In Your Arms (Montana Romance) (21 page)

Reckless.
Lily’s word slammed back into him. She’d been right.

“I still have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said, overloud.

The prisoner was far more interested in the conversation than Christian would have expected. Wilkins chuckled, leaning back further and tucking his hands behind his head.

“I don’t blame you, really.
She’s quite a looker.” He shrugged. “For an Indian whore.”

Christian was halfway across the room with his fist raised before Lily’s voice at the back of his head warned him to caution.
He didn’t listen to it. He brought his fist crashing down across Wilkins’s jaw, knocking him out of Kent’s chair. Wilkins’s caught himself on hands and knees, and after a few startled seconds, began to laugh.

“Something tells me Samuel would like to know about all this,” he said, pushing to his feet and facing Christian across the chair.
He rubbed his jaw. “He told me that woman was radical and disruptive. Maybe she should be
investigated
.”

The way he said it made Christian want to bash his face in, no matter how sore his hand was after one punch.

“Miss Singer is a highly qualified, respected teacher. You leave her out of this.”

“Why?” Wilkins shrugged.
“You didn’t.”

Christian scrambled for a comeback.
Nothing even remotely useful came to mind.

“The council hasn’t approved your self-appointed deputization,” he
said instead. “Until they do—”

“Who said anything about me being a deputy?”

A spike of real alarm shot through Christian’s frustration.

“Town officials have to be approved and appointed by the council.”

“Do you think the town council would approve of one of their teachers liaising with a councilman?”

Wilkins shifted his weight, his smile turning Christian’s stomach.
His problems just kept getting bigger. Much bigger.

“I told you, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
It was never a good day when lying was the only way out.

“Suit yourself.”
Wilkins shrugged then sat in Kent’s chair again. He picked up his fork from across the desk where it had flown when Christian punched him and resumed eating breakfast as though Christian weren’t there.

There had to be something more he could do, another comeback, some way to exert the power he should have had.
Wilkins didn’t so much as blink at him. Christian twisted to look over his shoulder at the prisoner. He was on his feet now, gripping the bars of the cell as though he didn’t quite believe what he’d just seen. The curious look in his eyes was unsettling.

Christian
swore and shook his head to cover the slippery feeling of losing control. Without a good-bye, he marched to the door and slammed it on his way out into the snowy morning. Forget Kent. The only way he was going to be able to put things to right and get rid of Wilkins was to catch the thieves himself. And the only way he was going to protect Lily’s reputation was to stay away from her until he had his grandma’s ring on her finger.

One of those things was a thousand times
more impossible than the other.

Chapter Seventeen

“Lewis and Clark crossed over the continental divide at the Lemhi Pass on August 12, 1805,” Amos recited from his spot near the Trouble Chair at the front of the classroom. “With the help of the Shoshone woman, Sacagawea, they were able to continue on out of the mountains to reach the Pacific coast.”

Isaac
and Grover and the rest of the students representing Lewis and Clark’s expedition walked from one side of the cleared space at the front of the classroom to the other. Lily sat against the jumbled pile of desks that had been pushed aside, chewing on the inside of her lip. Her eyes were fixed on the Trouble Chair. That was where she should be sitting.

“Miss Singer?”

She had made it to the school before noon the day before only to discover that school had been cancelled. That hadn’t stopped her from throwing herself into her work. She’d revised the script for their History Day presentation, graded every outstanding paper on her desk, and drafted a week’s worth of new assignments for her students. None of that had taken her mind off of the soreness between her legs or the sweet memories of what had caused it.

She still ached a day later, but not with physical ailments.
She still wanted, still needed. One night hadn’t been enough to satisfy her. Christian loved her. She may never be satisfied again.

“Miss Singer?”

With a gasp Lily realized her students were standing at the front of the room staring at her. She straightened, cleared her throat, and said, “The play is looking good.”

“No it ain’t,” Grover said, as sullen as ever.
“We’re missing half the parts.”

Indeed, Red Sun Boy and Martha hadn’t shown up for school that day.

“The snow is likely keeping Two Feathers from driving them today,” she said in spite of the knot of anxiety in her stomach. “Jimmy is out today as well because of the snow.”

“History Day is next week,” Isaac reminded her, his usually tough expression laced with worry.
Any other day Lily would have found his enthusiasm for the project encouraging.

“Next week on Wednesday,” she agreed with him and stood.
“I am certain that the snow will have melted or been cleared over the weekend and all of the children that are missing will be back with us on Monday.”

“But what about that soldier at the courthouse?” Amos asked.
“He seemed mean.”

Several of the other children nodded, looking to her for answers.

“Lieutenant Wilkins is just one man,” she reassured them, her own heart quivering. “He is nothing to worry about. Perhaps he will come to History Day and learn something about white men and natives working together.” She forced herself to smile. “Now let’s start again from the beginning and I’ll read the parts for the children who aren’t here.”

The children’s reactions ranged from smiling agreement to doubting frowns as they shuffled back to their original places in the pretend wings of their makeshift stage.
Lily felt each one of those emotions simultaneously and then some. She glanced to the clock at the side of the room. It was only ten. There were still hours to go until school ended and she could ride out to Sturdy Oak’s place to put her worry to rest.

“Miss Singer?”
Isabella Kuhn crept up to Lily’s side and looked at her with wide, wary eyes. “Do you think Red Sun Boy is all right?”

It had never been harder for Lily to pretend confidence.
“Yes, Isabella. I’m sure he’s just fine.”

“Because my papa was saying that Lieutenant Wilkins
might call his regiment in to round up all the renegade Indians and send them back to the reservation.”

A lump formed in Lily’s throat.
She rested a hand on Isabella’s shoulder. “Lucky for us, there are no renegade Indians nearby. Red Sun Boy and his family have every legal right to be where they are.”

If only she believed the law would be enough to keep them safe.

Isabella nodded and skipped to the side of the room to take her place. Whether she felt any better about the situation or not, Lily felt worse. She rested her hand over her thumping heart for a moment, then took a deep breath and forced a smile on her face.

“Now then.
Any time you’re ready, begin.”

Amos cleared his throat and recited, “In 1803, the United States of America bought a large tract of land that made up most of the center of the continent
of North America from the French for fifteen million dollars. This land was known as the Louisiana Purchase.”

Samantha, who was playing the part of France, stepped onto the stage at a loss.
Jimmy was playing Thomas Jefferson.

“It’s all right,” Lily whispered to an anxious Samantha.
“I’ll read Jimmy’s lines. ‘We have’—”

A knock at the door interrupted the play.
Before Lily could say, “Come in,” the door opened. Mr. Prescott and another teacher, Mr. Claremont, stepped into the room. Mr. Prescott wore an expression so grave Lily shot to her feet.

“Good morning, Mr. Prescott,” she greeted him.
“Mr. Claremont.”

Mr. Claremont nodded with an apologetic smile, as if embarrassed to be there.

“Good morning, Miss Singer, class.” Mr. Prescott smiled for the children, but it didn’t last. “Miss Singer, I need to speak with you in my office for a moment. Mr. Claremont will monitor your class until….” He didn’t finish.

A heavy rock
of dread sank into Lily’s stomach. A thousand things could have just gone wrong, each worse than the last. She was highly aware of her students whispering behind her as she walked to the door.

“The children are rehearsing their play about the Louisiana Purchase for History Day,” she informed Mr. Claremont, handing him the script as she passed.
“Several students are absent today, so you will have to read those parts.”

“Yes, yes.”
Mr. Claremont nodded. “And I’m sorry,” he added,
sotto voce
.

Lily’s heart pounded to her throat as she met Mr. Prescott and stepped into the hall with him.
He shut the door behind them with a thump that sounded as much like fate being sealed as anything else.

“What is this about, Mr. Prescott?” she asked, back straight, head held high, as they walked along the corridor toward the office.
“Is there trouble with a student?” Perhaps Red Sun Boy and Martha were not absent because of the snow. With Wilkins in town, anything could happen.

Mr. Prescott let out a breath.
“It’s about gossip and rumormongering, Miss Singer,” he confided, slowing their steps. “I don’t believe any of it and I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation.”

Even as dread curled up in her stomach, a measure of relief lightened Lily’s shoulders.
Someone must have seen her with Christian. Embarrassing as it was, it was far, far better than if Mr. Prescott had come to tell her the Flathead were in trouble.

Her
relief wobbled to uncertainty when Mr. Prescott led her into his office. Samuel and Christian sat in two chairs—trouble chairs—in front of Mr. Prescott’s desk, as far apart as possible. Christian’s eyes met hers the moment she entered the room. He shook his head just enough for her to catch his meaning. They were going to deny everything.

“There.
Now what do you have to say to that?” Samuel asked, slapping the arm of his chair as if Lily’s presence had proven a point.

It wasn’t difficult for Lily to look perplexed.
“Good morning, Mr. Kuhn, Mr. Avery.”

“Lily, would you set this idiot straight?” Christian drawled, rising to offer her his chair.
“He seems to think that the two of us were spotted together in the early morning hours yesterday.”

She worked her expression through as many emotions as she could as she crossed to the offered chair—shock, amusement, outrage, fear—some of them genuine.

“I don’t know how that would be possible, Mr. Kuhn, as I was snowed in at Miss Jones’s boarding house,” she lied smoothly and sat.

Christian stood behind her, arms crossed like a sentinel.
“See? You need to get your facts straight before you accuse respectable women of indiscretions.”

Samuel scowled, unconvinced.
“Lieutenant Wilkins was at the jail and saw them with his own eyes. If that’s not a fact, then I don’t know what is,” he told Mr. Prescott.

“Wilkins only just showed up in town on Wednesday.
He doesn’t know Bo Turner from Rev. Andrews,” Christian scoffed.

“He knows what he saw,” Samuel pressed on.
“And based on that evidence, I demand that Miss Singer be removed from her position as a teacher at this school!”

Cold understanding poured down Lily’s back
. She should have known. If Samuel couldn’t get rid of her one way, he would try another. She took a deep breath and fought to keep her composure as her worst nightmare knocked at the door.

Mr. Prescott sat, shifting in his chair with a grimace in a vain attempt to get comfortable.
“Miss Singer is one of the best teachers this school has, Mr. Kuhn. The students find her engaging and some of the most difficult students have seen measurable improvements in her classroom. If what you’re saying is true, then I would have no choice but to dismiss her.”

“Then dismiss her, because it
is
true,” Samuel insisted.

Mr. Prescott sent a momentary glance to Lily telling her he didn’t want to believe any of it before his
glance flickered to Christian.

“This is a pointless waste of time and a despicable accusation against an innocent woman,” Christian insisted.

“A woman that you are well known to be involved with, Mr. Avery,” Samuel argued. “Half the town has seen the two of you canoodling in public.”

Every close conversation, every flirting look and indiscreet touch between her and Christian came back to haunt Lily.
She should have forced Christian to keep his distance.

“We’re courting, all right?” Christian said.

Lily gasped and sat straighter. She twisted to glare at him wondering how a statement like that could possibly help the situation.

Mr. Prescott’s eyebrows rose and his faint smile lasted for about three seconds.

“But that does not mean we’re doing anything worth firing Lily for,” Christian finished before Samuel could get a word in. “It’s all above board. Maybe a kiss now and then….”

Lily shook with fear and with the desire to slap a hand over Christian’s mouth and never let him speak again.

“I can assure you, Mr. Prescott, I was home at the boarding house yesterday morning. You may ask my fellow lodger, Jessica Bunsick, and she will verify that.”

“Fine!” Samuel barked.
“Go get her. Bring her in and we’ll ask!”

Christian bristled behind her.
Mr. Prescott sighed and rubbed his head.

“Samuel, you can’t call half of Cold Springs into my office because you disagree with Miss Singer’s politics
or because your wife’s team lost to hers,” he said.

A spark of hope flared in Lily’s chest.
If Mr. Prescott believed that this was all retaliation for the academic games, then she had a chance.

Before Samuel could protest, there was a knock at the door.
It opened a moment later to reveal Michael West.

“Sorry it took so long to get here,” Michael said, coming into the room and shutting the door behind him.
“It’s inventory day and Eloise is fussy.”

How Christian could calmly chuckle when the stakes were so high was beyond Lily.
He had the right idea though. She forced herself to smile.

“Good morning, Mr. West,” she greeted him.

“Lily.” Michael took off his hat and nodded to her, acknowledging the men. “What’s this all about? Are we having an impromptu town council meeting?”

“Mr. West,” Samuel said, standing and attempting to tower over Michael.
“Did you or did you not see Mr. Avery and Miss Singer together yesterday morning at an early hour? Did you not, in fact, let them into your store?”

Lily held her breath.
She caught the barest hint of a grin from Christian before Michael blinked and shrugged and said, “No. I don’t recall seeing them at all yesterday.” His expression was so perfectly blank that he should have considered entering a high-stakes poker tournament right then.

“Dammit!” Samuel shouted, forming a fist with nothing to use it on.
“You’re a businessman and a member of the town council! It is your civic duty to tell the truth and not to lie for these two!”

Michael balked.

Christian lost his grin and barked, “Now hold on a minute,” at the same time that Mr. Prescott stood and said, “Mr. Kuhn, really!”

Michael held up a hand to silence the other two.
“Where is this coming from, Samuel?” he asked, the only one who managed to stay outwardly calm besides Lily.

“Carl Wilkins saw them, saw you,” Samuel said.