That afternoon, when she reached the ranch, Scott came out of the barn to greet her.
"Hey there, kiddo," he said, in greeting.
"Hello," Charlie said, pulling Gurth to a halt.
"How was school? Did you get all your spelling words correct?" he asked.
"I got them all correct," Charlie said.
"Good job," Scott said, as Charlie slid down from Gurth's back.
They stood there, surveying each other for a moment, and Scott brushed back an auburn curl that had escaped from her braid.
"How about John?" Scott asked now. "Any problems with him today?"
Charlie nodded. "The same. I talked to Miss Susan, like you said."
"Alright. Good. Did that help?"
"No," Charlie said, bluntly.
"No?" Scott asked.
Charlie shook her head. "Uh huh."
"Why not?"
"Because he told her he wasn't doing anything wrong. And she believed him."
Scott surveyed Charlie, his expression serious, and taking in her tone of discouragement.
"I sure thought that talking to your teacher would help," Scott said, sounding regretful.
Charlie shrugged. "It's okay," she said.
"No. It's not. Not if it's going to upset you," Scott said.
"I bet he'll get tired of it, like you said he might," Charlie said. She had her own ideas of how to tend to John by now, anyway.
"Maybe so." Scott looked thoughtful. "How about we give it until the middle of next week? If he's still doing it by then, we'll figure
something else out. Deal?"
Charlie nodded. "Deal." As Charlie began to untack Gurth she said, "Besides, I really think he's going to stop by the middle of the
week."
"You do, huh?"
Charlie nodded, and Scott smiled and ran his hand over the top of her head. "Well, positive thinking on a situation is always a good
thing."
To herself, Charlie thought, 'yes, positive thinking, and a little threat of spells and such'.
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The next morning at school, as Charlie was walking in with the other children, she saw John giving her a wary glance. Then, bravely,
he stuck out his tongue at her.
"Tell the teacher, she won't do nothin'," John whispered as he passed behind Charlie.
Charlie gave him a quelling glance. "I don't need to tell her anything," she said, really softly. She had the satisfaction of seeing
John's eyes widen, in a bit of worry, she thought.
She still hadn't formulated a clear plan of how to deal with John. But, she would, she thought. It was time to put him in his
place. He had his own father and Miss Susan bumfuzzled, but Charlie was determined to get the upper hand on his nonsense.
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It was as Miss Susan came out to ring the bell after the first recess, to call the students back into the building, that Charlie got
her first idea of how to deal with John. Charlie was one of the first kids back inside, and the wind blowing thru the open door
swept papers off of Miss Susan's desk. Charlie and one of the other girls went to pick them up, stacking them back on the desk.
They were finished by the time the other kids came in, followed by the teacher. Charlie had made good use, or had good luck, with
those few moments, though. She had her first 'magic' trick to play on John.
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She only had a few short moments, before class was called to order again, and the afternoon's study began. Charlie sidled up
close to John, and, doing her best to look 'magical' and mysterious, she whispered to him, "The spelling test from this morning? You
missed all of them-wait-" Charlie hesitated dramatically, "You got two correct. You missed the rest-"
John was staring at her, looking skeptical, yet wary.
"You don't know nothin'-" he began.
Charlie shrugged. "You'll see, I guess-"
And then, she very deliberately turned and went to her seat, turning her back on John, and keeping her smile to herself.
When the spelling papers were handed out, it took willpower on Charlie's part, to not turn around and watch John's face as
he saw his paper, marked exactly as Charlie had predicted. She forced herself not to look at John, thinking she would get
the satisfaction later. At the next recess, Charlie confided in Rebecca what she'd done.
Rebecca's eyes widened a bit. "Golly, Charlie, but you have nerve! I would never be able to fool somebody that way!"
"Well, I'm hoping he believes me," Charlie said, looking around for John.
"What if Miss Susan finds out you saw John's mark, and tricked him?" Rebecca asked. "I mean, she'll say it wasn't the right
thing, won't she? And you might be in trouble-"
"I won't be, because no one else will know. Just you and me," Charlie said.
"You aren't worried 'bout it?" Rebecca asked.
Charlie thought, briefly, of how Scott's face would look if he found out she'd taken a windy accident to attempt to frighten John
into believing she had powers of some sort. He would not be happy. That she knew. And, that part of it did indeed worry her.
"If this gets John to leave me alone, then I don't have to worry about it," Charlie said. Still looking around, for John, Charlie spotted
him, standing on the edge of a group of boys. It looked as though they were choosing up sides for a game.
"Come on," Charlie said to Rebecca as they walked over that way.
John saw them coming, and Charlie felt huge satisfaction at the expression on his face. Confusion, wariness, apprehension. Good, she
thought, feeling pleased.
"Maybe you shouldn't say anything else to him," Rebecca urged. "He's leaving you alone now."
"I just want to make sure," Charlie said.
"Hello, John," Charlie said, sweetly, when she was near to John.
"Leave me be-" John told her.
"What's wrong, John?" Charlie asked him, innocently. "You act as though you're bothered by something-is it because you found
out that I can, you know-" Charlie hesitated, lowering her voice dramatically, "do things?"
"You just guessed about the spellin'," John said, stoutly, though Charlie thought he looked still worried.
Charlie shrugged. "If that's what you want to believe-but how would I know? Unless I have powers?"
John took a step back. "Leave me alone," he said.
Charlie smiled, and went on to enjoy the remainder of the recess with Rebecca and her other friends.
7
That afternoon, after collecting Gurth, Charlie mounted, preparing for her ride home. She saw John walking along, running
a stick against the slats in the gates near the houses.
She trotted Gurth over and called, "Goodbye, John!" She felt a particular glee in seeing John look
panicked.
"Stop followin' me!" John hollered.
"Not so fun, is it?" Charlie said.
"I don't believe ya, anyhow!" John told her. "You don't have no-magic!"
"I'll prove it to you, again, then," Charlie said. "On Monday."
And then, she turned and urged Gurth into a gallop, looking back to see John's mouth hanging open.
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Beets had arrived, and Charlie was glad to see him when she arrived home. She slid down off of Gurth, going to greet
the banker. Beets was already, Charlie saw, dressed in his working ranch clothes, and sitting outside in the shade of the house with
Murdoch. Both men had glasses of iced tea in front of them.
"Hello, Charlotte," Beets greeted her.
"Hello, Mr. Beets!" Charlie said, with a welcoming smile. "Hullo, Murdoch!"
"How was your day, darling?" Murdoch asked her, in greeting.
"It was good," Charlie said. She went to stand beside Murdoch's chair, laying her hand on his shoulder. "How was your stagecoach
trip?" she asked Mr. Beets.
"I came on the train this visit," Mr. Beets told her. "Murdoch picked me up at the depot."
"Oh. Have you gone riding yet?" Charlie asked him.
"I was waiting for you, to go with me to do that," Beets said.
"Do you want to go now? Before supper?" Charlie asked him. She looked at Murdoch. "Would that be alright, Murdoch?"
"Were you on riding restriction?" Murdoch asked, in a reminder. He asked it quietly, but Charlie still felt her face flame
in embarrassment. She'd forgotten all about that for the moment. Scott had said she was only to ride to school and back, no recreational
riding at the ranch for a week, because of her solo jaunt which had resulted in her getting lost.
"Oh," she said, quietly. She shot a glance at Beets, who didn't look shocked, or even particularly inquisitive. "I'll ask Scott," she
said, in amendment.
"We can spend time together doing something else," Beets said, agreeably.
"I'll ask Scott," Charlie said, again. It was while she was untacking Gurth, and putting him into the pasture with the other horses,
that Charlie remembered something else. Scott had told her she wasn't to ask or badger him about making an exception, or letting her off, when he'd
given a consequence for something she had done. Charlie thought hard, trying to remember his exact words. He'd said
if she did that, he would enforce more consequences. She was still thinking that over, when she saw Scott, and Johnny, too,
riding up from the south. She stood where she was, until they reached her.
"Hey there, pequeno," Johnny said, in greeting.
"Hi, Johnny." Charlie reached out to touch Barranca's nose. "Hi, Scott."
"Hey, kiddo," Scott said. He swung down from his horse. "How was your day?"
"It was good," Charlie said.
"I'm ready for a cold drink," Johnny said. "See ya at the house," he added, and cantered off.
"Did Beets arrive yet?" Scott asked.
"Yes. He and Murdoch are sitting outside, drinking iced tea," Charlie said.
"Good." They began walking together then, towards the corral.
"How about John?" Scott asked now. "How did that go today?"
"Better," Charlie said. "I think he's decided he should stop."'
"Really?" Scott asked, sounding surprised. "Just that like, huh?"
Charlie shrugged. "With John, who knows?" she said, vaguely.
"I guess that's right," Scott said, sounding a bit amused.
As they walked across the field, towards the barns and house, Charlie wondered if she should speak about the riding, or
hold her tongue.
"Is it alright if I ask you something?" Charlie asked.
"You can ask me whatever you need to."
"I don't want to ask if it's going to get me into trouble," Charlie said, in honesty.
"Why do you think asking me something would get you into trouble?" Scott asked.
"I'm just not sure if it will, or not."
"Hmm," Scott said.
"You sort of said once that I shouldn't ask what I was going to ask just now," Charlie said.
Scott looked down at her, and raised his eyebows. "I did?"
Charlie nodded.
By now, they'd reached the corrals, and Scott began unsaddling his horse, unbuckling the cinch.
"Well, if I've said that you shouldn't, I guess it's up to you, then, on whether you think it's wise to pursue it or not," Scott said,
giving her the full benefit of his glance. His tone was light enough, but Charlie saw that he was serious, too.
Under that quelling glance of his, Charlie retreated. "I guess I won't ask, then," she said.
"Want to take his bridle?" he asked Charlie, and she nodded, reaching up to remove the bridle. She carried that, and Scott
carried his saddle, and they went to put the tack away.
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Charlie went to change her clothes after that, and did her chores outside. Once inside, she found that Marie had gone to her
cousin's to help tend sick children. And, in charge of the kitchen, and preparing supper for them all, were Teresa and Beets. Beets
had his shirt sleeves rolled up, and was stirring something with vigorous enthusiasm in a large bowl. Teresa, meanwhile, was
sitting on a tall stool, chopping vegetables on a cutting board.
Going to the kitchen sink, to pump water and wash her hands, Charlie looked at Beets in open curiousity.
"Do you cook?" Charlie asked.
"Every time I get the opportunity," Beets replied.
"Really?" Charlie asked, surprised.
"Certainly. Men can be very adept cooks, as well, young lady," Beets said, in mock severity. Charlie knew he was only teasing
her, though.
"I'm looking forward to eating Mr. Beets creation," Teresa said. "I'm sure Josh will enjoy it, as well."
And, at that, Beets began asking Teresa questions about her current beau, Joshua Banks. Charlie, who was in agreement with Johnny
about this particular young man, didn't care to listen to Teresa proclaim his attributes.
She took down the plates from the cabinet, and went to do her evening chore of setting the table for the meal.
When she'd completed the setting of the table, she went to gather some flowers from the garden, bringing them in and
placing them in a vase. Charlie was setting the vase in the center of the table, and was moving the flowers a bit
more, when Beets came into the dining room.
"That looks lovely," he said. "Did you arrange those, Charlotte?"
"I mostly just picked them and put them in the vase," Charlie said, in honesty, and Beets threw back his head
and laughed.
"I'm always reminded," he said, "of just how vivacious and charming you really are, my dear."
"You think I'm charming?" Charlie asked, pausing in her task to survey the older man.
"Very much so."
"And vivacious? That's good, too?" Charlie asked.
"Yes. It's good. I'd tell you the exact meaning, but I think it would be better for you to look it up yourself. Hmm?"
"Yes. I will. When supper's over," Charlie said.
"Very well," Beets said, and pulled a chair from the table, sitting down. "Can we sit for a few minutes, and talk?"
"Yes, sir," Charlie said, and pulled up the chair just next to his, sitting down.
"Tell me about yourself, what you've been doing, how your school is progressing, all of that," Beets instructed.
So, the two of them talked for a few minutes. Charlie told him about her schoolwork, and the friends that she'd made.
"You met Rebecca, at my birthday party," she reminded him. "She's still my best friend."
"I've very glad you've made some lasting friendships," Beets said.
After that, Charlie asked him if he'd known that Katherine had been in town.
"Yes. I did know that."
"And she came to supper," Charlie said.
"And how was that for you?" Beets asked, looking serious. "Was it awkward?"
"It wasn't too terrible," Charlie said. "Scott explained things afterwards. He said he didn't think she would be back again,
not anytime soon."
Beets nodded, quiet.
"At first, I was a little upset at Scott because he asked her here that way," Charlie admitted.
"Were you?" he asked, looking kind.
Charlie nodded. "But, I know he had a good reason. I mean, he wouldn't do anything that might hurt me."
"Truthfully, Charlotte, I'm sure he did it so as to protect you."
"Do you think I need protecting?" Charlie asked, feeling her belly jump with nerves. "I mean, is Katherine planning
to protest the guardianship-"
"No, no. Nothing like that," Beets said, quickly, to reassure her. "I didn't intend to alarm you." He reached over and patted
Charlie's hand. "What I meant was, I'm sure Scott felt that it might be best if he didn't alienate Katherine entirely. After all, there's no
point to having animosity between the adults in your situation. You don't want that, do you?"
Charlie considered, and answered honestly. "Well, I might have before. Wanted that, I mean. I didn't want any of
the family to like Katherine. Because then they might have thought that the problems were all my doing, and not hers."
"You no longer feel that way?" Beets asked.
Charlie looked at his earnest face, the face that had become so familiar to her over the last few months. She thought she
might have fibbed to him, so as to please him. She was glad, therefore, that she did not need to lie. She could answer honestly,
and truly. "No. I don't feel that way now," she said. "I know they all care for me, and love me, and that they won't stop. So, it's not
so important now that they dislike Katherine."
"I'm glad, Charlotte. Very glad, indeed, that you feel that way," Beets said, smiling at her.
Charlie smiled back. "Well, to be completely honest, though, I don't want any of them to be friends with Katherine."
Beets laughed, as he had earlier, at her 'flower arranging'. "I can understand that."
He studied Charlie for a long moment, looking serious again. "You've grown by leaps and bounds in the last few
months."
"Teresa's had to let down the hems on my pants," Charlie said.
"I'm sure of that, but that's not the growth I was speaking of," Beets said. "I meant, instead, the growth you've achieved
as a person. You've become much more attuned to other people's feelings, and thoughts. I see an increase in the way
you process your behavior. I believe you think things thru much more so than you did previously. Am I correct?"
"I think I do that more. Think things thru," Charlie agreed. "A lot of it is probably because Scott's so strict with me. I don't
like it when he's disappointed in me, so I try to keep that from happening."
"That pleases me, Charlotte," Beets said.
They smiled at one another for another moment or so, and then Charlie said, "Would it be alright if we went for a walk tomorrow, instead
of a horseback ride? I mean, you can ride if you want," she added hastily, "But, I can't ride here-at the ranch this week." She waited, hoping
she wouldn't have to explain the whys and wherefores of not being able to go horseback riding with him.
"Going for a walk would be lovely," Beets said. "Perhaps we'll find some more flowers that you know the name of."
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