Charles laughed. “Well, I doubt he’s going that far. The school is growing pretty fast. I’m sure Dr. Trent wants to make sure there is plenty of milk and beef.”
“If you say so.” Albert grinned and stood up from the stool, hefting the heavy saddle onto one of the sawhorses by the wall.
A cry from the back of the barn sent Charles rushing to see what was wrong. Sonny lay on the straw-covered floor of one of the stalls. Blood trickled down from a cut and a knot was already forming on his head.
Charles knelt beside him. “What happened?”
Sonny swallowed, his face twisted with pain. “I tripped and fell.”
Bobby frowned and shook his finger at Jeremiah. “You tripped him, Jeremiah.”
Disappointment hit Charles hard. “Jeremiah, I thought we were past this type of behavior.”
“I didn’t trip him. Bobby’s lying. Or maybe he just thought he saw me trip Sonny.”
“Sonny? Did Jeremiah trip you?”
Sonny wrinkled his brow and peered at Jeremiah then back at Charles. “I don’t know. I tripped. But I don’t know if it was his foot or something else.”
Charles sighed. It was Bobby’s word against Jeremiah’s. He cast a glance in Jeremiah’s direction. Was that shame on his face? If the boy was guilty, Charles certainly hoped it was shame.
He helped Sonny up. “Let’s get you inside and cleaned up.”
“Do we all have to go in?”
“Yes, Jeremiah. I’m sorry to say I don’t know whom to trust or whom to believe. But I can’t take a chance on another one of the younger children being hurt.”
With dragging feet and unusual silence, the boys trooped behind Charles back to the house.
Just when he’d thought Jeremiah was making progress, it seemed he’d reverted to cruelty again. Would they have to send the boy home? God, I’ve seen the good in Jeremiah. I know You want me to help him. Please show me how.
Chapter 8
Excitement surged through the school on Sunday morning, as clear skies and warm sun meant that students and staff could go to church. After being cooped up for several days, the girls were eager to attend Sunday school. The boys were ready for fresh air and exercise.
“Umm, I smell ham and eggs.” Sonny rubbed his stomach and grinned up at Charles as he entered the dining room.
Charles grinned in agreement. The delicious aroma of coffee, ham, eggs and grits drifted through the building, and children and teachers alike marched into the dining room with an almost holiday air.
Afterward, Charles helped get everyone settled into the wagons, except for the ladies, who followed in the carriage.
Oak trees sported new, spreading canopies of gold- and orange-tipped leaves as they stood next to their green, live-oak sisters. Charles breathed in deeply of the slightly crisp air. In a couple of weeks, the fall colors would be predominant.
Buggies and wagons lined the churchyard. Charles, thankful for the kindness of the neighbors who always left space for the school wagons to park, pulled the one he was driving beneath one of two oak trees that stood together.
He set the brake and jumped down. As he helped the girls from the wagon, a flash of blue caught his eye. Olivia waved as she crossed the yard from the parsonage. Instead of going in through the side door of the church, she walked toward him with a smile.
Relief washed over Charles like a soft wind. Livvy was herself again.
He met her near the steps, laughter spilling up from his heart. “You look very beautiful this morning.”
“Thank you, kind sir.” She flashed a grin and the blue of her eyes sparkled. “I see you all survived the storms.”
“We survived, but you never heard such moaning and groaning at the enforced confinement. As you can probably tell from the noise, they’re all happy to be out and about.”
“I can tell.” She smiled. “If you have no plans for dinner, we’d love to have you join us.”
“That would be great. I’ll need to drive one of the wagons back, and then I’ll be there.”
“If you want to ride one of the horses over, I thought we could go for a ride after dinner.”
Surprise flicked over him. He’d been trying to get Livvy to go riding for several years and she always made some excuse not to go. Maybe he’d imagined her shyness around horses.
“That sounds great to me.”
“Good. See you later.” A flash of a smile, and she sailed around the building and through the side door.
Charles grinned and filed into the church behind Jeremiah and Roger. Jeremiah had been unusually quiet since the episode in the barn. He could only hope the boy was reflecting on his actions.
To Charles’s relief, the children were on their best behavior. During the song service, he was hard put to concentrate on the songs. As lovely as they were, his glance kept going to Olivia at the piano. Now why couldn’t he keep his eyes off her? It was true that she was pretty, with her reddish-gold curls peeking out from beneath the tiny hat atop her head. And when she glanced up, the blue of her eyes sparkled like sapphires. But he and Livvy had never been more than friends. She was like a younger sister to him.