Page 39 of The Heart’s Charge

The two diverged, the teacher disappearing into the schoolhouse while Eliza grabbed a handful of skirt and ran to meet Jonah to assess what damage had occurred. However, the closer she drew, the more puzzled she became. She didn’t recognize the taller boy behind Samuel. Who was he, and where had he come from?

Slowing to a walk to ensure she didn’t spook the horse, she finally looked to Jonah—Mr. Brooks—for a hint of what had happened. The frustrating man’s face was as stoic as ever, giving nothing away. Nothing except an invigorating intensity she found oddly comforting. Almost like a reassurance that everything was under control. Then he lifted his right brow, and all that lovely reassurance disappeared beneath a not-very-subtle warning for her to maintain her composure. As if she were the type of woman to fall apart in a crisis. Exasperating man!

Lifting her chin, Eliza stepped around Mr. Brooks and came alongside the boys, keeping a good three feet between her and Augustus as she walked. She trusted Jonah to control his horse under normal circumstances, but she didn’t trust herself not to do something accidentally that would spook the animal. Heaven knew she tended to bring out the worst in the creatures.

“Who’s your friend, Samuel?” She tried to imitate the cheerful tone Katherine used when meeting a child for the first time instead of her authoritative teacher voice, but she must not have done it correctly. After tossing a questioning look over his shoulder and receiving a glare in response, Samuel faced forward and ignored her.

Fine. Teacher voice it would be.

“Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me, Samuel Harris.”

His chin jerked sideways, and his gaze flew to hers. “Sorry, Miz Southerland. I heard ya just fine. But Rawley doesn’t want me sayin’ nuthin’.”

Rawley? The leader of that ragamuffin gang of boxcar boys the men had been talking about earlier? The one Miss Georgia had warned Samuel to stay away from?

Eliza shifted her gaze to the taller boy with the pugnacious expression. And the dirt-encrusted clothing. And the posture of one who seemed to be cradling a wounded side. The child had obviously suffered some kind of injury. How, she didn’t know, but the cause wasn’t nearly as important as the remedy at the moment. His health and well-being took precedence.

“Mr. Rawley?” She banished all sympathy from her voice. Eliza had dealt with independent types before. Emotion wouldn’t soften them. The only way to bend them to her will was to gain their respect. “I see you’ve run into some difficulty.”

“Nuthin’ I couldn’t handle.”

A soft cough from the man in front of the horse confirmed her suspicion that the boy had bent the truth to some degree.

“And those injuries?” she inquired with a raising of her brows. “Are you handling those as well?”

He sniffed. “That’s right.”

Jonah glanced over his shoulder, stoicism giving way to sternness. “Not alone, you’re not. We’re gonna get you stitched up and bandaged proper. Even then, it’d be best for you to lay low for a while. Heal up before you go traipsing around the rail yard. You got people dependin’ on you. Won’t do them any good if you take a fever ’cause that gash got infected.”

Rawley sat forward, his eyes glittering like shards of black obsidian. “Won’t do them any good if I’m holed up someplace where they can’t find me neither.”

“Well then,” Eliza said, a touch of cheerfulness creeping back into her tone, “I guess it’s a good thing I have a place where all of you can stay.” She turned her attention back to Samuel. “Sam, do you know how to find Rawley’s people?”

“Yes’m.”

“Perfect. Then get a message to them that Rawley will be staying at Harmony House, and they are all welcome to join him.”

Rawley sputtered. “I ain’t goin’ to no orphanage!”

“Of course you’re not. You’re coming to a place where children go when they have no other safe place to stay.” He started to argue, but she glared him into silence. “From what I understand, you and the boys who run with you are the main targets of whoever is snatching children. How better to keep your comrades safe than by hiding them away in a home with protective walls, three free meals a day, and two of Hanger’s Horsemen guarding the fort?”

Rawley’s gaze flashed up to where Jonah walked. “You’re a Horseman?” For the first time, no trace of belligerence marred the young man’s face.

Jonah didn’t bother turning around. “Yep.”

“Then that settles it,” Eliza said, willing it to be the truth and not giving Rawley a chance to argue. “How many new boys should I expect for supper?”

CHAPTER

SEVENTEEN

Six?” Katherine was certain she’d heard incorrectly. But then Eliza nodded in confirmation of the number, and Kate’s stomach knotted.

Six new boys? Tonight? That would more than double their occupancy.

Lord, I know I’ve been praying for Harmony House to reach more hurting children, but so many all at once? I don’t know if I—

“It’ll be fine,” Eliza said, her no-nonsense tone batting away Katherine’s rising anxiety as if it were no more significant than a gnat buzzing by her ear. She crossed the kitchen, grabbed a mixing bowl, and started dumping cups of flour inside. “These boys are used to sleeping in railcars. We don’t need beds. Pallets will do.”