The Cowboy Father. Linda Ford

But he didn’t want to talk about trials and how they affected one’s faith. His own hung on by a tiny thread. “I neglected to ask about your family. Do you come from a large one? Tell me about them.”

       “I have two younger sisters. Madge is a year younger. She married Judd last fall. Sally is two years younger. She lives at home as do I, with our mother.” She paused a beat then went on. “My father died four years ago. I still miss him.” Her voice thickened.

       Emmet stilled an urge to squeeze her shoulder. “My parents died eighteen years ago and I still miss them.”

       “Oh.” Her lips formed a little circle, and her eyes widened. “I thought it would get easier with time.”

       “It gets easier. Just never goes away.”

       “I remember him at the silliest times. A certain hymn will bring tears to my eyes. Or the smell of molasses cookies, which he loved. Or—” She shrugged. “I suppose it’s the same for you.”

       It was a question, even though she didn’t voice it as one. But he remembered very little about his parents. “I leave it in the past.”

       Her eyes widened even more. “You mean you purposely try to forget about them?” She didn’t wait for an answer but provided her own. “Although I miss my father, I wouldn’t want to forget him or all the wonderful memories I have. Nor the lessons he taught.”

       “I suppose time has dulled my memories.” He didn’t want to dwell on it any longer. “You must have moved to this area after I left.”

       “We bought the farm two miles from town eight years ago.”

       “Ah. I left nine years ago.”

       “Daddy!” Ellie’s voice wailed through the house.

       Emmet chuckled. “She’s been waiting patiently all morning. Seems her patience has run out.” He again picked up the bag and board and trooped through to Ellie’s room. Several cats, seeing the unfamiliar items, hissed. Two backed into a corner and continued to hiss and arch their backs. Four skidded from the room.

       Ellie laughed. “Scaredy-cats.” But her laughter died and her eyes grew wary at all the equipment Emmet and Louisa dragged in.

       “Where do you want this?” Emmet indicated the blackboard.

       Louisa looked around. Stood beside the bed. At the end and then on the side farthest from the door. “This would be ideal—” Except for the bookshelf, the table and the wooden chair in the room, all of which were loaded with Auntie May’s belongings.

       “I’ll move this stuff out of the way.” He shoved it into the far corner, crowding the china cabinet. “Auntie May doesn’t believe in throwing things out.”

       He wondered at the way the sunshine left Louisa’s face and her eyes grew stormy.

       “I suppose she finds comfort in being surrounded by familiar objects.” She kept her back to him as she cleared the top of the table and lifted the bag onto it, but he thought he detected a tightness in her voice he hadn’t noticed before. He put it down to tension at getting the room organized for teaching.

       He set up the tripod, adjusted the blackboard on it then stepped back. “Looks like everything is set. I’ll leave you to it.” He edged toward the door, reluctant to leave them.

       “Daddy, where are you going?” Ellie reached out, as if to stop him.

       “I’ll be close by. If you need me, you only have to call.” The door was inches away, but he didn’t step through.

       “We’ll be fine,” Louisa murmured, then pulled a reader from the bag and directed her attention to Ellie. “Miss Ross sent the whole set of grade-two readers so you can show me which ones you can read.”

       Ellie sent Emmet a look rife with pleading and accusation. He hoped she would understand he was only doing what was best for her.

       But she understood the knowledge would provide poor comfort.

      Chapter Three

      Louisa watched Emmet’s departure, feeling the same frightening desperation she heard in Ellie’s voice. Don’t leave us. I don’t know what I’m doing. Adele had laid out the lessons and told her what to expect. “The first thing to remember is the child may be resistant to the whole idea of having to do schoolwork while in bed. Find a way to pique her interest and curiosity.”

       Sounded so easy when Adele said it. But she could do this. Louisa drew a brave breath and began. “First, I’d like you to tell me what things you like. That way we can make your lessons as interesting as possible.”

       Ellie gave her a stubborn stare. “Can you bring my pony so I can ride?”

       Louisa laughed softly. “I think that is outside my power. What games do you like?”

       “Hide-and-seek. Racing. Climbing trees. We can’t do that either, I suppose.” Ellie boldly challenged Louisa with her words and her expression.

       “You’re quite right. So let’s think of something you can do and enjoy.”

       The child made a most unladylike sound. “There isn’t anything to enjoy while I’m stuck in bed.”

       “Do you like reading?”

       “Hate it.”

       “Do you like stories?” Louisa held up two storybooks she’d enjoyed when she learned to read. The books were well-worn. “These were my two favorites at your age. They’ve been read over and over by myself and my sisters.”

       A flicker of interest. Good. “You’ve got sisters?”

       “Two. Madge and Sally.”

       The interest died. “I’ve got my daddy.” She grew fierce. “He’d be lonely without me.”

       “I’m sure he would. He’s fortunate to have you.”

       Ellie nodded.

       “Just as you’re fortunate to have him. Now, shall I read a story to start with?” Ease into the lessons, Adele had advised.

       “I guess.” Her lack of enthusiasm was slightly dampening, but Louisa chose to ignore it, opened the book and began to read. She loved the rhythm of the words, the comfort of the familiar story, but she closed the book at the end of chapter one. “We’ll read more later, but now it’s your turn to read to me.” She handed Ellie the primer Adele thought she would be reading from by now. “Can you read me the first page?”

       Ellie fixed Louisa with a stubborn frown and made no move to open the book.

       Louisa flipped the pages to the first story. “Start here.”

       Ellie didn’t even shift her eyes to the page.

       “Ellie, please read this.”

       Ellie lowered her eyes, skimmed the page and closed the book. “I can’t.”

       “Why can’t you? Is it too hard?”

       “I can’t remember.”

       Louisa sighed. “What do you remember?”

       “Falling out of the tree and landing wrong. You should have heard my leg. It snapped. Like this.” She clicked her tongue to imitate the sound. “I tried not to cry, but my daddy was gone.”

       “Gone? Where?” Was this what he meant when he said it was his fault?

       “Out working. We own a ranch, you know. He was checking the cows.”

       “I see.”

       “So now I have to lie in bed in this horrible cast—” She banged on it, the sound a hollow thud. “I can’t do schoolwork.”

       “Of course you can work. There’s nothing wrong