The Cowboy Father. Linda Ford

He leadeth me beside still waters. Would the waters be still or troubled today?

       Emmet kept pace at her side as she crossed the front room. “I’m glad you understand that Ellie is finding it difficult to adjust to her situation. It’s a relief to know you’ll be patient with her.”

       Did she detect a warning in his voice? She stopped and faced him. “Mr. Hamilton—”

       “Please, call me Emmet.”

       Did teachers call parents by their first name? Would doing so cross a line she didn’t wish to cross? She needed to keep things impersonal between them. Not one step further than her feelings had already transgressed.

       “As you please. I am being paid to teach your child.” The school board had hired her with specific expectations…keep the child up to speed with her classmates. Only, her position depended as much on Emmet’s approval as the school board’s expectations. Emmet had the right to say yes or no to her being Ellie’s tutor. “I’ll do my best to help her keep up with her class work.”

       “I care less about Ellie’s schoolwork than about her happiness.”

       What more could anyone ask of a parent? But life wasn’t always that simple. “I hope I can achieve the one without sacrificing the other.” But it would take Ellie’s cooperation. Something she suspected that would not come without a battle.

       “That’s all I ask.”

       Louisa stepped into Ellie’s room and read instant defiance in the child’s eyes. She was trapped between what Emmet believed was possible and what Ellie clearly would not allow—Louisa teaching her.

       She considered putting aside the role of teacher and simply amusing the child, but her agreement with the board was quite specific and she couldn’t, in good conscience, pretend she fulfilled the terms without doing so. If she couldn’t teach Ellie she must quit. And that was something she would not do. Not with those medical bills stacked up on Mother’s desk.

       Adele had given her more advice. “Make it clear that there is a certain amount of work to be done each day. Be matter-of-fact about it. Then do it.”

       “But what if she doesn’t cooperate?”

       “That’s where discipline comes in. You might try providing rewards, incentives, if you like.”

       Louisa crossed to the little table where she arranged her lesson plans that she and Adele had drawn up together, the books she intended to use and the odd-shaped parcel.

       “What’s that?”

       “It’s for you. You can have it when you complete today’s lesson.” She picked up the chalk and wrote on the blackboard: “Reading, Arithmetic and History.” “Three subjects. We won’t spend long on each, but they all have an assignment that must be completed.”

       Ellie eyed the package, her curiosity obvious.

       Good. Louisa had already tried reading and arithmetic without success, so she went for history. “Grade twos are studying the history of Alberta. Today we are going to talk about the establishment of the North-West Mounted Police.” She loved the drama of the march west and had a picture book illustrating it. She began with explaining the need for a police force to settle the troubles in the West. She showed a picture of the colorful troop ready to set out—noble and hopeful, unaware of the challenges they would face.

       But Ellie stared at the present as Louisa continued reading. If Ellie cared to look at the pictures, they were there before her. Adele had assured Louisa that Ellie would soon be drawn into the lessons.

       Louisa came to the end of what she planned to read for the day.

       “Now I want you to choose a project. You can either draw a picture about the march west or write a story. You can pretend to be one of the young police officers or—”

       “What is that?” Her gaze hadn’t shifted from the parcel.

       “If you want to open it, you have to do your lessons.” She placed a bed tray before Ellie, tilted so the child could write, and put a sheet of paper on it. “Do you wish to draw a picture or write a story?”

       “Neither.” The girl certainly knew how to put on a pout. “Daddy won’t like that you’re teasing me. He lets me have anything I want.”

       “That makes for mighty poor character.” Adele had prepared a list of questions should Ellie balk at working on her own initiative. “Here are questions about the North-West Mounted Police. You can do them.” There were five very simple questions.

       “I don’t want to.”

       At least she wasn’t insisting she didn’t know or couldn’t remember. Louisa wondered if this was progress. “If you want to see what’s in the parcel, you must first do your work.”

       “No.” Ellie swept the tray to the floor with a clattering racket. “Why are you being so mean to me? I don’t have a mother, you know.”

       “Well, I don’t have a father.”

       “You’re a grown-up. You don’t need a father.”

       “Even grown-ups need a father now and then.” She picked up the tray and rescued the paper and pencil, replaced them on the bed and tapped the page. “Please answer these questions.”

       “I don’t want to, and I generally do as I please.”

       Louisa sighed. “There’s a name for children like that.”

       Ellie scowled. “What?”

       Should she tell her? “Spoiled.”

       Ellie screeched and tried to push the tray off the bed again. But Louisa held it firmly in place. “Let’s get this done so we can move on. We still have reading and arithmetic to do this morning.”

       Ellie screamed louder.

       Emmet strode into the room. “What’s going on here?”

       Ellie sobbed and reached for Emmet. “She’s being mean to me.”

       Emmet wrapped his arms about the child’s trembling shoulders. “Hush now. You’re okay. Daddy’s here.” His voice was warm and gentle, but the look he gave Louisa accused her of senseless cruelty.

       Louisa sighed. She couldn’t fight them both. But she wasn’t about to admit defeat. She stiffened her spine and thought about how to deal with this.

       Ellie snuggled into her father’s shoulder and lifted her eyes to Louisa. There was no mistaking the glint of triumph.

       Emmet extracted himself from his daughter’s arms and faced Louisa, but she spoke before he could.

       “We need to talk. I’ll wait for you in the front room.” Her stride was far steadier than her insides. She crossed the kitchen. Auntie May sat at the table with four cats on her lap and one draped over her shoulders.

       “You’re never beat until you quit,” she murmured.

       Louisa flashed a trembling smile. Exactly the words she needed to hear. She wasn’t about to quit. Nor admit defeat.

       Emmet backed out of Ellie’s room, assuring his daughter he would be back in a few minutes, then he gave Louisa a curt nod and strode into the front room.

       Louisa followed, and although she felt like being meek and apologetic, she kept her head high and her step firm.

       “Miss Morgan, I fear you are most unsuited for this job.” His eyes flashed with anger.

       An answering flash burned her eyes. “I consider Miss Ross to be a fine teacher, with all the skill that experience and study can give.”

       “We aren’t talking about Miss Ross.”

       “Indeed, we are. She recommended me for this job. She supervises the lessons. She also gives advice as to how to deal with a child