Accidental Fiancee (23 page)

“Oh, she wasn’t really gossiping,” Gracie clarified, her pale blue eyes serious. Gracie never said a harsh word about anyone. “It’s just that she saw the whole thing and she said that those children needed a woman to take them in hand and one to take the sheriff to task, since it appears he has little control of them. She said it’s a wonder you weren’t really hurt.”

“
Are
you all right?” Ellie asked, holding Allison at arm’s length.

“I’m not sure.” Sudden weariness washed over her. The emotion that had carried her through the past hour had drained her and she wanted nothing more than to go back to her little three-room house across the railroad tracks and crawl into bed. Maybe the whole messy ordeal would turn out to be nothing but a bad dream.

Drawing a fortifying breath, she pulled off her other glove and shoved both into her reticule. “I think I just sabotaged my future here.”

“What?”

“How?”

Both Ellie and Grace spoke at once. Ellie pushed Allison toward a table and called for her daughter, Bethany, to bring her aunt a cup of coffee.

The fortifying beverage delivered, Ellie said, “Tell us everything.”

“I went to speak to the sheriff about what happened.”

“What did he say?” Gracie asked, a frown furrowing her high forehead. She was the worrier of the group.

“He said a lot of things, among them that I was in a snit and that maybe I didn’t like his children.” Recalling the menace he’d radiated as he glared at her across his desk, Allison gave a little shudder. “He’d already accused me of picking on Brady.”

“What? When?” Gracie asked.

“At the end of the year when I suggested that he and Brady work on his reading throughout the summer.”

“Tell us what happened,” Ellie commanded in a gentle tone.

They listened as Allison related her encounter with the sheriff. As she talked, Ellie’s smile grew broader.

“It isn’t funny,” Allison said after she wrapped up the tale. “I’ve already talked to Homer, who was none too pleased.”

“What on earth did you tell him?” Ellie asked.

“Well, he already knew I’d spoken with the school board about the children on numerous occasions. I’d assured him I’d discussed things many times with the sheriff but that nothing changed.

“Then I told him what happened at the store. He seemed shocked, and when I told him I’d confronted the sheriff, and that he and I had...words, Homer was not happy. I may lose my job over this.” She groaned and shook her head. “I can’t believe I lost control that way. I
never
fly off the handle like that.”

“No one is perfect,” Gracie said. “And maybe if the mayor talks to Colt, he’ll be forced to do something about Cilla and Brady’s behavior.”

“I pray you’re right.”

“Well, I’m glad you told Colt just how dreadful his kids can be,” Ellie said. “I told him as much, too. And having been a victim myself, I can only imagine what you’ve been dealing with the past year. I dread the thought of coping with those two all day.”

“Surely they can’t be that bad,” Gracie said. “I mean, I’ve heard rumors, but...”

Ellie pressed her pretty lips together to keep from saying something she shouldn’t, and gave Allison a pointed look.

“Well, Priscilla disrupts class at least two or three times a day, and must be either stood in the corner or given extra work to do. She is sarcastic, argumentative, and at times her behavior verges on outright defiance.”

“Never say it!”

Allison nodded. “In general, Brady is a sweet enough child, but he falls more and more behind every day, since he can’t seem to grasp any part of the concept of reading. As you know, if you can’t read, you have trouble with other subjects and even some mathematical problems.”

“That’s true,” Gracie said, frowning.

“When I comment on an incorrect answer, he becomes resentful and belligerent and often refuses to do anything I ask of him for the remainder of the day. He’d rather stand in the corner than comply with any request I might make.”

“What does the sheriff say?” Gracie asked.

“That he’ll take care of things, but he doesn’t.”

“The thing is,” Ellie chimed in, “Colt is smart, dedicated and honorable. He really cares about people and he’s very hardworking, but when it comes to those kids, he’s a total failure. They rule the Garrett roost.”

Allison nodded in agreement. “I told him he needed to take more control.” She made a disgusted face. “He didn’t appreciate it much.”

“Well, if they’re as bad as all that, don’t you think someone should try to find out why?” Gracie said, looking from one friend to the other.

A little surprised by the logic of the comment, Allison and Ellie stared at each other. Leave it to Gracie to cut to the chase.

“Let’s face it, men don’t relate to children the way women do. Don’t you imagine it’s been hard for them growing up without a mother?” Gracie asked, ever the one to see the other side.

“I suppose so,” Ellie conceded.

Allison shifted in her seat, as a wave of shame and failure swept through her. “I’m ashamed to say that I’ve never given it more than passing thought,” she said. “I’ve been more concerned about their behavior and Brady’s grades.”

“I’m no alienist,” Gracie said, “but I would venture to say that the reason they’re so mean to the women Colt shows interest in is that they’re afraid someone might come between them and their father.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Ellie said at last. “They should know that he will love them no matter what.”

“Actually, it does, Ellie,” Allison said, acknowledging her own oversight and latching on to the levelheaded Gracie’s theory.

“Well, why were they so terrible to you?” Ellie asked. “There’s nothing going on between you and Colt.”

Not that I wouldn’t like there to be.

Without warning, the thought flashed through Allison’s mind, and she stifled a little gasp of surprise. Now, where did that come from? Not once since Jesse had she felt any serious attraction to a man, and Colt Garrett was not the sort of man who could ever interest her!

“Oh,” Gracie said. “You’re right. Allison is their teacher, not the sheriff’s lady love.”

“Who knows what goes through the minds of children?” Allison said, warming to this new viewpoint. “Especially Sheriff Garrett’s children. You could be onto something with the notion that they don’t want anyone upsetting the status quo. I’m not sure children understand the different kinds of love or that it’s possible to love more than one person.”

She took a final sip of her cooling coffee and drew her purse closer, ending the conversation. “Homer said he’d think things over and decide on a course of action.”

She pulled some coins from her purse to pay for the coffee, but Ellie pushed them aside. “It’s on the house.”

“Thank you. I’d better start pinching pennies since I may soon be without employment. You don’t need a waitress, do you?” The expression in Allison’s eyes belied the lightness of her voice.

“Not really,” Ellie said with a laugh. She gave Allison’s hand a pat. “I know you’re worried, sister dear,” she said, falling back on the childhood term for Allison. “I can’t imagine it coming to that. Homer is one of your most loyal fans.”

“Maybe so,” Allison said, “but everyone knows that he’s very pleased with Colt as our sheriff, too.”

Copyright © 2015 by Penny Richards