fourteen

At around eight the next morning, a knock on the door startled Samantha awake. For a moment she thought she’d overslept and was going to be late for school, but then she remembered that she’d given her resignation. Remembering why gave her a heavy heart as the knock sounded once more.

“Yes? Who’s there?”

“It’s Rose, Samantha. May I come in?”

“Of course, Rose. One minute.” Samantha slipped on her wrapper and hurried to unlock the door. Rose stood with a big tray holding a pot of tea, two cups, and a plate of toast in her hands.

“Oh Rose, you didn’t have to—”

“I know. But we were all starting to worry when you didn’t come down at your regular time, and I wanted to have my say before you do anything today. May I join you for tea?”

“Of course you may.” Samantha held the door open wide for her to come in.

Rose set the tray on the table by the window and pulled up an extra chair from the writing desk. Samantha took a seat as the older woman poured them each a cup of tea.

“I had a feeling you might be feeling a bit sick at your stomach after all the goings-on yesterday,” Rose said. “The toast might help.”

Sam couldn’t even remember if Rose had been there when she’d told Faith what had happened, but evidently she knew. And obviously, she was trying to help in her own way. Well, at least she wouldn’t have to tell the whole story again.

Rose took a seat and held out the plate of toast. She was right. Samantha’s stomach didn’t much take to the smell of bacon and eggs that had followed Rose up the stairs. Toast might be the only thing she’d be able to keep down. She took a piece and bit in, chewing slowly as Rose began to speak.

“Now, I came to say a few things, and even though I know it’s really none of my business what you do, I care a great deal about what you decide. First off, no one who knows you is going to believe you seduced that principal up in Kansas. Not that you couldn’t, mind you—but that you wouldn’t.”

“Thank you, Rose.”

Rose gave a short nod and continued. “Second is that this whole family loves you, Samantha. Like me, you’ve become like family to them. Fact is, none of us wants you to leave. If you are worried about any rumors embarrassing us or causing us trouble, put that right out of your mind. We can handle it.”

“Oh, Rose. . .I don’t know what to say.”

“It’s all right. You don’t need to say anything. But I’m not finished yet.” She grinned. “I have more to say.”

Samantha couldn’t contain a giggle. “All right, Rose. You let me know when you are through.”

“Well, there’s Ben. He’s a right special man.”

“Yes, ma’am, he is.”

Rose gave a short nod. “Well, he was one of the lonesomest men I’ve ever known, until you came into his life.”

Rose had all her attention now, and Samantha waited for her to continue.

“You’ve given him someone to care about besides his children—to dream of a future with. Matt and Hope love him, but they don’t want to live his life. They are dreaming of their own futures. It’s not going to be all that long before they find mates of their own. Ben needs someone to share his life with now and later.”

“But I’m not sure I—”

“You are afraid you won’t measure up to his Molly, aren’t you?”

Samantha sighed. “He loved her very much, and from all accounts she was a near-perfect wife. There’s nothing perfect about me, Rose.”

“There’s nothing perfect about any of us, Samantha. Not even Molly. I’m sure she was a wonderful woman, but the reason she is held in such high esteem is because she loved them all, probably with everything she was. You love them, too. I can see it in your eyes and hear it in your voice when you speak to them—especially Ben. My question to you is, do you love them enough to stay here and show them how much you care?”

“But Rose, I don’t want to bring them any—”

“Sorrow? Trouble? Pain? Don’t you know that if you leave, you’ll bring them—us—all of those things? And you will always wonder if you’ve done the right thing. Don’t have any regrets, Samantha. Stay here and live life abundantly, the way the Lord wants you to. Give it all over to Him, and let Him take care of it. Be still and listen to Him.”

With that, Rose got up, gave Samantha a hug, and left the room. Samantha sat speechless. What could she say to all of that? Except that maybe it was time she did as Rose suggested. Be still and listen.

❧

“Well? Is she all right? Did she say what she is going to do?” Ben asked when Rose came back downstairs.

“No. But she’s not packing to go anywhere yet. I don’t know if anything I said will change her mind, but I tried, Ben.”

“Thank you, Rose.” He exhaled deeply and looked at Faith and Gabe. They’d told him about their conversation with Samantha the night before. “And thank you for telling her your story, Gabe. You’ve all done what you can, and I appreciate it. Now I guess it’s up to the good Lord to keep her here.”

A knock on the front door had Faith hurrying down the hall to answer. But Ben and Gabe were both on their feet as they heard her say, “Mr. Connors, Mrs. Connors, what brings you here this morning?”

“I’d like to speak to Miss Carter, if I may,” Mr. Connors said.

By then Ben was at his sister’s side, and Gabe stood right behind her.

“I’m not sure she—”

“Please, Mrs. Logan. My husband doesn’t wish to hurt Miss Carter. We’ve talked things over, and we’re here to help, if we can.”

Faith looked at Ben. He nodded. Anyone who was trying to help keep Sam here was more than welcome to try.

“I’ll go see if I can get her to come down,” Faith said.

“Thank you.”

“Why don’t you wait in the parlor? The boarders have come down for breakfast and—”

“Of course,” Mr. Connors said. “We don’t want to disturb them.”

Faith turned and hurried up the stairs while Gabe and Ben showed the principal and his wife into the parlor.

“Please take a seat. They’ll be back down soon.”

Ben hoped that was the case. It was possible that Samantha would refuse to come down. But if these people truly wanted to help her, he hoped she’d talk to them. Whatever they had to say, they were going to say it in front of him. He wasn’t leaving Samantha to deal with any more heartache alone.

❧

Samantha had been trying to do as Rose suggested. She’d sat still with her eyes closed and held her Bible, asking the Lord to let her know what she should do. The peace that settled over her while remembering some of her favorite verses about the Lord never leaving her assured her that He was there with her, that He always was. She had only to give her worries over to Him.

But running footsteps down the hall and a knock on her door startled her out of her peaceful state. She hurried to open the door and found Faith. “Samantha, Mr. Connors is here to see you. He says it’s very important that he talk to you, and even his wife is with him.”

“Oh Faith, please—” No, she couldn’t do that. It wasn’t right to ask Faith to make excuses for her. She had to handle this herself—no, she had to look to the Lord to help her handle it. “Tell Mr. Connors that I’ll be right down.”

“You don’t have to talk to them alone. Ben and Gabe and I will be there.”

“Thank you. I’ll hurry.”

Samantha dressed quickly and arranged her hair on top of her head. She looked a little pale and pinched her cheeks to give them some color before heading downstairs. Mr. and Mrs. Connors waited in the parlor with Ben, Gabe, and Faith.

Mr. Connors stood when Samantha entered the room. “Miss Carter, thank you for seeing us. I realize that yesterday must have been very hard on you. I wanted to let you know about some new developments.”

“New developments?” Samantha looked from Mr. Connors to Ben, who’d come to stand beside her, and back again. “What are you talking about, Mr. Connors?”

“Why don’t we all go into the kitchen?” Faith suggested. “I know it’s not very formal, but the boarders usually use this room after breakfast, and they’ll be through anytime now.”

“Thank you, Faith. Yes please, if you don’t mind, Mr. and Mrs. Connors, let’s go to the kitchen.”

Faith led the way, and Samantha followed with Ben and Gabe right behind her.

“Do you want us to leave?” Gabe asked Samantha.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Ben said. “Samantha needs our support, and I’m not leaving her here to deal with this alone.” He looked firmly at Mr. Connors, and Samantha’s heart swelled with love for the man who always seemed to put her first.

“That is up to you, Miss Carter,” Mr. Connors said. “I certainly don’t mind if they stay. It might not be a bad idea.”

“Please, everyone take a seat. Would you like some coffee or tea?” Faith said without waiting for Samantha’s answer. It was as if they’d all made up her mind for her, and she had to smile. She took a seat beside Ben, and when he held out his calloused hand to her, she took it. It comforted her to know he was there for her.

“We’re fine, Mrs. Logan, thank you,” Mrs. Connors said. “I insisted on coming with my husband because I want Miss Carter to know that we both are supporters of hers and. . .I suppose I should let him tell Miss Carter what’s happened.”

“Thank you, dear,” Mr. Connors said with a loving look directed at his wife. He turned back to Samantha. “After you left yesterday, the superintendent came over to speak to me. It seems Mrs. Edwards beelined it to his office.”

“That doesn’t surprise me, Mr. Connors, and it’s not really a new development. I figured she’d be talking to him and the school board, too, for that matter.”

“I understand. But what happened right after that is the news.”

“Oh? And what would that be?”

“Your old principal came asking about openings for a principal at any of the schools.”

“Mr. Jennings? Here in Guthrie?” Samantha sat up straight.

“Yes, ma’am. Apparently he is no longer working in Kansas. Said he wanted to come to Guthrie and be in on starting a new school system here.”

“Then what Mrs. Edwards said about him being fired—that must be true.”

“I think it is.”

“But, you aren’t leaving, are you, Mr. Connors?”

“No. I’m staying right here. But there is an opening for a principal coming up at Vilas Avenue, and the school board put an advertisement in the paper about a week ago. Somehow he’d gotten word of that.”

“He can’t get hired here, Mr. Connors.” Suddenly, Samantha knew what she had to do. “If he’s hired here, he might try to do the same thing with another teacher that he tried to do with me. We can’t let him do that, Mr. Connors.”

“I was hoping you’d say that. Even the superintendent wondered about him. Did you go to the school board in Kansas about him?”

“No.” Samantha shook her head. “He’d already threatened that he would ruin my reputation if I didn’t give in to his demands. I had no intention of doing that, but I didn’t think anyone would believe me. So I left.”

“I wondered if something like that might have happened. Somehow, someone else must have gone to his wife or the school board if he was fired. It’s possible he found out you were here and followed you.”

Samantha drew in a sharp breath and shook her head. “I don’t know how he’d know. I haven’t even written my best friend, Annie Rogers, because I didn’t want her to have to lie to him.”

“He’s not going to get to you, Samantha. I promise you that,” Ben said.

She took comfort from his words and the squeeze he gave her fingers.

“Well, I might have to ask you to face him one more time,” Mr. Connors said. “There is an emergency school board meeting tonight. He’ll be there, and I was hoping—”

It was as if everyone around the table held their breath waiting for Samantha to say something. She shuddered inwardly at the thought of seeing Jennings again, but she knew she had to go. She couldn’t let him get away with treating another teacher like he had her. She wouldn’t be facing him alone. Ben would be by her side, as would Faith and Gabe, probably Rose, too. But most important of all, the Lord would be with her, and she was ready to hand the situation over to Him.

“What time?”

“The meeting is at seven o’clock.”

Samantha let out a big breath and smiled. “There is no way I can let Jennings get into this school system. I’ll do all I can to keep him from treating anyone here the way he treated me. I’ll be there.”

“We’ll all be there,” Ben said. “Hope you’ve got a room big enough.”

Mr. Connors looked at him. “It’s big enough to bring as many people as you want.”

Ben nodded and grinned. “Good.”

Somehow, that smile put her fears to rest—well, that and knowing the Lord would be there with them.