The Teacher's Star

had she done what he thought he saw?
The teacher! She hated him. He reasoned it was why they’d faced off against each other today.
“Mr. Anderson, I require support from my parents.” Her voice sounded colder than the snow outside on the Wyoming earth. “Granted, Enid has no mother. Regardless, children must obey the rules of the school, no matter the excuse.”
He took a menacing step forward, Eenie clinging leech-like as he moved forward as well. A unit. A complete family. That’s what he and his little girl were.
His baritone growl echoed in the silence of the empty schoolhouse. “Are you saying I’m looking for excuses, not facing the problem, Miss?”
She tipped her head. He’d seen women do that as a way to look down their nose at people around them, to put them in ‘their place’. Roland watched the teacher’s eyes. He saw no criticism, just frustration and—
Fear? She was afraid of him!
What would he do with a horse that showed him fear? He worked much better with horses than people. That was an idea. He’d treat Miss Perkins like a horse.
Reaching a hand slowly out in her direction, he made a shushing sound. Before, he’d seen a small glimmer of fear. Now, the woman stood ready to flee. Backing up with her palms positioned in a protective gesture, she held her arms up as if to shield herself from a blow.
She shrieked, “What are you doing? Don’t touch me!” Then the woman grabbed the pointer from the desk behind her, brandishing it like a sword.
This time, Roland didn’t bother to smother his snort. He stood between a cowering woman he wouldn’t harm and a giggling little girl who should fear her punishment. Best rebuild a bridge here.
“Ma’am. I didn’t want to harm you. Just hoped to calm you a bit. Don’t want you to fear me.”
The waving pointer suddenly stilled. “Why do you believe I fear you? Hardly, Mr. Anderson.” A frown replaced any worry in her eyes. “Why did you think touching me would make me less afraid?”
Roland felt his face heat. “It works with horses, so I just thought…”
His voice trailed off and he retreated a step or two when the pointer waved angrily toward him. At his movement, the woman self-consciously smoothed a dark tendril behind her ear and composed herself. Then she pointed at Eenie, who no longer hid.
The woman’s face softened, and, not for the first time, he appreciated her lovely, blue-gray eyes and the sculpted cheek bones. She was a good-looking woman, when she wasn’t frowning or scowling.
“I do fear, but only for Enid. That is, if we can’t work together to see that she learns while in school rather than playing pranks and starting fights.”
Eenie’s warbled response cut off any response he might have made. “Try an’ make me.”
The teacher’s message was delivered. Why waste more time with her, no matter that she was a pretty little thing? This was no dance. It was a parent-teacher meeting, and he’d decided to adjourn it.
“Thank you, Miss Perkins. I expect you’ll see a change on Monday.” Nodding, he plunked his hat into place. “I’d like to check in with you in a few days.”
The woman nodded her agreement, still clutching the pointer. No matter how much she denied it, the woman looked alarmed.
Miss Perkins definitely feared him. Could it be, somehow, that she knew about Rol Anders?
Roland Anderson would need to nose around and find out what she knew.
Outside, he gruffly ordered Eenie into the sleigh. As always, the girl raced to obey, moving quickly onto the seat. Seemed the kid only had one real speed, rapid. It’d been like that from her earliest years.
She’d walked early, running almost from the first. She’d talked in sentences since close to the age of two. Her clever mind made life a challenge if she chose to be naughty. Those times had been rare, at least before she started acting up in school.
What got into the girl, to tangle with her teacher?
Pulling the sheepskin coat closer around himself, he threw a woolen blanket over both his legs and those of the little girl cuddled next to him.
At that moment, with her snuggled at his side, he thanked the Lord Deborah went into the water alone. He still had at least one of them. After her death, he’d had nightmares of her carrying the newborn into the lake that terrible day.
Naughty or not, he loved this little girl. Something had to change. He couldn’t be away from her so much. Before Belle, he hadn’t spent more than a handful of days each month with Eenie.
A thought tickled his mind. Could that be the reason for Eenie’s behavior now?
Setting the horse into motion, he waited until they left the lights of Belle before speaking. Using his deep, commanding tone—his daughter called it his ‘bad man’ voice—Roland gave her the punishment.
“You are not allowed near the horses until Miss Perkins tells me the problems in school have disappeared.”
He felt her stiffen beside him. “But, she—”
Father cut off daughter in a way practiced by parents for eons. “No. Not a word. If you aren’t causing problems, I should hear good things, right?”
Silence, then he felt a small shrug of the shoulder pressed against him. When she didn’t answer, the bad man voice sounded again. “Will I hear good things, Eenie?”
Under the star-filled sky, the girl sent a long sigh toward the heavens. “Yes, sir. You will.”
Let her fume and think. Roland knew he had his own pondering to do. The quiet of the late January evening enclosed him in a kind of bubble, keeping out distractions as he remembered the handful of times he’d met the teacher.
Last October, it must have been. A Friday evening, the first week of school.
The Pettigrew sisters had