Page 41 of The Formation of Us
“Adam?”
He jerked his head up to see Rebecca Grayson sitting on the fence.
“Good morning,” she said, sliding off the pile of stones and walking toward him. “Are you heading to school?”
He nodded, not trusting his changing voice to stay steady while his heart banged around in his chest. Did she live in that huge house? Did those horses in the paddock behind the barn belong to her family?
“Can we walk with you?” she asked.
He had no idea who “we” were, but he nodded and stuffed his hands into his pockets.
Rebecca turned toward the house. “Hurry up, William, or I’m leaving without you!” she yelled.
A boy about half Adam’s age pounded down the porch steps, then raced across the yard. “Beat you there!” he said, and raced down the rutted road ahead of them.
“William, you better watch you don’t get run over by Mr. Carlson’s horse,” Rebecca shouted at his back, but the boy didn’t appear to hear.
“Want me to get him for you?” Adam asked, knowing he could run the boy down.
“No, my brother will just pester us to death if he walks with us. Besides, he knows I can catch him if I want to.” She flashed a sweet smile that made Adam’s stomach grow tight. She angled the toe of her shoe behind the stone he’d been kicking and rolled it ahead of them. “Come on. We can’t be late or Mr. MacEnroy will switch us.”
No man would switch Rebecca while Adam was around, but he wasn’t daring enough to tell her that. He followed her down the street and gave the stone a solid kick.
Rebecca skipped ahead and kicked it several feet. “My mother says you live with your sister.” she said.
He nodded, wishing his voice wasn’t so wobbly that it terrified him to talk.
She waited for him to catch up. “Don’t you have a mother and father?” she asked.
He shook his head, surprised that her question didn’t offend him. It didn’t feel like she was being nosy or judging him. “I didn’t know my father. My mother died six weeks ago.” The lass he said, the less it hurt, and the less chance that his voice would squawk.
“I’m sorry, Adam. My dad says I’m too curious and I ask too many questions sometimes.”
The unexpected kindness in her eyes made his throat ache. He hadn’t talked to anyone about his mother. Faith had always been the one to take care of him. His mother had been more like a grandmother to him, like she was with Cora. He lowered his chin and kicked the stone. “It’s all right. My sister is more like my mother anyhow.”
“Really?”
He nodded.
“I’m glad you’re going to my school,” Rebecca said, scampering along beside him to bat at the stone. “We can walk together if you want.”
“Sure.” He wiped his sweaty palms on his trousers, and took his turn kicking the stone ahead of them. Maybe going to school wouldn’t be all bad.
While he and Rebecca took turns flicking the stone with their feet, he stole quick looks at her. Her shiny black hair bounced against her back in long, loose spirals that hung to her waist. Her eyebrows were black as coal, and her dimples flashed when she smiled at him, which was nearly every time he looked up. He liked her dimples and her smile, but he liked the friendliness in her eyes even better.
“Oh, no,” she said, slowing to a standstill in the road. He looked up and followed her gaze to where several children gathered in front of a white schoolhouse. “Melissa Archer just waved to us.”
“Is that bad?”
“She’s a worse gossip than her mother, and she’s mean to William and the younger children.
“Why?”
“Because she can get away with it.” With a sigh, Rebecca kicked the stone to the side of the road. “Let’s leave it here so we can kick it on the way home. Come on. We’ll try to sneak past her,” she said, then caught his elbow and tugged him into the school yard.
Adam would rather wait for the bell to ring and dash inside to the first empty chair he could find. But he would walk through fire before letting Rebecca know he was afraid.
“Rebecca!” Melissa Archer caught Rebecca’s arm and stopped them. “You nearly walked right past me.”
