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"You ain't stupid. Don't you believe that. Not even for a
minute."
Huge, aching tears squeezed past Katie's lashes and streaked down her cheeks. "I try so hard."
Savannah's eyes filled with tears. "I know." Her voice was barely more than a croak of sound.
It made Katie feel even worse to see Savannah cry. "Come on," she said thickly, "let's go home."
Savannah pulled Katie into her arms. "I'll help you," she whispered against her neck. "I swear I will. I just don't know how."
Tess stared at the note in shock. She snapped her chin up, a stinging comment poised at her mouth.
Then she noticed the girls. Savannah was wide-eyed with fear, her skin pale and chalky. And Katie had fallen into her old habit of hiding behind her sister's skirts. They were scared to death.
Tess forced herself to appear calm and in control. She was too angry with that witch at the schoolhouse to talk with the girls rationally right now, but she would later. And by the time she was through, neither one of them would ever be afraid again. "Don't worry, girls," she said softly. "I'll handle this."
Jack heard determined footsteps coming toward the barn, and he winced. He knew that brisk, no-nonsense gait
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all too well. It wasn't part of any "new and improved" wife. It was the old Amarylis all the way. And it was trouble.
Crunch?crunch?crunch.
Every time her heel hit the dirt, he flinched.
"Jack?"
He steeled himself and turned slowly around. "Yeah?" She stopped about a foot from him and stuck her hand out. A small, white scrap of paper, its edges curled from nervous handling, lay in her palm. "Look at this." He frowned. "What is it?" "Read it."
"Just tell me what it says."
She snatched her hand back and brought the paper closer to her face. "Dear Mrs. Rafferty, I must meet with you regarding Mary Katherine's deplorable lack of attention and laziness in the classroom. Any afternoon shall be suitable for our conversation. Sincerely, Rebecca Ames." Shock, then anger, blazed through Jack, turning into a cold, hard knot in his chest. His fingers tightened painfully
around the hammer.
He thought instantly of the last time Miss Ames had sent a note home. The memory of his wife's reaction was seared into his brain.
That note, like this one, was short and sweet. Dear Mrs. Rafferty, I believe you sfwuld be aware that Mary Katherine is experiencing significant difficulty in learning the fundamentals of reading. If you would like to speak with me regarding her laziness, I would be pleased to set aside some time. Sincerely, Rebecca Ames.
God, how Amarylis had laughed. Even now he could hear the grating, almost hysterical sound. She'd torn the note up and tossed it in the fireplace.
"What is there to talk about, Jackson? Our daughter's
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stupidity?" Then she'd cast him a glance that would burn through steel. "Blood will tell, after all...."
"Say something, damn it," she yelled.
He eyed her suspiciously, wondering what the hell she expected of him this time. "Like what?"
"Like what1? The old bat just called your daughter stupid!"
Jack stared at her in confusion. It sounded as if she were . . . angry. But that couldn't be. She didn't give a shit about Katie.
Disgust narrowed her eyes. "You're some piece of work, Jack Rafferty. Let's go."
