Hays rode into town and headed straight for the church. He hated to be the one to tell Emma, but someone had to do it.
It had been over a week since he had met her outside the post office, and in that time they had spent several hours working together on the bazaar. Just yesterday, after church, he had met with Emma and Connie to design the posters that he would hang all over town to advertise the fund-raiser.
He hated to think all their hard work might be for nothing.
It was midafternoon, and the children would still be in school. It was too early for their weekly fund-raising meeting, but there was no time to wait. Hays jumped off Bella and wrapped her reins around the hitching post outside the whitewashed church. He took the steps two at a time but then paused when he put his hand on the knob. Her voice was muffled through the wood door.
Slowly, he turned the knob and the door popped open. She must not have heard, because she continued to teach. He stood outside, but the opening allowed him to hear her perfectly.
“Now that we’ve studied the general history of Texas,” Emma said, “we’ll move on to local history. Many of you know Mr. George Washington Hart, but not all of you know that his father’s name was Benjamin Franklin Hart. Benjamin and his wife, Mary Ellen, were part of the ‘Old 300,’ the first white settlers in Texas. They came here with their four children, George Washington, whom you know as GW, John Adams, William Penn, and Martha Abigail Hart.”
There were surprised murmurs in the room, and Hays himself was amazed at how much Emma knew about his family’s history.
“In 1824 the settlements of Austin began, but Benjamin Hart ventured farther west than most of the Austinites. Here he established the Hart ranch and set aside a portion of his property to start the town of Hartville.”
“Miss Longley?”
“Yes, Adam.”
“Why do all the Hart brothers have such strange names?”
Hays’s laugh was drowned out by a round of giggles, until Emma successfully quieted them.
“They might sound strange to you,” Emma said with a smile in her voice. “But for anyone who has studied their Texas history, they know all the Hart brothers are named after important Texans.”
Again, the murmurs.
Hays used the opportunity to push the door open all the way and slip into the back of the church.
Emma looked up and her cheeks blossomed with color. “It looks like one of those strange-named men has come for an unexpected visit.”
Dozens of eyes turned to Hays, and several of them looked at him with new admiration—some with downright awe.
“This particular Hart is named after John Coffee Hays,” Emma said, keeping the attention on him. “Colonel Jack Hays, as he’s known, is still alive and lives in California with his family, but when he was a young man, he was a heroic Texas Ranger, leading several campaigns against the Comanche Indians. Even though he fought the Comanche, they had great admiration for him.”
Hays took off his hat and nodded at Emma, though he spoke to the children. “You have a smart teacher. She knows more about my namesake than I do.”
The children giggled, and Emma smiled. “I doubt that.”
“Still,” he said, “I’m impressed that you did your research.” Had she researched all his brothers’ namesakes … or only his?
He held her gaze for a moment before she glanced down at her lapel watch. “We’re about out of time, children. Class is dismissed for the day.”
The children cheered and quickly gathered up their things. Hays ruffled David Longley’s hair as he passed by.
When the last child had left, Hays walked to the front of the room, where Emma stood waiting.
“I’m surprised to see you so early,” Emma said. “Is something wrong?”
He clutched his hat and motioned to her chair. “You should probably take a seat.”
The welcoming gleam left her eyes. “Is it that bad?”
He let out a long, weary sigh. “I’m afraid it is.”
Emma walked around her desk and slowly lowered herself to her chair. “Go ahead.”
“Perla was in town this morning. She went to Mortenson’s Mercantile, and Meribeth Mortenson told her that there’s a petition going around town to try to stop you from building the school.”
“A petition?” Emma’s eyes grew round as she rose from her chair. “But why? Who?”
“I don’t know, but Meribeth said there were already dozens of names on it.”
Emma’s face grew pale, and she dropped into the chair once again. “If there are dozens of names, how will we get enough people to attend our fund-raiser?”
Hays’s thoughts exactly. He hated that there were people in Hartville who didn’t want Emma to succeed.
“Emma.” Hays walked around the desk and squatted in front of her. “We can’t let these people win. I want to see that school built as much as you do. People are just afraid of change, that’s all.”
She didn’t seem to hear him. “All this work wasted.”
“It’s not wasted. We’ll still get that school built.”