His Prairie Sweetheart. Erica Vetsch

Already I think I am going to have to add a room to the house for her belongings. Never have I seen a woman with so many things. There is no room in the loft, no room anywhere for the boxes and cases. She brought enough for five years. Do you think she will stay even one?”

      Elias shrugged. “I hope so, for the children’s sake. They need schooling. But it will be hard.”

      Per nodded. “It is good for the children to be in school. I hope she is a good teacher. She will teach them fine manners and good English if she can stay. They will become real Americans, not rough Norske farmers.”

      Savannah stooped to say hello to little Ingrid Langerud. Ingrid would be Savannah’s youngest student this term. The child, big-eyed, twirled the end of her blond braid as she gazed at her teacher. Savannah took Ingrid’s hand and drew it to her skirt, letting the little girl feel the heavy, shiny fabric. Ingrid’s shy smile had Elias smiling, too. Women and their fripperies. It sure started young.

      “You were right.”

      “Huh?” Elias turned to where his father had taken Per’s place.

      “She’s pretty.”

      He slanted Pa a sideways glance. “And she’s small and from the South and green as spring grass.”

      Pa chuckled. “She might surprise you.”

      “What makes you say that?”

      He shrugged. “It’s just that most women are full of surprises. You think you know them. You think you can predict how they’ll act or what they’ll say, and then, wham! Out of nowhere, they surprise you. Your mother’s done it to me a thousand times.”

      “This one seems pretty cut-and-dried. Just cleaning the school yesterday about did her in. She didn’t even have the stamina to finish the job properly. The floors got washed, but they didn’t get waxed.” Elias shook his head. “The first time she has to shovel a path through the snow to the coal shed, she’s going to collapse and call it quits.”

      Pa glanced out the window. “No sign of snow yet, though. And the floors will be fine for another week, I’m sure. You should go fetch her, so we can head home for lunch. Your ma cooked special most of yesterday.”

      When he approached, Savannah looked at Elias as if he was a lifesaver and she was drowning. “Are you ready to go?”

      “If you are.”

      He followed her outside into the sunshine. She popped open her pale green parasol. How many of those things did she have?

      As they drove toward his parents’ place, Elias asked, “How did you like church?”

      She shook her head. “I couldn’t understand the words, but the feeling in the room was familiar. God speaks all our languages. I worshipped, the rest of the congregation worshipped. It was good. I especially enjoyed the music.”

      Elias didn’t know how he would’ve fared under the circumstances, if he’d been dropped into a church service where they spoke only Russian or Italian or some other language he didn’t know. He’d have been too distracted to worship—and, if he was honest, disgruntled at not being able to understand what was going on.

      “I did have a question, though.” She slanted the parasol back on her shoulder. “What’s the reasoning behind the color scheme inside the church? I’ve never seen one painted like that before.”

      He shrugged. “The colors are symbolic, I guess. The sky-blue ceiling represents heaven.”

      “And the red floor?”

      He grinned. “Like I said, symbolic.”

      They traveled in silence for a while as Elias tried to decide how to broach the subject Per Halvorson had asked him to tackle. This really should be Tyler’s job, running interference between his teacher and her landlord.

      “Savannah, about this morning. Per wanted me to talk to you.”

      “He seemed out of sorts. Did something happen to upset him?” She adjusted her skirt to keep it from flapping. “He’s been nothing but kind until this morning.”

      Elias eased his tight collar. “Well, the thing you have to know about Per is that he hates being late, especially to church.”

      “We weren’t late. We arrived precisely on time.”

      “Well, to Per, on time means fifteen minutes early. He’s known for coming well ahead of time to any function. He thought all your primping made him late today. I’m just giving you a little warning to either cut some of the getting-ready steps, or start sooner, that’s all.” Elias shrugged. “Is that what you wear to church where you’re from?”

      Her look got a little frosty and her chin went up. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing now? Surely it’s acceptable to wear nice clothes to church? You’re wearing a suit and tie.”

      “Well, there’s nice clothes and there’s nice clothes. But what I’m trying to say is, you need to be ready to go to church earlier so Per can get there at a time when he’s comfortable.”

      “Fine, why don’t you tell me when that is? I asked several times when we needed to be ready, but nobody in the house understood me.”

      “Per said he wanted to leave his house by nine thirty. If you could make it earlier, that would be even better. To Per, on time is late.”

      “I didn’t know I was making him late. In the future, I’ll be sure to be ready sooner.” Frustration colored her voice. “But there isn’t anything I can do about my wardrobe, and I wish you’d stop twitting me about it. It isn’t a crime to wear the latest fashions or have nice clothes.”

      “It is if you’re the only one for a hundred miles dressed like that and it makes the mothers of your students feel like you’re lording it over them that you’re better off than they are.”

      Her mouth fell open. “Is that what you think I’m doing? Is that what the ladies think?”

      “They were whispering about it, about how they never saw clothes like yours, and how you were a foreigner who must be rich, and what were you doing way out here nearly to the Dakotas.” The hurt in her eyes had him backtracking. “I’m not saying you’re lording it over them, I’m just saying that might be how they feel.”

      “That’s wonderful.” She sank back into the seat. “Without speaking a word, I’ve managed to alienate at least half the county.”

      Elias propped his elbows on his knees, wishing Tyler was here to take this whole situation off his hands.

      * * *

      The women thought she was a snob. Savannah didn’t know whether she wanted to scream or cry. How was she supposed to disabuse their minds when she couldn’t even talk to them?

      What if they got Elias’s brother, Tyler, to fire her? Where would she go? She couldn’t face Raleigh yet, and she’d hate to admit failure in her first job before she even got started.

      “Here’s the farm. Pa homesteaded it right after the war. He held on through the grasshopper years, and now it’s doing pretty well. When the option came to buy the two sections to the west, Tyler and I purchased them, and we run the farm together.” Elias turned the horse in through an open gate. “We run sheep and cattle and raise wheat and corn. I raise and train a few horses every year and help Pa on the farm when I can.”

      “And do you live here?”

      “Sort of. Since I’m the town sheriff, I have a room on the back of the jail, but half the time I stay out here. It’s only a couple miles from town, and I have a part-time deputy, Bjorn. He lives in town, so he keeps an eye on things.” Elias shrugged. “Upholding the law isn’t too difficult in Snowflake. There’s usually time for a bit of farm work.”

      A pretty frame house with flowers in pots on the porch sat at the end of the drive. A few trees