“The gun shop.” He crossed his arms over his chest, which she was beginning to realize he did when he was about to accuse her of something. “I’m sure guns are on your disapproval list.”
She smiled inwardly. The man really did have her wrong. “Not at all. I’ve handled a gun or two in my life.” No point in telling him she’d won the shooting contest at the last Annual Guthrie Land Run festival, beating out not only her three older brothers, but the other men in the contest as well. Every year she was the lone woman who entered and was permitted that honor because four years ago her women’s rights cousin, Ellie, had fought the Festival officials to allow her entrance.
He tipped his hat. “Good night, Miss Cochran, I will see you in the morning.”
Priscilla entered her house and turned the lock on the doorknob. She must remember to ask Mr. Beaumont for a key.
She removed her coat and hung it in the bare closet. With tomorrow being Thursday, she didn’t have a lot of time to get both her house and the school set up by Monday. It seemed days, instead of hours, since she’d first arrived in Dogtown. At least after tonight’s meeting she was certain of her place in the community.
Everyone she’d met seemed excited to have her in their town. Now if she could only convince Mr. Beaumont that she intended to stay and she was anything but a high society woman. There were no more down-to-earth people than her parents. They would never have tolerated a princess in their house. And any woman raised with four brothers could hold her own.
As she shimmied out of her clothes and rummaged around in her trunk for a nightgown, she thought about Mr. Beaumont. He was a widower and had been one for many years. Something about him drew her interest. Maybe it was simply because his place in town represented a challenge for her.
Strolling around in her nightgown, she finally got the opportunity to check her kitchen and was pleased to see her pantry had been stocked with jars of canned fruits and vegetables. Her refrigerator had a supply of eggs, milk, cheese, and butter. There was flour, coffee, tea, sugar, rice, oats, and beans. It would be awhile before she ran out of food.
Despite wishing to relish having her own house that she shared with no one else, fatigue from the day’s events, starting with her ride on the mail coach from Denver that morning, had crept up on her. With a healthy yawn, she padded into the bedroom and crawled into the bed, satisfied with its comfort. After a lifelong habit of saying a quick prayer of thanks, she drifted off to sleep.
The next morning she awoke with a sense of anticipation. She lay in bed and studied the cozy room. Once she got the schoolroom set up, she would paint the walls of her bedroom a nice light blue—totally different from her cream-colored walls at home. That would match the lovely blue-and-tan quilt her cousin’s wife, Heidi, had made for her.
She jumped up, eager to start her day. Of the three trunks Mr. Beaumont had piled in her parlor, one was school supplies, one held household items her female family members had made for her, and the last was a trunk of her clothing. That’s the one she reached for first. Pulling out a dark green serge dress, she shook it out, pulled out her undergarments, and headed to the bedroom where she took a quick wash and dressed.
For years her family had had indoor plumbing, along with a good sized bathroom, so resorting to using the privy once again was probably the only thing so far that she was unhappy about.
Once she’d taken care of her business, she scrambled eggs and walked around her house, eating them and half a jar of peaches. She smiled. Walking around while eating was something her mama would never have allowed. But this was her house.
Since she couldn’t start work in her classroom until Mr. Beaumont came to carry her trunk to the school, she decided her time was best spent by at least emptying her clothing trunk. She had it almost completely emptied when she heard a thump on the front door. Assuming it was Mr. Beaumont, she hurried to open the door.
Strange. No one there. She walked to the end of the path and looked around. Shrugging, she turned back and stared at a large black bear standing between her and the front door. She screeched and stepped back. The bear stood and let out with a loud growl, pawing at the air. Then, on all fours, he began to lumber toward her.
Her heart pounding in her chest, she ran around the house and turned to see the bear coming after her. “Oh, God.”
She raced to a large oak tree right outside her kitchen window. Without a thought, she wrapped her hands around a sturdy looking branch and hoisted herself up. She sat on the limb, swinging her legs back and forth. The bear reached the tree and looked up at her, and saw what she was sure he thought was his breakfast.
Grabbing the branch above her head, she stood and hand-over-hand wa
lked herself to the edge of the branch. A loud growl sounded from below. She looked down and let out with a cry. He seemed so close! Scrabbling forward, she climbed from the tree onto the roof of the house. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
“Help!”
The bear remained under the tree, still staring up at her. She prayed and whimpered, hoping the bear wouldn’t climb the tree and follow her onto the roof. She licked her dry lips and tried to slow her heartbeat down.
They continued to stare at each other for about ten minutes. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, wondering if she would be stuck up on the roof all day.
Just as she remembered Mr. Beaumont was supposed to come to her house before he opened his shop, the sound of a bellowing shout and heavy, loud clapping made her jump. She leaned over to see Mr. Beaumont waving his arms at the bear and yelling. He picked up a handful of pebbles and threw them at the bear, which backed up with a growl.
“Go! Go on and get out of here.” He threw another handful of pebbles at the animal that turned and lumbered off.
Once the animal had retreated into the woods behind the school, he looked up at her and grinned. “You can come down now, Miss Cochran.”
Chapter Four
“I’m impressed with the amount of books you’ve brought with you.” Mitch gazed at the titles as he pulled out four geography books from the trunk and added them to the pile of school books on the floor of the schoolroom.
In turn, Miss Cochran took the books and added them to the bookshelves in some type of order that made sense to her. “I’m impressed that you’ve taken time from your business to help me unload.”
He sat back on his heels and surveyed the book-covered floor. “And save you from a bear.”
Still rattled from that experience, he was surprised at how calm his voice sounded. Not that he’d been worried about the bear. The true danger had rested in his arms when he’d caught Miss Cochran as she dropped from the roof. He’d been immediately surrounded by the scent of lemons and sunshine, a perfect fragrance for her. Her hazel eyes grew as he held her, and it took him a couple of moments before his senses returned and he set her on her feet.