  “Luke Hastings, stop ordering me around,” she said, little sparks shooting from her brown eyes.

  “You are one stubborn woman,” he said, putting his hand on her shoulder, feeling an instant warmth when he touched her.

  When he touched her shoulder, even through her sweater dress she felt a tingle. “What is that?” she wondered.

  Luke hastily removed his hand. “I’m sorry, I’m only trying to help,” he said.

  “I understand,” she said. “I’ll be all right.”

  An hour later, she went outside. It was snowing pretty hard and the force of the wind had increased. The horse had been tied in the shelter of the school building. She took the reins and climbed in, brushing the snow from the buggy seat before sitting down. She flicked the reins and headed home. She was headed into the wind and it was cold. The visibility was becoming more limited and the wind seemed to go right through her clothing chilling her to the bone. Jed had told her horses would make their way home if turned loose, so she was not worried about becoming lost. The prospect of the unexpected was daunting and she decided this was a mistake and managed to turn the buggy around and headed back to Luke’s house. She pulled up between the barn and the house and went to the door.

  She pounded on the door in order to be heard above the howling wind, she shivered as she waited. Luke came to the door. “I need your help, please. I made a mistake and should have left when you said.”

  Luke put his arm around her shoulder. “This was the best decision could have made. You come in and get warm. I’ll get my coat and take care of your horse. I’m glad you didn’t try to go home. I was getting ready to come check on you. You go on inside. Some of your children are still here. “That is if you don’t mind me telling you what to do,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. Hetty will get you some hot tea.”

  “Thank goodn
ess he didn’t crow about being right or make fun of me for being stupid,” she thought. “Thank you.” She said. “I don’t want to be any trouble, but I do appreciate it.”

  “Hetty, I’ll show the boys where they will sleep and you can show the girls and show Martha her room. Come with me, boys.” He led them down the wide hallway and stepped past an opened door. There was a fire in the fireplace, giving the room a warm and cozy room. It was a nicer room than any of the boys had at home. Opening the door, he said, “This is it. Hetty will make pallets for you. No roughhousing boys, and tomorrow we’ll see about getting you home. There’s a wash basin and towels where you can wash up before dinner, which will be in about an hour.”

  As he walked away, he heard Clayton Vintner say, “Criminy, ain’t this nice?”