&n
bsp; “Look, Miss Cochran, you seem like a nice girl—”
“—woman.” She glared at him, her fork and knife fisted in her hands on either side of her plate.
“—and I’m sure you mean well, and you probably even think you have a lot to share with our children. However, it’s obvious to me you come from a much grander, shall we say, lifestyle than what you will experience here.”
“And you assume since my brothers and I are well educated that somehow we look down on people? Are you saying I’m a snob?”
Mitch shrugged and started to eat. This woman was even worse than the last one. At least when Miss Fisher had arrived, she’d known from the start she didn’t belong in Dogtown. Miss Cochran was a stubborn woman who wanted to “do good.” In his estimation, the scariest type of people in the world.
“You seem to forget I have a contract, Mr. Beaumont, signed by your mayor.”
Mitch pointed his fork at her. “A contract that was offered under false pretenses.”
“How do you figure that? I am a certified teacher with a degree in education from the Central State Normal School of Oklahoma. I am qualified to teach students from first grade right through high school.”
“On the letter you sent, you indicated you were a ‘woman of mature years.’”
“I am.”
He pushed his plate back and crossed his arms over his chest. “How old are you, Miss Cochran?”
“Sir, it is rude to ask a woman her age.” She sniffed.
“Don’t play with me, Miss Cochran. How old are you?”
She sighed. “Twenty-one.”
His raised eyebrows had her stuttering.
“Well, close to twenty-one.”
“How close?”
“Six months.”
He snorted. “As a member of the town council, and the person designated to hire the teacher, I have a responsibility to this town. They rely on me to make sure who we hire stays so the children can have a consistent education.”
“Fine,” she said, pushing her empty plate away. “Then let the town decide if I should stay.”
“What?”
“I heard the mayor mention a town meeting tonight. Let me present my credentials to the townspeople and have them vote on it.” When he hesitated, she added, “Unless you’re afraid not everyone is as narrow-minded as you are.”
He pulled on the cuffs of his shirt. “I am not narrow-minded.”
Miss Cochran leaned forward, her large hazel eyes boring into his. Then she said two words that got his blood pumping and put him in a frame of mind to do battle.
“Prove it.”
Chapter Three
“What I want to know is what the town going to do about that damn—sorry, ladies—mountain lion? It got three of my chickens last night.” A heavyset man wearing a flannel shirt and overalls addressed the men of the town council.
“That animal is a fast one, ‘cause he got two of mine,” a tall, thin man with a very long mustache shouted from the back of the room.
Priscilla sat in the front row, facing the table across the front of the room with the five members of the town council sitting behind it. The mayor sat in the middle, Mr. Beaumont on his right. The meeting had attracted quite a few of the townspeople. Or so it seemed to her, since she was unfamiliar with the population of Dogtown.