FOUR

It was almost completely dark by the time Ford walked up to the front steps of the house. He had felt strong, confident, and bold with Lizbeth, but considering his older brother's fierce temper, he felt his bravery fall away. Please God, let Adam be asleep or in Africa. He had just reached the bottom step when Hannah stepped out onto the porch.

"I was starting to worry." She said meeting him at the bottom step.

"I'm sorry. I was . . ." He sighed and thought he'd better get it over with. "Where's Adam?"

"Oh, he was beat. He went to bed."

Ford nearly lost his balance. Thank you, God! "Wh . . .wha . . . what?"

"Both he and Brian were pretty worn out. I guess the barn roof was more work than they expected."

"You . . . you didn't tell him?" He wrinkled his brow in perplexity.

"I did." She smiled and reaching out put a hand on his arm. "I told him you needed some time to sort it out. So we, Brian, Adam and me, we agreed that if you need it, you can stay home tomorrow."

Ford's eyes grew wide with shock, and turning he glanced to the left, reading the numbers on the house. "Am I at the right house?"

Hannah laughed. "I know, right? Listen, Ford, it isn't like you to get in trouble. We figure you had reason, which isn't to say Adam and Brian won't punish you if necessary, but whatever happened, we'll give you time to work it out."

"But Adam doesn't put up with disrespect! Wasn't he furious? He had to have been really angry."

"He was."

"He was." Ford repeated stunned. "But you talked him out of it? Hannah!" He smiled widely at her, and threw his arms around her, kissing her on the cheek. "I love you!"

She laughed, and pushing him away gently said, "Listen Ford, you are still in trouble. You got thrown out of class. Whenever you do go back to school, we'll have to meet with Vice Principal Edwards." His grin faded at the thought. "And there's Mr. Jacobs."

The thought of Jacobs filled him with a rage, and clenching his jaw he said, "I know, Hannah. I'm sorry about everything. But . . ." He sighed. "I really didn't have a choice."

He watched her as she considered this thoughtfully. She rubbed her chin absently, and looking at him she asked, "You didn't?"

"No, ma'am."

"I think you better tell me about it Ford."

"Hannah, remember when you punched Mr. Wheeler in the jaw?"

"Yes." She said blushing at the memory. "But Ford, I've never done anything like that. I was just really, really angry."

"This is gonna make you ten times angrier." He said seriously.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Then you definitely better start talking."

***7***

Adam had nearly drifted to sleep twice. He was completely exhausted, but his worry over Ford kept pulling him back to consciousness. Then when he had nearly drifted off, he heard Ford's voice outside. He sat up in bed and crossed to the window seat. He couldn't really see anything, and could only make out the sound of Ford's voice, and Hannah's lilting responses. He was dying to know what they were saying, but Brian was right. Hannah should have her chance to manage this. Hannah could manage it. People either overlooked her, or studied her - waiting to see what the "city girl" would do. She was a girl in the middle. He had to admit that Hannah had it kind of tough - starting with his own errors. But, she was more than capable of managing things.

He'd been amazed how quickly she'd settled into their lives. One day she was a stranger to them all, and the next she was trimming Daniel's hair, teaching Ford how to make a berry cobbler, and reading a book to Guthrie when he was sick with the flu. The house was clean, the meals unbelievable, and all his brothers were happy - eventually even Brian. He found the whole thing completely amazing and he thanked God every night for her.

But, she doubted herself. She had high expectations and felt the burden of being the lone female in a house of men, keenly. She wanted to do right by them all; himself included. Sometimes the four years span between them felt like a vast ocean; he had, after all, been a parent for a decade longer than her. He understood the desire to be perfect; it was a battle he had fought long ago. Her mistakes made her anxious and gun shy. She worried often about messing things up, and making a mistake - never understanding that her loving presence was a constant healing balm for his brothers - especially for Guthrie who had no memory of his mother. He had meant what he said to her - that you did the best you could and apologized for the rest. He and Brian had learned that much. It had taken them nearly a decade but they had learned it.

He waited for what seemed like an eternity, and eventually heard Ford climb the stairs. He listened hard trying to determine Ford's emotions based on the pace of his steps. He wasn't lumbering slowly, so whatever had happened hadn't left Ford stressed out. He expected Hannah to follow right behind his brother, but heard nothing. He considered going downstairs, but didn't want her to think that he didn't trust her. He sat on the edge of their bed contemplating his best move. A flash of light across the yard caught his eye. She had gone out to the barn? He glanced at the clock. What was she doing?

He reached for his pants, and sliding into a t-shirt he took the stairs two at a time. Brian was waiting near the bottom step.

"What's going on?" Brian asked.

"Don't know. Did you see Ford?"

"He seemed alright but I could hear her pacing around the porch, and then she took off for the barn. I think she's sorting out those bales we got this afternoon." He raised an eyebrow at his older brother. "You gonna go out there?"

"Of course! Aren't you curious?" Adam asked.

"Well, yeah, but . . ." He paused. "I was going to shift all those bales around in the morning, so we could wait, you know, give her time to work things out." He grinned at Adam.

"You're a jackass. You know that, right?" Adam shook his head and punched Brian's shoulder. He pushed open the door and stepped out onto the porch. "You comin' brianless?"

Brian sighed. "Let me grab a shirt."

But Adam didn't wait, and was all the way across the yard by the time, Brian had stepped out onto the porch. He went into the darkness of the barn, and found her in the loft, tossing bales of hay down into various pens.

"Hannah?" He called up to her. "Hey, honey! You alright?"

"Yeah." She said, her voice tight and angry. Uh, oh. Adam thought. He knew what that sound meant.

"So, um, you wanna come in? It's kind of late for chores." He shifted from one foot to the other unsure. He glanced behind him as Brian entered the barn.

"I'm too . . ." She peered over the edge of the loft at the two of them. "Lemme finish this."

"Hey, uh, Hannah," Brian said gently. "You're gonna wake up all the animals. There gonna be confused about whether it is day or not. So why don't you come down, huh?"

"Did Ford go to bed?" She asked them.

"Yeah. He seemed okay." Adam said his foot on the first rung of the ladder. "What happened? Honey?"

He stepped back as she climbed slowly down, her cheeks pink from the effort or from anger he wasn't sure. He reached out and brushed a piece of hay from her dark hair.

"What's going on?" He asked her.

"You aren't gonna believe it! Adam, I swear! Oh!" She stomped her foot. "And I couldn't just go inside and go to bed. I've never been so angry in my life! Tomorrow! Tomorrow first thing I'm gonna . . ."

"Hey, uh, Hannah," Brian interrupted her. "Listen, I could wait all week no problem, but Adam's a pretty impatient guy, so maybe you could tell us what has you so riled up you are chucking bales of hay like their softballs."

"Right," She sighed. "I'm sorry, but . . ." She kicked at a nearby pile of logs.

"Holy crap!" Brian said, turning to Adam. "What the hell did Ford do?"

"It isn't Ford that has me so angry!" She said at last. "In fact, I'm baking him a cherry cobbler tomorrow! You'll be so proud when I explain it."

"Feel free to start explaining now." Adam said.

"Maybe I should wait 'til morning. You are pretty worn out, and I promise you, this isn't a story that's gonna put you to sleep."

"Hannah McFadden!" Adam said. "Start!"

"Alright." She folded her arms across her chest and began.

***7***

"I remember that it started the very first day of class." Ford told her. "He was really brusque to begin with, but some things I didn't notice right away."

"What do you mean?" Hannah asked.

"Well, like all the boys sit in the front and all the girls are in the back. It was strange. I didn't notice it right away, but other guys did. But I thought it was just weird. I mean it didn't seem sinister or anything."

"I don't . . ."

"He's really old-fashioned." Ford interrupted.

"Old-fashioned? Like he wears a bow tie?" She asked.

"No. He says girls shouldn't be allowed to take science classes."

"What?" Hannah exploded. "He said that? He told you that?"

"See, I warned you. This is gonna really tick you off." He sighed.

"He told you, what, like in passing or when you asked him about the seating chart?"

"No. It was part of his lecture the first day. He said he disagreed with the district's policies, and that no women should be allowed to study science because it was a waste of time."

"He said that? He said that in class? In front of all the girls?"

"Yeah, at first I thought it was a joke, but then I realized he wasn't kidding." He shook his head. "It gets worse."

"How the hell could it get worse?" She asked.

"He told us - told them that he wasn't gonna slow things down for them, so to forget about any questions. He wanted to focus on the group of people who had a chance of becoming true scientists."

"And no one said anything?"

"He's really intimidating. And he doesn't call on girls. Ever."

"And just to satisfy my curiosity, science is a waste of time for girls because . . .?"

"It's too hard for them." Ford said cringing.

"It's too hard for them." Hannah repeated bitterly, nodding her head. "Of course. He's old fashioned - that's what you told me." Ford watched her anxiously, expecting an explosion.

"He's a jerk." Ford said. "But he's really scary, and if you disagree with him, he writes you up, or lowers your grade."

"Was he always like this? What about when Crane had him? Or Brian?"

"They didn't have him. Adam, Brian and Crane went to school here in Murphys before they combined schools and started busing us to Sonora." Ford explained.

"And Daniel? What about Evan?"

"Evan had a different biology teacher, and Daniel didn't take biology. He took Physiology for his credits."

"So you're the lucky one." She said.

"Yeah." He agreed. "I don't know. Everyone just sits there. No one likes him. He's a jerk. And I just got sick of it. Lizbeth Alverez sits right behind me, and she's the smartest person in the whole school, but the way he talks to her . . . you saw the way he can be."

"Yeah." She tilted her head at him. "What's this got to do with Lizbeth Alverez?" She asked him.

"Everything." He said with a sigh.

"Oh, Ford!" Her eyes grew wide. "You defended her honor!"

"N. . . n. . . no." He blushed. "I just . . . " He rubbed his face with his hand. "Hannah!"

She pulled him into her arms, hugging him tightly. "You did." She said softly. "I'm so proud of you!"

***7***

"Ford McFadden, white knight." Brian said. "I gotta say, I'm impressed."

"Do you know her? What does she look like?" Hannah asked.

"I dunno." Brian said. "Her dad, Jorge, is the foreman at the Crandal's ranch. He's a great guy."

"But what happened in class today?" Adam asked. "It's October. All this other stuff happened in September."

"Yeah, but it's been building up. Ford's been pretty ticked about it for awhile and yesterday, Lizbeth wanted to ask a question. Actually, she tried to ask it the day before yesterday, but Jacobs shut her down. Said that he was trying to teach "the men" and didn't have time to help "little girls understand the basics.'"

"What the hell?" Brian stormed. "And nobody said anything? Really?"

"So, today, she asked Ford if he would ask the question for her. So he did."

"Knight in shining armor." Adam said with a grin at his brother.

"No, I haven't got to that part yet." She grinned at them. "So he asks the question. Mr. Jacobs answers it, and then goes on and on about what a great question it was, and how it shows how intelligent a man Ford is. He points out that questions like that just prove what he's felt all along - that science should be left to men."

"What a complete and utter . . ." Brian began, but Adam cut him off with a shake of his head.

"So, he finishes praising Ford for his brilliant question, and Ford stands up and says, 'It wasn't my question. I had to read it from a note I made. I didn't even understand the question. It was too complicated for me.'"

"Oh!" Brian's eyes grew wide and he punched Adam's shoulder.

"Mr. Jacobs was shocked! He couldn't believe it, so he asked Ford who's questions it was."

"What did Ford say?" Adam asked her.

"Brace yourselves," She grinned at them. "He said, 'I'd tell you who really asked the question, but I feel your mindset is too limited to accept the true identity of the scientist.'"

"Oh my God!" Brian burst out. "He did not!"

"That's pretty disrespectful." Adam said shaking his head. "And also brilliant."

"Ford said the whole class got deadly silent and were just watching Mr. Jacobs and then they'd look at him, like some crazy tennis match. And then he said it." She paused, half-enjoying retelling the dramatic story.

"What?" Brian asked.

"He told Mr. Jacobs that he was sick of being told that the male intellect was superior to a female intellect, and that it wasn't true. He told him that there wasn't any scientific evidence to back Mr. Jacob's claims, and that if Jacob used such poor science to determine his method of instruction, he could not be trusted to explain any other aspect of science - and he certainly wasn't qualified to answer the brilliant question of a true scientist like Lizbeth Alverez."

Adam and Brian absorbed this in silence, and Hannah waited. The barn was still and in the distance you could hear the mournful lowing of cows.

"He stood up and told his teacher he was stupid." Adam said after a time.

"And a jackass." Brian added.

"Wow." Adam said. "I've never been so proud and horrified in my life!"

"How about furious? Those poor girls! Can you imagine? He's standing up front telling them they are too stupid to be in his class! I tell you what, he better get some serious sleep tonight because after I meet with him tomorrow . . ."

"Easy, hon, we don't have enough for bail, so . . ." Adam put a hand on her arm.

"What if Ford weren't your brother? What if he were a sister? Or Crane? Imagine some moron telling Crane he wasn't smart enough to be a scientist! Can you imagine? To be intelligent, curious or maybe you need help, but your teacher won't help you - and no one will help you! - All just because you were born a girl!"

"I told you, it was gonna just tick you off." Ford said surprising them. He stood in the doorway of the barn and they all turned to him. "I am sorry, Adam. It was really disrespectful, but it isn't fair! Lizbeth is so smart! I've never met anyone smarter and he treats her like . . ." Ford sighed, his head down, ashamed to meet his brother's eyes. "And she's the sweetest girl. She is always respectful to him! More than me - that's for sure."

He felt a hand on his arm then, and looking up was surprised to see Adam stepping in front of him, and pulling him into a hug. "Ford, disrespect is wrong, and calling him out, like you did - you kind of boxed him into a corner. He's not gonna let this go." Ford kept his eyes on the ground, ashamed. "But, I've never been so proud of anyone in my whole life." He reached out and lifted Ford's chin. "I mean it. Standing up for her like you did, I'm proud of you."

"It wasn't just for Lizbeth. I was thinking of all the other girls. Lizbeth is smart and tough. She can take it, but some of the other girls are shy and nervous and it really hurts their feelings. And I kept thinking about Hannah."

"Me?" She asked surprised.

"Yeah, if you had to sit in some class everyday with some jerk telling you that you're stupid. It made me angry to even think of it!"

"You did the right thing, partner." Brian said reaching out and running a hand through Ford's blonde hair.

"But what are we gonna do?" Ford asked. "He's furious. And I guess, he should be. I mean, you are right, Adam, I called him out - in front of the whole class. I was disrespectful and we have to talk to the vice principal! What we we gonna do?"

"Well, you are going to bed. It's getting late, and tomorrow, Hannah's gonna make you a berry cobbler and you can do whatever you want. I say we give it a day. We'll call the school in the morning to let them know you are taking the day off."

Ford was astounded. A day off? Adam was going to let him stay home! He couldn't believe it.

"Adam!" Ford looked up at his brother surprised.

"Go on." Adam said gently. "It's late. Don't worry about it Ford. Hannah, Brian and me, got this, okay?"

"Yeah." Ford said as he turned to leave. "But Adam, don't let Hannah go after Jacobs herself. You know she's got a temper when she's riled."

"Don't worry about me." Hannah said laughing, and put her arms around Ford, kissing his cheek. "Go on to bed, sweetheart. Everything is going to be alright."

"Thanks Hannah." Ford turned to his brothers. "Good night."

"'Night." Brian said and they watched him leave.

"What are we gonna do?" Hannah asked.

"I don't know." Adam rubbed his chin. "It's a mess. Jacobs could just deny it."

"Hannah's got to go in." Brian said.

"Me?" She shook her head. "You're taking this whole let-Hannah-handle-this-one thing too far. And besides, he was a jerk to me."

"What?" Adam turned sharply.

"Oh, well, it wasn't an important part of the story. He was just really condescending to me when I picked Ford up."

"And you didn't mention it?" Adam asked angrily.

"Calm down, Adam. You don't have to worry about me! This is about Ford, remember?"

"But what did he . . ."

"Think about it." Brian interrupted. "If Adam and I go in and deal with him, it's like saying that you aren't fit enough to manage it. It's almost like proving his point. It has to be you, Sis."

"But he won't listen to me." She said.

"He's stupid if he doesn't." Brian said.

"I thought we already established his stupidity."

"No, Brian's right, hon. It should be you. Besides, you can be pretty persuasive." Adam said putting an arm around her.

"And if he won't listen, just flip over a lab table." Brian said grinning at her.

Hannah shook her head at him. "You've got to let that go, Bri. I was . . . it was kind of a tough week."

Brian laughed. "Yeah, you married my brother!"

"You're such a jerk." Adam told him.

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm just so happy that someone else has to go over to that stupid high school! I've probably been there four hundred times for Evan alone!"

"Don't exaggerate. It was probably only three hundred fifty." Adam said.

"And I was worried about rising up to your standards." Hannah said shaking her head at the two of them. "You? You two are my shining examples of parenthood?"

"Yes, ma'am." Adam said with a nod. "We should tell her about the time we took the boys skinny dipping during Girl Scout Camp."

"No, we said we'd never talk about that night ever again!"

"What?" Hannah shouted.

"We didn't know the Girl Scout's were there! We aren't crazy!" Brian said. "It was just really, really bad timing and . . ." He shook his head. "Ah, hell! I'm going to bed." He turned abruptly to leave but paused briefly to say, "Good job, Sis." And with a wink he was gone.

"You took the boys skinning dipping and . . . "

"See, now you've got something to think about next time you feel like you've made a mistake." Adam said pulling her toward the door of the barn.

"Yeah, tomorrow when Ford gets expelled I can say, well, at least I never took him skinny dipping around the Girl Scouts." Hannah said wryly.

"Feel better?" Adam asked leading her up the steps and into the house.

"Tons." She followed him up the stairs and he paused outside their bedroom door, holding it open for her. "You know," She said to him as she passed him to enter their room. "I was a Girl Scout."

"Oh, girl!" He said following her inside. "If only we had a lake!"