Chance Encounter
In the foyer, she heard Mr. Howard’s raucous laughter and paused to enjoy it for a moment. Living with him must be entertaining, she thought, and she wondered why it was Brady looked so much like his father but didn’t have his disposition at all.
Thinking of Brady made his brother come to mind. She pulled open the door and stepped out into the fresh morning air, noticing the dew on the grass, and thought about how nice Doc was. Even though she’d just had one conversation with him, she felt like she’d known him for ages. He was intelligent, educated, polite, and not at all bad to look at.
Hope went on her way to the town square thinking about the rules she’d agreed to regarding her own marriage, and then she almost laughed aloud at her own silliness. She certainly was jumping ahead of herself. For all she knew, Nicholas was engaged to be married, the same as Brady. How long had it taken the other brother to mention Anna? No, it was more than a little foolish for Hope to start thinking about her future somehow being connected to Nicholas Howard.
The sound of children’s laughter hit her ears, and she looked around to see a little girl and a slightly taller boy playing in the back of one of the houses. They looked to be school-aged, and she wondered if they would be in her class. The girl caught her staring, and Hope gave a little wave. The young girl waved back, her smile showing several missing teeth. Hope was certain she’d remember her face if she saw her again, and since school started in just a few days, she thought maybe the little one would remember her, too.
The enormous courthouse building came into view as Hope approached the square. There were already some wagons and carriages passing through, some bustle behind the buildings as merchants prepared for the day. She wondered if Mr. Howard’s days were long because he didn’t arrive as early as these other people. Passing by some of the shops, she noticed that many of them opened at 8:00. She thought perhaps the bank was the only building that opened later.
Situated on the corner across from the bank, which was on the opposite side of the street, the post office would have been an impressive building if it weren’t overshadowed by the courthouse. An older gentleman approached the steps that led up to the door and the drop box as Hope stood and stared at the grand architecture. “Mornin’, miss,” he said, giving her a nod.
“Good morning.” She smiled, glad that her first encounter on the street had been a pleasant one.
“You gotta letter?”
“Yes, I do.” She patted her pocket.
“Well, I can take it fer ya. I’m the postmaster. Name’s Dale Twinston, but people call me Twinny.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Twinny.” He bowed his head, and she nodded. “I’m Hope Tucker, the new schoolteacher.”
“Well, I’ll be!” he shouted, leaning back and putting his hands on his hips. “It’s real nice to meet you, Miss Tucker. My grand babies'll be in yer class. Joshua and Nancy Twinston. Their ma’s been learnin’ ‘em at home these past few years, but they’s real excited to have a real teacher. They’ll be extra excited to see she’s young and perty.” He giggled a little with the last statement, and Hope felt her face flush.
“Why, thank you, Twinny,” she said, not sure what else to say. “The letter has a stamp and everything.” She pulled it out of her pocket.
“I’ll make sure it goes out today.” He took the letter and glanced down at it. “Missouri, huh? Far off from here.”
“It is,” she agreed. “But I have no doubt McKinney will feel like home to me real soon.”
“It’s a nice place,” Twinny agreed. “Most folks is real nice, and you can be sure we’s excited to have you here. Just… there’s a few you gotta be leery of, that’s all. I’m sure you’ll scout ‘em out right quick.” He chuckled, and she smiled at him, even though she wasn’t quite sure how it was she was supposed to know who he was referring to.
“Thank you, Twinny.” It seemed as if there wasn’t much else to say, and even though Twinny was nice, Hope was curious to see the rest of the shops on the square. “It was lovely to meet you.”
“You, too, Miss Tucker.” He gave a little wave and then headed up the stairs, her letter in his hand, and Hope said a little prayer that it would actually make it into the outgoing mail. At least it wasn’t anything too horribly important.
She continued to explore the square for the next couple of hours. Before the shops opened, she found a spot on a bench and watched the people driving by and the shop owners preparing for the day. Once the doors began to switch their signs to open, she weaved her way through several of them, taking in all that McKinney had to offer. There was a bakery that made divine pastries; after she’d eaten the first one, she’d purchased and pocketed a second. The dress shop had all sorts of lovely fabric, some with patterns she’d never seen before. She was astounded to know a small town in Texas could have such a selection, but the owner, a sweet older woman by the name of Carlotta, explained that she was able to procure much of her wares from New Orleans and that her husband made a special trip every few months. The prices reflected her trouble, and Hope wondered how in the world she managed to sell such finery to the folks she’d met so far, but then, Carlotta mentioned she had clientele come from all over, including Dallas and San Antone.
When Hope spotted a bookstore on the corner across from the feed store, her eyes nearly bulged out of her head. She flew the last few steps and pulled open the door so quickly, she almost ran into a man exiting.
“Pardon me,” he said, lurching out of the way.
Hope froze, her hand still on the door, a lump forming in her throat. At first, all she noticed were crystal blue eyes, and that alone would’ve been enough to set her heart palpitating, but then she realized she recognized the face. It was him—the man Brady had warned her about. Judah Lawless. She stammered, unable to speak, and continued to stare at him.
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