In Your Arms (Montana Romance) Read Free

stopped!”
    He glared from Christian to Michael, finishing with one long sneer for Lily before turning to go. Christian had never been so glad to see the back of a man in his life.
    He blew out a breath and checked on the students playing in the snowy schoolyard . It amazed him how fast children went back to playing after an upset. It would be a heck of a lot longer before their teacher calmed down.
    If you didn’t know what you were looking at with Miss Lily Singer, all you would see would be a beautiful woman with high, proud cheekbones, eyes so dark they could be black, and light brown skin, like coffee with a generous amount of cream. And just like coffee, she was strong enough to keep you on your toes and packed a mighty kick.
    “ Grover Turner is trouble,” Christian told her. “His uncles, Franklin and Edsel, were rotten eggs that skipped town a couple of years ago. Just ask Michael.”
    Michael—who had observed the whole altercation in silence—stared at Christian above his glasses as though he would like to remain silent.
    Lily planted her hands on her hips and glared at Christian. “Grover is twelve years old, Mr. Avery, and highly impressionable. You’ve just told him he’ll end up in prison someday. I’ve been trying to tell him he could be a tradesmen or better. Children become what you encourage them to become.”
    “Then who the hell encouraged you to become a loud-mouthed shrew?”
    As soon as the words were out of Christian’s mouth, he regretted them. Although he didn’t regret the splash of color that painted Lily’s beautiful face.
    “I’m so sorry, Miss Singer,” Michael apologized, sending Christian a sideways look meant to kill. “It’s nearly his lunch time, and we shouldn’t take him out of his cage when he’s hungry.”
    To Christian’s surprise, Lily’s mouth softened. She kept her expression neutral, but her eyes glittered. Glittered like she was coming up with ways to kill him in his sleep.
    “I’m concerned, is all,” Christian fell back on what he knew. “I’m concerned that, as misguided as he is, Samuel Kuhn is right. Sturdy Oak’s grandchildren will cause nothing but trouble if they’re coming to school here. That fight—”
    “ Was just a fight,” Lily finished. “Boys fight. All boys.”
    “And you don’t think the fact that Red Sun Boy is an Indian has anything to do with that?”
    “Did you get into fights as a child, Mr. Avery?”
    That shut him up. Not only would he have to answer the question “yes”, hearing her call him Mr. Avery—like he was someone’s crotchety uncle—irritated him. Schoolmarms were supposed to be mousy. Evidently Lily Singer had missed that class.
    He tossed a wry grin to Michael, looking for support. Michael stood implacably to the side, failing to take sides, damn him.
    “Look.” He shifted his weight. “Like it or not, I’ve seen things like this get out of hand. Not everyone in this schoolyard or in this town is as progressive as you are. It’s taken Cold Springs years to get used to the idea of black citizens, let alone Indian ones. You need to give people time to ease into the idea.”
    “By keeping anyone with the wrong colored skin behind closed doors?” Her voice rose an octave.
    “By being cautious.” He raised his hands, certain she would throw a punch.
    “Caution never changed anyone, Mr. Avery.”
    He huffed out a breath that misted in the icy air. Stubborn woman.
    “ Why don’t I go have a talk with Bo Turner,” he said, “see if we can’t nip this in the bud somehow.”
    Lily’s eyes flared to match the flush on her smooth cheeks. “I have had several meetings with Bo and Rebecca Turner to discuss their son’s behavior,” she said. “They agree that discipline at home and a firm hand at school are what he needs.”
    Christian had a bad idea he knew what discipline at home meant with Bo. “Then I’ll talk to Sturdy Oak to see if we can’t come up with a way to teach his grandkids