Melinda and the Wild West (5 page)

“Jenny, is it all right with you if I talk
to your father and ask his permission for you to go on this
trip?”

Jenny looked doubtful that her father would
give in, but it was worth a try. “Yes, but it won’t do no
good.”

“You mean that it won’t do ‘any’ good,
Jenny.”

“Yup. That’s what I said.”

Melinda smiled and let the English lesson go
for now.

The following day was Saturday so Melinda
got ready to visit Jenny’s father. She wore an attractive lavender
dress that fit perfectly on her slender figure. It had puffed
sleeves and was gathered at the waist, hanging gracefully over her
hips. As she pulled her hair loosely upon her head, she tried to
think of what she should say to Jenny’s father.

It did not take long to arrive at Mr. Roberts’s
home. It was a large, beautiful house and the grounds were neat and
clean. The house had shrubs around it and there was a small lawn in
front. She reined in the horse and, holding her skirts with one
hand, stepped down from the carriage.

Melinda looked up and found Gilbert standing
on the porch, leaning against the post with his arms folded across
his chest, watching her intently. She could tell that he was a very
strong man as she glanced at the tanned muscles in his arms. Trying
not to stare at his bulging biceps, Melinda walked toward him. As
she approached, she noticed that he was watching her carefully in a
curious manner.

“Mr. Roberts, I’m here about Jenny. I’m Miss
Gamble, her teacher.”

Gilbert’s eyes widened in disbelief and his
eyebrows lifted. “You’re Jenny’s teacher? You’re the one I saw at
the creek walking barefooted right in the middle of the
stream.”

Melinda blushed. “Yes, I’m afraid I was and
I should have asked permission from you since it was your
property.”

“No harm done.”

Wiping her hands nervously against her
skirt, she continued. “Speaking of permission, I’m here to get
permission from you to take Jenny to the mountains.”

“I’m real glad the way you’ve been treating
my Jenny. You’re a real good teacher, better than the other one she
had. She likes you and talks about you a lot. But, Miss Gamble, I
can’t give permission.”

“Why not?”

“Too dangerous.” His eyes narrowed as he stared
at her, as if challenging Melinda to contradict him.

“I would never take the children into harm’s
way,” she said. “And the other parents have given permission. They
must think it’s all right. So, please won’t you…”

Gilbert dropped his hands to his side,
apparently annoyed with her persistence. “Miss Gamble, I thank you
for this visit, but I must go now. I have work to do.” Then he
stepped down from the porch.

Melinda felt that she could not allow him to
leave until she had told him exactly how she felt. She immediately
raised her voice a bit and said firmly, “Mr. Roberts, please don’t
leave. I want Jenny to go. Please listen to what I have to
say.”

Gilbert was surprised by her persistence but
he turned around to face her, folded his arms across his chest once
again, and looked at her intently as she spoke.

Looking at his imposing frame, she
swallowed. “Mr. Roberts, Jenny needs to feel like she’s part of the
class. These children have shunned her just because their former
teacher was judgmental and helped them to form wrong opinions about
her. I want to undo all that. I want her to be accepted. But she
needs to socialize with these students in a fun atmosphere outside
the classroom. Please let her go.”

Gilbert gazed into Melinda’s eyes as she
spoke and he grinned. “That was a nice speech, Miss Gamble. But it
doesn’t lessen the fact that she might get hurt.”

“Then come with us to the mountains.”

Gilbert raised his eyebrows. “Me? I’m too
busy.” Then he turned and started toward the barn in large
strides.

Melinda became frustrated with his attitude and
quickly picked her skirts up and followed him. As soon as she
caught up to him, she asked, “Mr. Roberts, is this your answer to
everything? When you are done talking, then you simply walk away
whether or not the other person is done talking?”

“Are you still here, Miss Gamble?” Gilbert
asked, as if wearied by her presence.

“Yes, and I’m not leaving until we talk
about this further.”

Melinda was slightly out of breath as she
tried to keep up with Gilbert’s fast pace.

“Miss Gamble, I’m done talking.”

“But I’m not,” Melinda said with a firm and
stubborn tone.

Gilbert suddenly stopped in his tracks and
turned to look into her eyes. Her determination was annoying him
greatly. “It seems to me, Miss Gamble, that unless I give in to
your demands, you won’t leave me alone. Is that correct?”

Melinda did not like the way he put that.
But, when she thought about it, he was right. The fact was… she
wanted to convince Gilbert that Jenny really needed this outing and
she was quite certain that she could convince him of it.

Without waiting for her answer, Gilbert
turned and continued striding toward the barn.

“Mr. Roberts, please wait,” Melinda begged
as she tried to catch up to him. “You said that you won’t come with
us to the mountains because you are too busy.”

“That is correct, Miss Gamble.”

“Isn’t your daughter more important than
work?” It had come out sharper than she had planned but she was not
sorry and continued. “It’s only a half-day away from work. Isn’t
your daughter worth it?”

Melinda had emphasized the words “worth it” in a
firm tone, hoping he would get the point and respond to it. But the
response she had triggered was not what she had expected.

He had gotten the point all right because
suddenly Gilbert came to an abrupt stop and stared into Melinda’s
eyes. His broad chest seemed to puff out and his eyes were cold. He
stood rigid and unbending. His jaw became stiff and his voice was
stern.

“This is none of your business. My
relationship with my daughter is no concern of yours, Miss Gamble.”
He had snapped at her, and Melinda unconsciously took a step
back.

She took a deep breath and regained her
courage. Then, with firmness and determination in her voice, she
continued, “Oh, but I beg to differ with you, Mr. Roberts. The way
you treat your daughter affects her behavior and she brings it to
school with her. She brings her joy, her frustrations, her
disappointments, and her happiness with her each day. I see it in
her eyes when she arrives at school. She is a very happy little
girl when she first arrives from home and then the children pull
her down. Suddenly she’s not the same person anymore. I’m trying to
change all that, but I can’t do it alone. I need your help.”

Gilbert searched her face as she spoke and
did not say a word.

Melinda stared into his eyes, wondering what he was
thinking. Had she been too outspoken? She had stood up to him and
she had not cowered to the firmness of his voice. She had pulled
her shoulders back and spoke with confidence. Perhaps no one had
ever spoken to him in this manner before and he was offended. But
that did not matter to Melinda. It was Jenny who mattered.

“Mr. Roberts, please help me,” Melinda went
on. “I want these children to accept Jenny. Will you accompany your
daughter and put your work second just this once? And I promise
that I won’t ask any more of you.” She paused. “Unless it’s
absolutely necessary.”

Gilbert did not take his eyes off Melinda.
He breathed in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “You win, Miss
Gamble. Besides, it’s the only way to get you to leave. I don’t
need you following me around all day.”

Melinda smiled. “Nor would I want to follow
you around all day, Mr. Roberts. But if I had to, I would.”

“I believe you would, Miss Gamble.” Gilbert
had a slight smirk on his face, as if he were amused by this
unexpected confrontation.

“Thank you very much,” Melinda said with a
smile. “You will not regret it. Meet us at the school Monday
morning at nine thirty.” With a big grin, she added, “Wear a jacket
and sturdy shoes. It will be a short climb and the mountains will
be chilly.”

Then Melinda turned on her heels and strode
back to the carriage, grinning all the way. She felt like singing.
She had won a very important battle.

Gilbert watched her as she walked away. “Dad
blame it, but she’s a stubborn and strong-willed woman,” he
murmured.

Aside from her strong will, Gilbert had noticed a
few things about her that he liked. He liked the way she defended
his daughter. Jenny had told him how Miss Gamble would compliment
her at school and he liked that, too. Another thing he liked was
Melinda’s self-confidence and determined attitude. He also noticed
how beautiful she was, which was not difficult to see. He saw her
expressive green eyes as she spoke and how they flamed when she was
annoyed with him. And last, he noticed how graceful she was as she
walked away from him, her skirts swaying with each step she
took.

He remembered her delightful laughter at the
stream and how happy she had been. She seemed unfettered and free,
and there had been an almost ethereal beauty about her as Gilbert
watched her walk in the middle of the stream. When she held her
skirts above the water, he had noticed her shapely legs and slender
ankles and Gilbert knew he should not have noticed such things, but
they seemed to add to her charm.

It was Monday morning and the children were
excited about their excursion to the mountains. Jenny’s father
arrived on horseback precisely at nine thirty.

Melinda smiled as she walked up to him and
said, “I’m glad you came.”

Gilbert grinned. “I had to ’cause I gave my
word. I don’t back down when I give my word.”

“That’s admirable,” she replied.

Then Melinda quickly
gathered the children together and they hopped into the back of two
buckboards that were waiting. Mark was fourteen and had gotten
permission to drive his father’s buckboard. So, with Melinda in the
lead, they headed toward the mountains. It was a dusty five-mile
ride
to the mouth of the canyon
, but the
children laughed and sang as they headed up the
mountain.

As they rode, they passed one birch tree after
another and the pine trees seemed to multiply as they headed up the
mountain. The dirt road was rocky and the buckboard bounced and
jolted about, but that did not stop the singing and chattering.
After arriving at their destination, Melinda grabbed her lunch pail
and the children piled out of the buckboard to begin their hike up
the mountain.

They only had to walk five hundred yards to
the spring, but oh, how lovely this walk was. They passed one
quaking aspen after another. There were pine trees, lavender
flowers, Queen Anne’s lace, and bushes with white berries; shrub
after shrub lined their path as they walked. There were scads of
yellow daisy-like flowers that were nodding in the breeze on each
side of the path, and the white rugged cliffs stood five hundred
feet high in front of them, looking magnificent.

While they hiked, Melinda noticed how gentle
and attentive Gilbert was with Jenny as he helped her along. She
also noticed that he was kind to the other children as well. When
they came upon a rugged area, he stopped to help each of the
children safely across.

For the first time since Melinda had
arrived, Jenny was talking and laughing with the other girls.
Melinda had been teaching for one month now and this was the first
time she had seen the girls even speak to Jenny. Jenny was laughing
and joking as she hiked the hill. Melinda had not heard her laugh
before and she thought it was one of the most delightful sounds she
had ever heard.

As they walked along the path, Melinda overheard
Peggy tell Jenny, “I know that the boys can be rude. But they call
all of us girls names, even me. The secret is to ignore them when
they do. They just hate it when we don’t pay attention to them. I
just walk away when they start up.”

Peggy was a redhead with several freckles on
her nose and upper cheeks, and she had a charming smile. She was
ten years old and had decided to befriend Jenny.

Jenny listened attentively to every word she
said and asked, “They call you names, too?”

Peggy nodded. “Remember when Billy put my
braid in the inkwell?”

Jenny giggled and nodded.

“And do you remember the frog in my
pail?”

Both girls giggled and their laughter
bounced off the canyon walls. Melinda knew this excursion was good
for them and she couldn’t help but smile at her brilliant idea.

The swift, white-foamed rapids rolled over
the rocks and gradually became louder as they approached the cliff
where the water was pouring out of the mountain. As they arrived at
their destination, she noticed a large flat boulder in the pathway
that led to the springs. Gilbert climbed upon it and held his hand
out to help the children up to the flat boulder. Each girl took his
hand to keep balance as Gilbert helped her up, but the boys wanted
to be independent and they jumped up to the boulder without any
help whatsoever.

Melinda smiled as she saw Gilbert helping
the children. He seemed so helpful and caring, and that impressed
her. After he helped the last child up, he held his hand out to
Melinda. She hesitated as she looked into his eyes.

“Miss Gamble? May I help you up, also?”

Gilbert steadily gazed into her eyes with a
curious and questioning look. Then Melinda grabbed her skirts with
one hand and gave Gilbert her free hand. He held it firmly in his
as he helped her up to the flat boulder where he stood. His hand
was strong and warm and she blushed from the touch of it.

Looking into his eyes, she felt embarrassed
and quickly pulled her hand away as she said, “Thank you, Mr.
Roberts.”