The Cowboy Father. Linda Ford

what does Louisa do that would fall into that category?”

       Emmet opened and closed his mouth, then blinked twice. “I don’t know exactly. But several times I have come into the room in response to Ellie’s cries.” He glared at Louisa. “You must be doing something.”

       Before Louisa could defend herself, Adele spoke. “I have been a teacher for a number of years and I know how serious a charge such as this is. But I need something more solid than the cries of your daughter.”

       Louisa tried to protest, but Adele lifted a hand to signal silence. Was Adele taking Emmet’s side? Just because he was the parent? Adele smiled, taking the sting from her actions. “You’ll get a chance to speak, but I must get to the bottom of this.”

       Louisa sat back and fumed. There was no bottom. No top. No sides. Because she’d never been mean. Not once.

       “Now, Mr. Hamilton, please explain. Did you see Louisa strike your child?” She waited for Emmet’s answer. “No. Did Ellie accuse her of doing so?” Another pause in which Emmet could only shake his head. “No. Call her cruel names? No. Does she expect Ellie to do more work than she is capable of in her circumstances?”

       Emmet shrugged.

       Adele pressed him. “How much work has she done?”

       “I’ve seen none.”

       “You’ve seen nothing that could be constituted as cruelty. And you’ve seen no work. Is that correct?”

       Emmet refused to answer. “I’ve seen Ellie cry. Heard her accusations.”

       “I’m not discrediting that. But let’s hear Louisa’s explanation, shall we?”

       Emmet sighed. His look said he’d like to see her get out of this.

       “We have planned the lessons together. Nothing a grade-two student shouldn’t be able to do. In fact, many of my grade-one students could do the work.” Adele turned her gray-eyed gaze to Louisa. “How far have you come with the lessons?”

       Louisa hung her head, a sense of complete failure swamping her. “I’ve accomplished nothing.”

       “And why is that?”

       She shared her concerns with Adele, but hated to admit she had only failure to report. “I have been unable to gain Ellie’s cooperation.”

       “Can you explain what you mean by that?”

       Louisa brought her head up and spoke directly to Emmet, ignoring his defensive expression that indicated if there was a problem, it was not Ellie’s fault. It couldn’t be. “I am not a teacher, but I have a very good guide. I’ve followed her suggestions. She said to win the child. She said to give her time to accept the idea. I tried. Then she said Ellie must understand she has to continue her lessons. Again, I tried, but no matter what I do, Ellie says she doesn’t know, doesn’t remember or flatly refuses to do any of the work. When I read she does her best to ignore me. I even brought a present as an incentive, as Adele suggested. That brought on an outburst because I refused to give her the present until she did her work.” She waved her hands in frustration. “I value learning. I know what it’s like to fall behind. I want to help Ellie, but she won’t let me.” She hated to admit failure, but she couldn’t continue to insist on being Ellie’s tutor when Ellie resisted her. “Perhaps you’re right. Ellie is falling behind because I can’t reach her.”

       Adele held her palms toward them. “Let’s not be hasty. Frankly, not only is Louisa the best person for this job, but she’s the only person remotely qualified. We’d have to advertise across the province to find someone else, and let’s be reasonable. How many applicants would we get for a two-month job that’s only four hours a day?”

       “Probably lots of unemployed teachers looking for work,” Emmet muttered.

       “I expect that’s so. But I would think you’d want references. All that takes time.” Adele let her comments hang in the air. “Emmet, what do you want for Ellie?”

       “That’s easy. I want her to be happy.”

       “Right. Is she happy with things the way they are?”

       “I suppose not. She’s restless, wishing she didn’t have to be confined to bed in a body cast.”

       “So perhaps school lessons might prove a welcome distraction?”

       “I had hoped so.”

       “Good.” She turned to Louisa. “What do you want here?”

       “To do the job I was hired to do. To help Ellie keep up.”

       “Why?”

       Adele’s question opened a whole vista of truth to Louisa. It was more than the money. She’d always felt a spectator on life. Never very useful. This was her chance to prove to her mother and sisters…and herself…that she could do something, make a difference. “I believe I can do this. I can help Ellie. I want to because I know how difficult it is to fall behind your classmates, to struggle to catch up and keep up. And because I firmly believe learning can and should be fun.”

       Adele’s eyes gleamed with pleasure at Louisa’s confession. “Mr. Hamilton, do you have any objections to Louisa’s goals for your daughter?”

       Louisa and Emmet studied each other. Wary adversaries? Or something more? Something that went beyond teaching, beyond Ellie’s needs. She sensed in him a deep hurt that echoed her own. Of course he had pain—he’d lost his wife, and before that his parents, and now his child was injured. Perhaps by helping Ellie, she could help him. Ease some of his concerns. She’d told God she would serve Him in whatever job He provided. This was a job. Nothing more.

       But she could not deny she hadn’t expected a job to dig deep into her heart and open up longings she knew she must deny. Somewhere in the past two days, despite Ellie’s cantankerous ways, Louisa had crossed a line. She’d begun to care about the Hamiltons. She wanted to help Ellie because she cared. She wanted to help Ellie because it mattered to her that Emmet, although he loved his daughter deeply, was allowing her to rule his life.

       Adele broke into her thoughts, still addressing Emmet. “Do these goals contradict yours in any way?”

       “I suppose not.” His gaze held Louisa’s, searching for what, she did not know. But she let him probe deep past the surface of their words and association until she felt as if his thoughts had reached deep into hers, found an anchor pin and secured a hook to it.

       “Perhaps there is another way to address the problem. A compromise?”

       Louisa forced her gaze toward Adele. Would it include her keeping the job? She darted a glance at Emmet. Did he look even vaguely interested?

       He caught her looking and shrugged. “What do we have to lose?”

       She turned back to Adele. “What do you suggest?”

       “I think you two should become partners in this venture.”

       “Partners?” Louisa and Emmet echoed the word in unison. How could they possibly work together? Even being here and discussing Ellie’s need had opened a window in Louisa’s heart, revealed a hunger she must deny. She looked it squarely in the face. Yes, she longed to earn the love of a man such as Emmet—strong, committed, loving—but her barrenness made it impossible. Even if he knew…even if he said it didn’t matter. It would be unfair to burden a man with the same limitations she must accept.

       Her best plan would be to avoid him as much as possible. Whatever Adele meant by partnership, Louisa hoped it meant a simple shake of hands in shared concern.

       Adele took their silence for agreement. “I think Ellie is feeling you two are in opposition. Either it threatens her, or she’s taking advantage of it. Perhaps even both. I think by presenting a unified front, she will realize she has no alternative but to do the assigned work. She’ll soon learn that lesson time can be fun and help her