Confrontation
But Brady wasn’t finished with Hope. Stepping forward, he asked, “What are you doin’?”
Hope froze, her forehead crinkling. She took a step back in Brady’s direction. Another man took the bucket from Brady. “What are you talkin’ about?” she asked, her head tipped to the side.
Brady stormed at her, causing Hope to shrink back slightly, though she held her ground. “Do you not remember what I told you the day I picked you up from the station? Did you forget you got yerself a purty specific teachin’ contract, Miss Tucker?”
Hope’s dander was up now. With her chin set in defiance, she narrowed her eyes and began to explain. “I was just fetchin’ the water because Anna got busy, Mr. Howard,” she said, no longer a shrinking violet. “I didn’t forget anything. Mr. Lawless happened to be at the pump and volunteered to help me carry the heavy buckets over here so y’all could get the water faster.” Her eyes flickered past the rampaging bull standing in front of her, and she saw Judah hadn’t gone too far. If she needed him, he’d be there, but she had enough of her mama in her not to need him, not yet anyway.
Brady seemed sufficiently warned to mind his own business but needed to have the final say. “Just remember my folks has done a lot fer you. My mama’d be awful upset if it turns out the only reason you come here is because you’s huntin’ a man. ‘Specially if that man turns out to be someone the likes of Judah Lawless.” He turned and walked away, leaving Hope staring after him, her eyes bulging.
Judah was concerned. She could see it in his eyes, even though he didn’t take a step toward her. She managed a smile, hoping to assure him she was okay. He didn’t seem to quite believe her, but he didn’t come over, and Hope turned and walked back toward the other women, fuming.
She understood now. At first she’d thought Brady and Anna were there because Melissa was Anna’s cousin, that even though their relationships seemed strained, family helped family out when it was needed. But she knew now that wasn’t the case at all. Brady’d been forced to come to keep an eye on her. Nita had likely talked him into it after she’d told her hostess she’d decided to come. Whether or not it had anything to do with Judah or Nita just wanted to make sure she didn’t break her contract didn’t matter to Hope. She was a trustworthy woman, not a child who needed to be looked after. Part of her wanted to march right over to Anna and give her a piece of her mind.
But Anna wasn’t the culprit here. If anything, she was a victim. She likely didn’t want to be there either. By the time she reached the other women, Hope had calmed down some. Melissa was talking to Evelynn, the two of them laughing about something, but Hope still felt to blame for the fact that the woman had unwanted guests at her barn raising. If Hope wasn’t there, Anna and Brady wouldn’t be either.
“That Brady sure is a strong feller,” Rita said, sneaking up to Hope’s shoulder. “It’s a good thing he decided to come.” She turned and looked at the shorter woman. “I know he’s a bit loud and don’t always think before he speaks, but he’s got his good points to. And Anna ain’t seen her cousin in a long spell. It’s nice they had this chance to be reminded of the friendship they used to have.”
Hope nodded, realizing what Rita was saying. Maybe it was Hope’s fault the couple had come, but there were positives to them being there. At the moment, though, Hope was thinking maybe she was the one who should’ve stayed home, in her too small room, with her not enough furniture. If she just did exactly what everyone expected her to do, stayed in line, focused on her students, used the materials she was given and stopped asking for more, perhaps everyone else would be happy. Hope would be miserable, though, and she wasn’t sure she could handle such an existence, even if it did mean she’d keep her position indefinitely. What good could she do as a teacher if she wasn’t a happy individual?
Deciding there was nothing she could do at the moment, she pitched in and helped finish off the final work that needed to be done before the ladies could demand the men lay down their hammers and come on over to eat. One thing was certain, she’d sit as far away from Judah as possible. Regardless of whatever else she decided to do, it did seem like a sensible decision to avoid the man with the secret past, even if every word spoken about him was untrue. He seemed like a surefire way to get herself into a mess of trouble, the kind that would end her career and leave her packing her bags, headed back to Missouri a failure having let down all of her students. And those children already meant too much to her for her to let that happen.
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