Frontier Engagement

Rina ran to the panel and pressed her ear against it. How many were out there? Would they jump on him? They certainly sounded too fierce to run away. Why, oh, why had she agreed to travel all the way to Seattle, to come out into the wilderness with him? This chance for a school was beyond wonderful, but nothing was worth the loss of a man’s life.

From outside came a crack and a yelp. Was he hurt? Should she go help? Her hand was on the latch, fingers trembling, when she heard footsteps crossing the porch. Wolves did not wear shoes. She backed away, hands pressed to her chest, as the door opened.

James stood there, fir needles speckling his hair, smile on his face, all limbs accounted for and not a scratch on him. “Problem solved.”

Rina peered around him, unable to believe things had been settled so easily. “Have they gone?”

“Not exactly.” He raised his voice. “Levi, Scout—inside. Now.”

His younger brother slunk through the door, curly-haired head bowed. A slighter boy with a misshapen nose followed him.

“Miss Fosgrave is your teacher,” James said, his look more severe than any of her tutors had ever given her. “And she deserves your respect. But I think you have something to teach her at the moment. She seems to think we have wolves besieging the schoolhouse.”

Levi snickered, and his friend smiled. Why was that funny? Did they know some way to subdue the beasts?

James focused on the smaller boy. “Is there a wolf pack in this area, Scout?”

So this was her other student. His brown hair was as thick and wild as a crow’s nest, sticking out in all directions, and his clothing appeared to be several sizes too big and several days past a washing. At James’s question, he visibly swallowed and shoved his hands into the pockets of his tattered trousers. “No.”

The word came out reluctantly, sullen. She would not allow James to be so disrespected.

“No, sir,” Rina corrected the boy.

James looked surprised. So did Scout.

“Why?” he asked, glancing at James. “It’s just James Wallin.”

“Listen to your teacher,” James ordered him.

Scout bowed his head. “All right. Sir.”

James nodded. “And do we occasionally see a rogue wolf in the area, Levi?”

His brother jumped as if he hadn’t thought he’d be questioned too. “Yes, but don’t expect me to call you, sir.”

More disrespect. It simply wasn’t right. James was their elder, a man who, it seemed, had earned a certain stature if his charter to bring them a schoolteacher was any indication. They had every reason to treat him with deference.

“A simple yes or no will do, Mr. Wallin,” Rina said.

Levi colored.

“When was the last time we saw wolf tracks, Levi?” James persisted.

Levi scratched his head. “I don’t know. Maybe two years ago now?”

“Two years ago?” Rina glanced at James, truth dawning. “So, those noises...”

“Were most likely not made by wolves,” James concluded. “At least, not the four-footed variety.” His gaze returned to the youths. “Anything you’d like to say to Miss Fosgrave, gents?”

Scout wiped his nose with the back of one hand. “Too bad you came all this way fer nothing.”

Levi nodded. “Maybe you could teach Beth how to talk all fancy-like so she can attract a rich husband, but I don’t reckon you got anything to teach us.”

Something pricked at her. Like her so-called father, Levi Wallin was so certain he knew more than anyone else that he was somehow above the petty rules that others obeyed. She might not be able to reach such a closed mind. But then again...

“Tell me, Mr. Wallin,” she said, raising her chin. “What do you hope to do with your life now that you’re a man?”

James shook his head as if afraid she’d given his brother too much credit. Levi straightened with a sneer to James. “I’m moving into town first chance I get.”

James’s gaze drifted to the ceiling as if trying to look anywhere else but at his brother.

“And what will you do there?” she pressed.

Levi grinned at Scout. “Anything I want.”

Scout grinned back.

“What a delightful life,” Rina said. “How do you intend to pay for your frivolity?”

Levi’s grin faded. “Frivol-what?”

“All the fun you’ll be having,” James explained with a smile to Rina.

“I assume you want to have fun, Mr. Wallin,” Rina confirmed.

His grin returned. “Yes, ma’am!”

Rina took a step closer, gaze drilling into his. “How will you pay for it? Fine clothes and food must be purchased, sir. Money doesn’t grow on trees, even here in Seattle. So what will you do? Labor for Mr. Yesler at the mill? Work in a shop?”

Levi’s chest swelled. “I don’t need another person telling me what to do all day. I’ll open my own shop.”

James chuckled and turned the noise into a cough when Levi glared at him.

“And how will you do that?” Rina asked. “Do you understand the language of a warranty deed? Can you calculate the interest on a loan? Do you know how to amortize payments? How much will you need to earn from your goods to turn a profit? How much profit will you need to invest so that you can continue to expand your business?”

With each question, Levi’s color fled a little more. Before he could answer her, she turned to Scout. “And what of you, Mr. Rankin? Do you intend to move to town and have fun like Levi?”

“No, ma’am,” he said, gaze dropping to where his bare toes were pressed into the floor. “Makes no sense, as most folks in town wouldn’t give me the time of day. I’d like to homestead. Don’t reckon you know how to do that.”

His voice held more despair than defiance. There was a story behind this boy. She wondered if it was anything like her own—abandoned, lied to, left to fend for herself. Still, she had clean clothes, food, the hope of a future. She wasn’t so sure Scout Rankin had any of those things.

“I know nothing about homesteading, Mr. Rankin,” she admitted. “But I know about the Farmer’s Almanac. I can teach you to understand it, and from there you can learn how to calculate crop yields, determine the best times to plant and harvest and even predict the weather.”

His head came up, and his eyes widened. Like his hair, they were a muddy brown, but she could see the light of intelligence in them, the flicker of hope. “That would be right helpful, ma’am.”

Levi narrowed his eyes as if he thought his friend was giving in too easily.

Rina refused to be daunted. “Good,” she said. “Then I expect to see you both tomorrow morning at eight when I ring the bell.”