Gabriel was putting breakfast on the table the next morning, waiting for Billy to make an appearance. He was thinking he was going to have to call the boy when he heard soft footsteps behind him. Billy wore a nervous expression. A slightly crumpled, folded piece of paper was held tightly in his hands.
"What is wrong?" Gabriel asked, having learned that Billy was not yet comfortable with expressing himself without an invitation.
"Could I just wait until Monday to go back to school?" Billy asked quietly. "Please."
Gabriel turned one of the chairs sideways and sat down. He motioned Billy over to him. The boy came slowly toward Gabriel. Reaching the Mountie, Billy came close to Gabriel's side, letting Gabriel put an arm around his shoulders.
"Randy has been suspended for three days, Billy. He won't be at school today."
"I know," Billy said, having been given the information the evening before. "However, the kids who laughed will be. Everyone will be talking about what happened and I would rather not be reminded of what happened yesterday. I also do not think I am ready to read this, and I know Miss Peterson will want me to today since I did not yesterday. The rest of the class has already read their essays. I am the only one left."
"Billy, you told Miss Peterson that if she made the assignment you would be willing to read your essay for your classmates," Gabriel reminded him.
"I know. I will. I just would rather wait for Monday. Yesterday's events will not be on everyone's mind then. I am not trying to get out of it. I just want a little breathing room. Please?"
Gabriel sighed. He had never been a fan of putting things off just because you did not want to deal with them. The task still remained. He had always felt it was better just to face things and get it over with. However, he had also never been through the trauma that Billy had been through. Knowing Lillian, Grace and the children at the orphanage had shown him just how sheltered a life he'd had growing up. Billy was still trying to adjust to his new situation. Gabriel did not think pushing him too much would be a good thing.
"You promise you will go to school on Monday and you will complete the assignment?" Gabriel asked him.
"Promise," Billy told him with a nod.
"I am going to ask Miss Peterson for the schoolwork you are going to miss today and I expect you to complete it this weekend."
"Yes, sir," Billy replied.
Gabriel gave Billy's shoulders a squeeze. "Okay. You can stay home this time, but this is not going to become a frequent happening. Understand?"
Billy nodded, leaning in and resting his head on Gabriel's shoulder. "Thank-you," the boy said.
"I have something I need to do in Clearwater today. Do you want to make the trip in with me? We can try to get a hold of your great-grandmother while we are there."
"Yes," Billy replied without hesitation.
"All right," Gabriel said. "Let's have breakfast, and then I will go talk to Miss Peterson and let Maggie know you will be with me today," he added letting go of the boy.
As Billy took a step back, Gabriel spoke again.
"Could I read your essay, Billy?"
Billy looked down at the paper in his hands. He then handed it to Gabriel before taking his seat at the table.
The two said grace and then when they started to eat, Gabriel unfolded the paper and began to read the essay. Though most of it was information that Gabriel had already heard, he remembered how it had affected him when he first heard it. He knew Miss Peterson had a valid point. Billy sharing this would probably generate sympathy, if not empathy, among his classmates.
It was the ending of the essay that choked Gabriel up.
By most standards, what I have already talked about has been hard. However, all of that seems almost easy compared to the dealing with the fear of trusting again. I am not talking about the fear of trusting people in your life, though that is hard for me. I am talking about trusting that the safety and security I have found will not just disappear once agin. For the first time since my parents died I have food, shelter, and people who I know are looking out for me. Perhaps even people who could love me. The hardest thing I face these days is waking up in the morning and facing the fear that all of that was just a dream.
Gabriel swallowed hard a couple of times, even as he tried to blink away the tears in his eyes. He had a feeling that this morning had been especially hard for the boy after what had transpired the day before. He also understood better why Billy did not want to read that to his classmates today. That fear was probably way too close for the boy to share today.
Placing the essay on the table next to his plate, Gabriel got to his feet. Moving the short distance to Billy's chair, Gabriel knelt on the floor next to him and put his arms around the boy.
"I do love you, Billy. I hope someday you can return that love but I understand that you might not be there yet. Your home is with me now and that is not a dream," Gabriel told the boy, resting his cheek against the boy's hair.
"What if something happens to you?" Billy asked.
More than anything, Gabriel wanted to tell the boy that nothing was going to happen to him. Gabriel knew that he could not promise that. No one could really, but his profession made that more of a reality. A reality that Billy had already experienced.
"As long as you make the choice not to run again, Billy, you would not be alone even if something were to happen to me. I know the Grants would look out for you, just like I would look out for Ally, Jack, and any other children that came along if the need was there. Then there is Miss Maggie. Miss Walsh and Miss Bennett would look out for you as well Billy."
"Even though I thought their orphanage was like the other two I stayed at?" Billy asked quietly.
"Yes," Gabriel replied without hesitation. "I reckon that Miss Walsh even already loves you even though you are not ready to accept or return that love."
"She did tuck me in and blew me a kiss yesterday afternoon after all the trouble I caused."
"Yesterday was not your fault, Billy," Gabriel stated again. He knew that repetition was the only chance he had of getting the boy to believe that.
"That is nice to hear even if I cannot quite convince myself of it," Billy told him.
Gabriel's heart ached for the boy. Life robbed everyone of their childhood innocence eventually. Still, it had been taken from Billy way too soon.
Lifting his cheek from the boy's head, Gabriel placed a kiss on the boy's hair even as he continued to hold him. Their breakfast was getting cold but right then that did not matter. The only thing that mattered was the boy in his arms. Gabriel intended to hold onto Billy for as long as the boy wanted to remain in his embrace, hoping that his actions might speak louder than the words that Billy was having trouble believing.
An hour later Gabriel found himself at the school alone. He had left Billy at home to gather a few things for the trip, knowing that Billy would need to occupy himself for a good portion of the day while at the Clearwater headquarters. Miss Peterson had been writing a lesson on the blackboard when he had entered. The woman had stopped and was now listening patiently while he explained the situation.
"Billy promised he will read the essay on Monday but he just does not feel ready to face his classmates right now. As he is still trying to adjust to the new living situation, I am inclined to give him the time he requested. Part of me is just glad he asked permission not to come instead of just skipping school," Gabriel admitted.
Miss Peterson nodded. "I agree with you," the teacher said. "I am not sure I have ever dealt with a situation quite like this and as you are Billy's guardian, I am willing to defer to your judgement. I want him to feel welcome in my classroom, and I do not think Billy felt very welcomed yesterday. Even the children from New Hope Orphanage at least had each other when they started here and they seemed content to be with Miss Walsh and Miss Bennett. My heart breaks every time I think of that boy out on his own for almost a year."
"The last thing I want is for Billy to go off on his own again. Judge Avery even warned me not to do something that might make Billy feel like he needed to run again, and I worry that making him come back to school right away might to just do that."
"It will be fine. Billy might be behind the other students his age because of lack of proper schooling but I think given time he will catch up and there is still plenty of time for him to do it without rushing anything," Miss Peterson replied. "I'll make sure I put together his assignments to work on over the weekend."
"Thank you," Gabriel told her sincerely. "If you could just send the assignments home with one of Miss Walsh's charges that would be appreciated. I plan on stopping by there this evening."
"I will be happy to," Miss Peterson told him as the sound of the door to the schoolhouse opening and closing hard reached their ears.
Miss Peterson and Gabriel both turned in that direction to find Abraham MacEntire coming into the room. The man's face was a storm cloud as her marched into the room. Gabriel instinctively put himself between Abraham and Miss Peterson. The slight movement seemed to let Abraham register the Mountie's presence in the room and he came to a stop half way across the room.
"May I help you, Mr. MacEntire?" Miss Peterson asked politely, trying to keep her voice from wavering.
Gabriel held his tongue. Though he had no intentions of leaving Miss Peterson alone with the clearly upset man, he was planning on staying out of the conversation if at all possible.
"My wife told me about your visit, Miss Peterson. I am here to inform you that as Randy if you feel you cannot control your classroom, then I will happily keep the boy at home. He does not need schooling to run a ranch anyway. I never went to school and I get along just fine."
"I do have control of my classroom, Mr. MacEntire," Miss Peterson replied. "I have rules that I expect the kids to follow. Randy did not follow the rules and needs to be disciplined. That is why I suspended him for three days."
"So the kids misbehave and they get to stay home from school. Does not sound like much of a punishment to me? A good spanking, now that tells a child they did wrong."
"I do not believe it is my place as a teacher to determine if corporal punishment is an appropriate form of discipline for a child or not," Miss Peterson said, trying to stay diplomatic.
"And that is why you have fights breaking out in your classroom," Abraham told her. "Spare the rod and spoil the child. So, I will keep Randy at home from now on. He is old enough to start learning how to run the ranch and I will make sure he learns discipline."
"That is certainly your right as his father," Miss Peterson told him. "After Tuesday, Randy will be welcomed back at any time provided that he chooses to follow the rules I set forth in my classroom."
"Well apparently those rules are only for certain people. I do not think my son should be sent home after some orphan attacks him because a charity case cannot watch where he is walking," Abraham said, the last words directed at Gabriel.
Gabriel did not rise to the bait. He knew Abraham was trying to get him to react and he was not going to fall for it.
"As I explained in the note and to your wife yesterday that is not what happened. Randy deliberately tripped a classmate and another boy reacted. Both your son and the other boy fighting were disciplined."
"But I bet that other kid was not suspended for three days right," Abraham accused, his gaze going back to the teacher. "That was reserved for my son, right?"
"Because Randy has been disciplined for other things and continues to disobey classroom rules, yes, he was the only one suspended. I stand by that decision."
"And I stand by mine," Abraham told her. "Randy is done with school."
Before Miss Peterson had a chance to respond, Abraham turned and stormed from the room. The sound of the door slamming made the teacher jump. Alone with Gabriel now, Miss Peterson moved toward the closest desk and sank down into the seat.
"Are you okay, Miss Peterson?" Gabriel asked, turning and noticing the woman's reaction.
"Yes," Miss Peterson replied, with a nod. "That man does frighten me though. I was relieved when he was away when I went out to the ranch yesterday afternoon. I am also ashamed to admit that part of me is glad that Randy will no longer be in the classroom so I do not have to deal with him any further. I do feel bad for Randy though."
Gabriel nodded. "Randy's father is definitely not going to win any awards for his parenting skills," Gabriel admitted. "Unfortunately, it is not illegal to yell at your child. It technically is not even wrong to spank a child as punishment provided that action does not cause injury, which I have never seen any evidence of."
"And there is no law that says he has to send Randy to school," Miss Peterson replied.
Gabriel nodded. "I will continue to keep an eye on things out on the MacEntire ranch," he said. "However, for now, my recommendation for you Miss Peterson is to concentrate on the other children in your classroom. I do not want to see you get into a situation in which you get hurt."
Miss Peterson nodded, still a bit shaken from the brief encounter. "I will, Constable Kinslow. I have a feeling that encounter would have gone differently had you not been here."
"Happy to be of service," Gabriel told her with a smile. Yells of childish glee could softly be heard from outside. "If you are sure you are okay, I will let you get back to your preparations."
Miss Peterson took a deep breath and let it out slowly before getting to her feet. "I will be fine," she assured him. "Safe travels today, Constable."
"Thank-you," Gabriel told her before turning and calmly leaving the way Abraham MacEntire had left moments before.