Wolf Creek Father

A sound that resembled a strangled laugh escaped her. Dear sweet heaven. Had she really left Colt Garrett with the ultimatum that he gain control of his children or she would quit her teaching position? She’d been fortunate to land her position in Wolf Creek, and she had no idea where she would go or what she would do if the sheriff called her bluff.

Never mind calling your bluff. When he tells the mayor what happened and word gets around town, you won’t have to quit—you’ll probably be fired. The thought was like a slap in the face. What parent would want a woman with so little control instructing the town’s children? She gnawed on her lower lip and dabbed again at her eyes. There was no helping it. She must confess to the mayor what she’d done before he heard it elsewhere.

Her shoulders slumped in dejection. She liked it here. She didn’t want to leave, though she’d spent much of the past few years moving from place to place after begin jilted by her lifelong love. Growing up a pleasingly plump redhead with freckles had not been easy, not when her sisters, Belinda and Ellie, were both not only pretty, but also sweet and good. Though everyone said Allison was just as delightful and nice, when compared her to her beautiful sisters, she had always come up short, feeling as if she were somehow a shoddy replica, second-rate and inadequate.

Her sisters were exotic hothouse orchids; she was the spinster, the wallflower—her name for herself—the one who went unnoticed or was asked to do the tedious tasks no one wanted to undertake. She was the one asked to watch the children while others indulged in the entertaining activities. She was the one to pick up the slack wherever or whatever it happened to be.

She found scant consolation in the knowledge that the dictionary said that the upright, woody stems of wallflowers gave them strength, resiliency and tenacity, enabling them to thrive on cliffs, rocks and walls. Though many would consider those wonderful traits, they were hardly the qualities men found attractive.

Ellie and Belinda were beautiful; Allison was robust. Ellie and Belinda were accomplished in many areas; Allison was adequate. Except when it came to her vocation. At teaching, she excelled.

In fairness, her sisters had done their utmost to try to make up for the unfair comparisons, and Allison felt no hard feelings toward either of her siblings...at least not once she gained adulthood and was able to put her feelings of inferiority into proper perspective.

Jesse Castle had been her anchor, her friend, her playmate, her other half since they were children. A bit of a bookworm himself, he’d understood and accepted and loved her for who she was, not for how she looked. They’d been just two months from their wedding day nearly ten years ago, when he’d taken her aside and told her that he was terribly sorry, that he loved her dearly, but that he was not in love with her. He had fallen for pretty, vibrant Callie Boxer, who’d come to spend the summer with her grandmother. He wanted to make his life with her.

Allison hadn’t been just shocked; she’d been devastated. Shamed. Embarrassed. Since childhood, everyone had taken it for granted that she and Jesse would marry and spend the rest of their lives living out a happily-ever-after fairy tale.

Feeling his rejection as if it were the weight of the world, she had cried the entire summer and shut herself off from everyone but her family. She’d spent her time at the park or a hidden corner of the parlor reading Miss Jane Austen’s novels over and over—which infuriated Belinda, who claimed doing so was comparable to wearing a hair shirt.

In many ways, the stories were painful to read, but at the same time a tiny part of her battered heart clung to the nebulous hope that perhaps someday she might find the happy ending she so desired.

Feeling that her only chance at marriage was gone and harboring the outlandish notion that she could run from her heartache and shame if she only ran far enough, Allison mapped out a course for her life that would satisfy her as well as give her something at which she excelled. Something that would enable her to provide for herself and thus to need no man.

She would become a teacher. The best teacher ever. Through the years she had moved from job to job and town to town in an effort to put distance between herself and her heartache, only to realize that it followed her wherever she went.

She hadn’t exactly blamed God for what had happened, but she wasn’t on the best of terms with Him, either. Then, a couple of years ago, Belinda had grown weary of Allison’s refusal to let go of the past and had taken her to task for continuing to wallow, as she so indelicately phrased it, in her unhappiness.

She’d said that yes, Jesse was a nice enough young man, but he had not been perfect, nor had God thrown away the mold after creating him. There were thousands of men out there just as kind, just as understanding, and equally willing and capable of loving her. And, she’d added, there was one special man out there who would sweep her off her feet and make her forget Jesse Castle ever existed. Furthermore, Belinda told her in no uncertain terms, Allie should be thankful that she had not married Jesse and then discovered that he didn’t love her as he should.

Belinda also lectured at length about how Allison clung to her grief, using it as a shield to protect her from further hurt, and how she refused to allow the Lord to work in her life to ease the pain of her loss and bring her peace.

Belinda believed that Allison had adopted the notion that if she didn’t allow joy and happiness into her life, it could not be snatched away from her again. Her sister had finally convinced Allison that she should embrace life and everything it had to offer, even if it did cause occasional hurt. Experiencing down times, sorrow and pain, only made the good times sweeter.

Allison had taken her sister’s loving counsel to heart. With much prayer and the Lord’s help, she had changed her attitude, not only about embracing life, but also with regard to her own shortcomings. She took inventory of herself and realized that while she was no great beauty, she had nice, though unremarkable, features and was at the very least passably nice-looking. There was not much she could do about the color of her hair or its unmanageable curls, but she could brush and pin it into subjection. She was intelligent. Kind. Patient. And loving.

She’d made peace with the possibility that perhaps it was not her lot to marry and have children of her own, but as a teacher she had the opportunity to mold and influence dozens of young lives. She felt she was on her way to contentment at last.

Then, just over a year ago, her prayers had brought her to Wolf Creek. She was thrilled to be near her middle sister once more, and for the first time in years, she was enjoying life. She loved the rolling hills around her, loved her work, and she felt as if she’d made lifelong friends. Abby and Rachel Gentry, Gracie Morrison and Lydia North had become her closest friends. They shared fears, confidences and hopes and dreams. Widowed or spinsters, or like Ellie, uncertain of their status in life, their friendship benefited them all.

And now she might have ruined everything.

Realizing she had arrived at the mayor’s office, Allison paused at the door, her heart heavy with remorse and humiliation. Taking a deep breath, she stepped through Homer Talbot’s door before she lost her nerve.

The mayor started to rise but stopped halfway out of his chair. Even through the fog of her nearsightedness, she could see the shock on his face. Remembering that she must look as if she’d been dragged through a knothole backward, she lifted a hand to tuck the hair behind her ear and push back the drooping rose. Then she attempted to smile without bursting into tears.

“Hello, Miss Grainger,” the mayor said, rising fully and eyeing her from head to toe. The expression in his eyes was wary, but his tone friendly. “What can I do for you this fine summer day?”

Allison drew herself up to her full five feet, one inch. “There was an...incident with the Garrett children at the mercantile earlier, and I wanted to come and tell you the straight of it before you hear something that isn’t true.”

“I see,” he said with a frown. “Have a seat.”

* * *

Half an hour later, she stepped inside Ellie’s open door and let her gaze move around the café. Without her glasses, everything looked soft and fuzzy, as if she were peering through a fog. She squinted in an effort to bring things into focus, but even without her glasses it wasn’t hard to spot familiar faces. Mousy Grace, plain and tall and all angles with a smile to rival an angel’s, and Ellie, exquisitely proportioned and with a face to match, were engaged in a serious conversation at the back of the dining room. Almost as one, they looked up and saw her in the doorway.

“You’ve already heard.”

“Sarah VanSickle was here,” Ellie said, moving toward her with open arms and an expression of sympathy.

Allison’s mouth twisted into a wry smile. “So much for Sarah’s vow not to indulge in any more hurtful gossip.”

“Oh, she wasn’t really gossiping,” Gracie clarified, her pale blue eyes serious. Gracie never said a harsh word about anyone. “It’s just that she saw the whole thing and she said that those children needed a woman to take them in hand and one to take the sheriff to task, since it appears he has little control of them. She said it’s a wonder you weren’t really hurt.”

“Are you all right?” Ellie asked, holding Allison at arm’s length.

“I’m not sure.” Sudden weariness washed over her. The emotion that had carried her through the past hour had drained her and she wanted nothing more than to go back to her little three-room house across the railroad tracks and crawl into bed. Maybe the whole messy ordeal would turn out to be nothing but a bad dream.

Drawing a fortifying breath, she pulled off her other glove and shoved both into her reticule. “I think I just sabotaged my future here.”

“What?”

“How?”

Both Ellie and Grace spoke at once. Ellie pushed Allison toward a table and called for her daughter, Bethany, to bring her aunt a cup of coffee.

The fortifying beverage delivered, Ellie said, “Tell us everything.”

“I went to speak to the sheriff about what happened.”

“What did he say?” Gracie asked, a frown furrowing her high forehead. She was the worrier of the group.

“He said a lot of things, among them that I was in a snit and that maybe I didn’t like his children.” Recalling the menace he’d radiated as he glared at her across his desk, Allison gave a little shudder. “He’d already accused me of picking on Brady.”

“What? When?” Gracie asked.

“At the end of the year when I suggested that he and Brady work on his reading throughout the summer.”

“Tell us what happened,” Ellie commanded in a gentle tone.

They listened as Allison related her encounter with the sheriff. As she talked, Ellie’s smile grew broader.

“It isn’t funny,” Allison said after she wrapped up the tale. “I’ve already talked to Homer, who was none too pleased.”

“What on earth did you tell him?” Ellie asked.

“Well, he already knew I’d spoken with the school board about the children on numerous occasions. I’d assured him I’d discussed things many times with the sheriff but that nothing changed.

“Then I told him what happened at the store. He seemed shocked, and when I told him I’d confronted the sheriff, and that he and I had...words, Homer was not happy. I may lose my job over this.” She groaned and shook her head. “I can’t believe I lost control that way. I never fly off the handle like that.”

“No one is perfect,” Gracie said. “And maybe if the mayor talks to Colt, he’ll be forced to do something about Cilla and Brady’s behavior.”

“I pray you’re right.”

“Well, I’m glad you told Colt just how dreadful his kids can be,” Ellie said. “I told him as much, too. And having been a victim myself, I can only imagine what you’ve been dealing with the past year. I dread the thought of coping with those two all day.”

“Surely they can’t be that bad,” Gracie said. “I mean, I’ve heard rumors, but...”

Ellie pressed her pretty lips together to keep from saying something she shouldn’t, and gave Allison a pointed look.

“Well, Priscilla disrupts class at least two or three times a day, and must be either stood in the corner or given extra work to do. She is sarcastic, argumentative, and at times her behavior verges on outright defiance.”

“Never say it!”

Allison nodded. “In general, Brady is a sweet enough child, but he falls more and more behind every day, since he can’t seem to grasp any part of the concept of reading. As you know, if you can’t read, you have trouble with other subjects and even some mathematical problems.”

“That’s true,” Gracie said, frowning.

“When I comment on an incorrect answer, he becomes resentful and belligerent and often refuses to do anything I ask of him for the remainder of the day. He’d rather stand in the corner than comply with any request I might make.”

“What does the sheriff say?” Gracie asked.

“That he’ll take care of things, but he doesn’t.”

“The thing is,” Ellie chimed in, “Colt is smart, dedicated and honorable. He really cares about people and he’s very hardworking, but when it comes to those kids, he’s a total failure. They rule the Garrett roost.”

Allison nodded in agreement. “I told him he needed to take more control.” She made a disgusted face. “He didn’t appreciate it much.”

“Well, if they’re as bad as all that, don’t you think someone should try to find out why?” Gracie said, looking from one friend to the other.

A little surprised by the logic of the comment, Allison and Ellie stared at each other. Leave it to Gracie to cut to the chase.

“Let’s face it, men don’t relate to children the way women do. Don’t you imagine it’s been hard for them growing up without a mother?” Gracie asked, ever the one to see the other side.

“I suppose so,” Ellie conceded.

Allison shifted in her seat, as a wave of shame and failure swept through her. “I’m ashamed to say that I’ve never given it more than passing thought,” she said. “I’ve been more concerned about their behavior and Brady’s grades.”

“I’m no alienist,” Gracie said, “but I would venture to say that the reason they’re so mean to the women Colt shows interest in is that they’re afraid someone might come between them and their father.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Ellie said at last. “They should know that he will love them no matter what.”

“Actually, it does, Ellie,” Allison said, acknowledging her own oversight and latching on to the levelheaded Gracie’s theory.

“Well, why were they so terrible to you?” Ellie asked. “There’s nothing going on between you and Colt.”

Not that I wouldn’t like there to be.

Without warning, the thought flashed through Allison’s mind, and she stifled a little gasp of surprise. Now, where did that come from? Not once since Jesse had she felt any serious attraction to a man, and Colt Garrett was not the sort of man who could ever interest her!

“Oh,” Gracie said. “You’re right. Allison is their teacher, not the sheriff’s lady love.”

“Who knows what goes through the minds of children?” Allison said, warming to this new viewpoint. “Especially Sheriff Garrett’s children. You could be onto something with the notion that they don’t want anyone upsetting the status quo. I’m not sure children understand the different kinds of love or that it’s possible to love more than one person.”

She took a final sip of her cooling coffee and drew her purse closer, ending the conversation. “Homer said he’d think things over and decide on a course of action.”

She pulled some coins from her purse to pay for the coffee, but Ellie pushed them aside. “It’s on the house.”

“Thank you. I’d better start pinching pennies since I may soon be without employment. You don’t need a waitress, do you?” The expression in Allison’s eyes belied the lightness of her voice.

“Not really,” Ellie said with a laugh. She gave Allison’s hand a pat. “I know you’re worried, sister dear,” she said, falling back on the childhood term for Allison. “I can’t imagine it coming to that. Homer is one of your most loyal fans.”

“Maybe so,” Allison said, “but everyone knows that he’s very pleased with Colt as our sheriff, too.”

Chapter Two

Colt scraped the fingers of both hands through his light brown, sun-bleached hair, rested his elbows on the desktop and clutched his aching head. The minute Allison Grainger was out of his sight, his anger had more or less dissolved. He resented her audacity, but he couldn’t deny that what she’d said, combined with what Ellie had told him, brought sharp focus to something he’d known for a while: he had a problem.

He wasn’t totally oblivious. He’d heard the whispers that accompanied the kids wherever they went. The people he considered true friends, like the Gentry brothers, had come straight out and told him pretty much what the teacher had—that he’d best get them in check before it was too late. As hard as it was to swallow, he knew they were all right. Something had to give. He didn’t want Brady to be illiterate or Cilla to be a shrew. Patrice certainly hadn’t been, and Colt didn’t think he was too cantankerous...except maybe when he dealt with the oh-so-prim Miss Grainger.

Why was he such a hopeless parent? He loved his kids. Would die for them. He tried to balance his time at home with work and gave them pretty much whatever they wanted, but according to Miss Grainger, they wanted boundaries. In other words, rules. Oh, he’d made lots of rules through the years. The problem was that he was much better at enforcing the laws of the land than he was at enforcing his own regulations.

He admitted to being bad about threatening them with dire consequences if they misbehaved but not following through. He knew he was too lenient and should punish them when that happened, but the thought of them being unhappy was more than he could stand, especially since he was their only parent. He supposed that leniency was his way of trying to make up for the loss of their mother.

Patrice had died when Brady was born, forcing Colt to take on the role of both parents. His son had been reasonably easy until he started school, but as Miss Grainger had told him time after time, he had a problem learning, which frustrated Colt and made Brady angry. Too often that anger drove him to disobedience.

Cilla, just five when her mother died, was definitely Daddy’s girl. Like her brother, she hadn’t been much of a problem until she’d begun to grow up. In a lot of ways, she seemed too old for her twelve years, and in others she was very immature.

In recent months, her moods had begun to fluctuate from childlike joy to pouty moodiness. Colt knew enough about the fairer sex to know that it was because she was fast approaching the time when she’d become a woman in the truest sense of the word. He had no idea how to explain the physical and emotional changes she was going through, so he just ignored them—and her—as best he could until her disposition changed back to something he could deal with. It seemed that women were born knowing how to deal with those emotional things men were not so good at.

There were times, though, like today, when he was forced to face his shortcomings. When that happened, he tried to put himself in their place and imagine what it must be like to grow up without a mother to confide in, talk to or look up to.

Wallowing in self-pity wouldn’t get him anywhere. The handwriting was on the wall. Looking the other way wouldn’t work this time. He knew Homer Talbot thought Allison Grainger was tops when it came to teachers, so it made sense that he would not want to lose her, which meant Colt would have to take charge of his progeny at last.

How are you going to do that? You haven’t been able to do it in seven years.

He had no earthly idea, but he thought he knew where to go to get some no-nonsense advice.

When Dan Mercer, Colt’s deputy, returned from running some errands, Colt left the office in his care and went to get Ellie’s take on things. Thankfully, the café was all but empty. Ellie was filling saltshakers. The expression on her face when she looked up told him she’d already heard the news.

“You’ve heard.”

She nodded and gestured toward an empty table. “From several folks, actually, including Allison.”

“Do you think she’s telling the truth?” Colt asked as he pulled out a chair for her.

Ellie glared at him over her shoulder. “Her story matches Sarah VanSickle’s.”

Colt planted his hands on his hips and tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling.

“Sit,” Ellie said.

He sat, and buried his face in his hands.

“Colt, look at me,” she commanded, circling his wrists with her fingers and tugging his hands down. His troubled gaze found hers. “You have to know...even I’ve told you...that the kids are...less than angels.”

A bitter laugh sputtered from his lips. “So it seems.”

“Well, then, the time has come for you to do something about it.”

“What? I don’t have a clue about what needs to be done.”

“Well, first you should stop letting them take advantage of you.”

“How do you figure?” he asked, scowling.

It was Ellie’s turn to laugh. “Everyone in town knows you’re tough on criminals and soft on your kids.”

His eyes widened in disbelief. That was exactly what he’d just been thinking. “So it’s a topic of dinner discussions, is it?”

“You know as well as I do that everyone’s circumstances are the topic of dinner discussions at one time or another,” she said with a little shrug.

“I’m all they have,” he said, as if that explained everything. “And they’re all I have of Patrice. Priscilla still misses her mom, and I hate to make things tougher on her by—” he spread his hands in a vague gesture “—being too strict. And Brady has never known what it is to have a mom, and as his only parent, I don’t want to be an ogre.”

“And they instinctively know that and use it to their advantage.”

“How could they know?”

“Children are like a wild animal stalking its prey,” Ellie said with a wry smile. “They instinctively know the weakest link. Even Beth is a master of it. It’s just a part of their makeup. I don’t want to make you angry,” she said, “but—”

“I have to get them under control,” he said.

“Yes.”

They sat in silence for several moments, while Colt digested the situation. It didn’t sit well. “Your sister said she would give up her teaching position before she spent another year with them.”

“She told me,” Ellie said in a gentle voice. “She’s a good teacher, Colt. A good person.”

“If you say so.”

Ellie smiled. “I do, and I think I’m in a position to know. Have you ever tried talking to Brady and Cilla about why they’re so disruptive?”

“I’ve had talks about them not misbehaving, but no, I’ve never tried to get to the root of why they do it.”

“Gracie has a theory,” Ellie told him. “And both Allison and I think she’s onto something. She believes they sabotage your associations because they don’t want to share you. I think she’s right.”

“That’s crazy,” Colt said with a hint of irritation.

“Is it? I started thinking back over the past year, and every time you’ve shown interest in a woman, they’ve done something to ruin things.”

It was true that something had gone wrong with each attempted relationship. Now, looking back, the kids were somehow the culprits in every case. Holly Jefferson. Leticia Farley. Jocelyn Cole. All of them had cried off, citing that they had too little in common and it would be silly to try to take things further. Rachel Stone was the exception. He and the lady doctor had soon realized that while they liked each other a lot, there was no romantic spark between them.