Winning the Schoolmarm: Wyoming Legacy (Wind River Hearts Book 14) by Lacy Williams

Author:Lacy Williams [Williams, Lacy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lacy Williams Books LLC
Published: 2021-02-11T22:00:00+00:00

11

"Ruth, please stay after class."

There were soft murmurs and whispers from a few of the school children as they picked up their belongings and left the classroom at the end of the day.

Cecilia ignored them.

She had thought long and hard about how she might reach Ruth, and she'd concluded that she couldn't let the poison ivy trick go unpunished. She rose from behind her desk and fetched the broom from the corner, then brought it to where Ruth sat with her arms crossed at her desk.

"That was a mean trick you played on me. Today, and every day this week, you will stay after class to help me clean the classroom. Start by sweeping the floors."

At first Ruth looked as if she would refuse, but after a tense pause, she stood and grabbed the broom out of Cecilia's hand. She swept while Cecilia left the classroom and toted an armful of wood for the potbelly stove inside.

Cecilia couldn't help but notice that the girl was purposely doing a bad job. Her strokes were small, and she’d missed the corners. Cecilia knew she could do better. She had done so when she’d offered to clean the room that very first day.

"Do it again," Cecilia said firmly. "I know you can do better."

Ruth sighed, but she started the task over again. This time she got all the dust she had missed before. She put the broom back in its place and then looked at Cecilia with her hands on her hips. "Is that all?"

"No. Please wash off the blackboard."

The girl gave a obstinate jut of her chin, and Cecilia braced for her to refuse. She wasn't sure if she would be forced to take it up with John, but the girl ultimately set about the task.

As Ruth worked, Cecilia glanced over her lesson plans for the morning, deciding to swap the spelling practice for math.

"My brother isn't looking for a wife, if that's what you're thinking."

Cecilia startled, the unexpected words a surprise.

"I don't think anything about your brother." It was a white lie. Since the almost-kiss, she’d thought about John with great frequency.

She had promised herself she wasn't going to get involved with any man, much less the chairman of the school board, the man who held her fate at the Granbury school in his hands. But everything she’d learned about John had softened her toward him. He was doing his best by Ruth. He helped his friends when they needed it. He seemed a decent man.

She was so confused.

"He was almost married once," Ruth said.

Cecilia pretended not to hear her. The girl’s rag swished almost angrily on the blackboard.

"Her name was Miranda, and he courted her for months. She was so pretty. Much prettier than you."

Cecilia kept her head down, her pen scritching across the paper. She tried to ignore Ruth, but the barb hit home. Cecilia had never had a real suitor. She knew she was plain. Nothing compared to Susie, whose beauty seemed to captivate everyone.

As if Ruth could sense her morose thoughts, she went on, her voice slightly smug now.

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