Chapter 11Charlotte Lane
Chapter 11
Common Interests
Friday Night
Charlotte Lane
C harlotte was surprised to find herself excited Friday afternoon when she remembered she was going out to the bar with Wade again for more beer and nachos. Twenty years ago, a teacher would have been fired for doing such a scandalous thing in a small town, with another teacher no less. But today, the rules had slipped a bit.
As the last student skipped out of her room, Charlotte gathered up her satchel and work for the weekend. She’d been in Crossroads a whole month, and every day it felt more like home. Her whole career she’d thought of herself as an expert in her field, but high school curriculum wasn’t watered down. To her surprise, she really liked teaching in Crossroads. Though she’d settled into a new routine, her students always kept her on her toes. Especially Teddy.
Wade Parsons popped his head in her room. “You ready?”
She stood and smiled. “Let’s go.”
They walked down the steps and out of the school doors like old friends.
“Wade, I’ve got to ask. What did you do on Friday nights before I got here?”
“Nothing.” He shrugged. “Once in a while I went out and ate alone. You may not have noticed before, but most of the staff is older. I served twenty years for Uncle Sam and I was called the young teacher until you arrived.”
As they drove together in Charlotte’s car to the bar on the outskirts of town, she told him about Staten Kirkland and their deal.
Wade seemed fascinated. “Kirkland? I’ve been studying that family and the Double K Ranch since I got here. It’s one of the reasons I found the area so interesting. You know their founder, James Randall Kirkland, was the first settler in the area? In the 1800s he bought his land out here for practically nothing and built the huge ranch out there today.”
Charlotte tried not to laugh. She’d never seen him so excited.
He continued. “The story goes that he traded a broken watch for his wife, and rumor is she couldn’t even speak English when they met. He wanted to see his land in all the seasons, so they lived in a cave the whole winter before he could build their house.”
Charlotte smiled. What a great story. Exciting and dangerous, like some of her favorite Western books.
Wade continued. “No one knows where that cave is today. I wish I could find it. It’s technically the first settlement in the area. I’m thinking that it has to be on the Double K Ranch. It must be out there somewhere. But the ranch covers over a hundred thousand acres.”
“How big is an acre?” Charlotte asked.
“I don’t really know,” he said with a laugh. “But while you’re out riding around, do me a favor and look for a cave.”
“Will do. So do you know how to ride a horse?”
“Sure, I did it once. It’s not that hard. All you have to do is stay on.”
Charlotte suspected there was more to it than that. Maybe she’d show him the book on horseback riding she’d been reading.
After they were seated in the bar and had their orders in, Wade told Charlotte all the stories he’d read about the first Kirklands and how the owner now was named after his famous ancestor.
As they ate, their conversation shifted to school. They talked about their students and classes for almost an hour. Charlotte wasn’t really interested in reliving the week, but it was an easy, relaxing conversation. Wade may not have been a date. But he was a friend, and when you had one good friend it made a place seem like home.
As they walked out of the bar after dark, he put his arm around her shoulders casually, not pulling her in too close. She liked that they’d settled into comfortable territory, and she’d have to be fine with that.