On Ice by J. D. Faver Page B

throat hurt. She struggled to rise, but the room started to spin again.
    “ Don't try to get up yet. Mark was here?” Ted looked around. “Where?”
    “ He choked me!” she said in a strangled cry.
    Ted brushed back her hair, commenting on the purplish bruises on her throat. His face darkened with anger. “Where did he go?” He started to rise.
    She shook her head, wincing with pain. “I guess I fainted.” She touched the area of her temple where the throbbing pain was centered. A lump gave evidence that her head had met the flagstone. She recalled Mark's threats of throwing her to the same kind of surface three stories below.
    “ You were unconscious when we came in.” Ted found the lump with gently probing fingers. “Let's get you to the nearest medical facility for an X-ray.”
    Maddy found herself being carried from the castle and deposited in their vehicle by her own knight-errant. “Who says chivalry is dead?” she croaked, mustering a tiny laugh.
    ~*~
     
    After the meal, Rene returned to the cabin to find Ben in the middle of his remodeling project. He showed her the railing he was constructing. He’d leaned it against the back porch, awaiting installation.
    She admired his handiwork and prepared a sandwich for Ben. She felt touched by his gratitude for small kindnesses. Sitting across the table, Rene said, “Tell me, Ben, have you always lived in Sad Horse?”
    “ Yes'm.”
    “ Does your family still live here?”
    “ No, Miz Reeny. They's all dead. My momma was born in Arkansas. They’s still some kin, but I don’t know none of ‘em.”
    “ Oh, I'm sorry, Ben,” she said.
    “ Miz Pindar took me in when my father died. They never had any little ones of their own.” He stopped eating long enough to smile. “She was always good t'me.”
    “ How did you become such a fine craftsman? Did your father teach you or Mr. Pindar?”
    “ I always liked to work with my hands. Mr. Pindar got me some tools and let me do things, y'know? If somethin' was broke, he let me fix it.”
    “ You just picked this up?”
    “ Yes'm. That'n books. Miz Pindar insisted on teachin' me to read. Mr. Pindar sent away 'n got me The Time-Life Woodworking books 'n then later The Time-Life Home Repair books. I pretty much learned how to do everything we need around here. When folks want something made or fixed they tell ol' Ben.”
    He returned to his tasks and Rene poured over catalogs. She selected things considered essential in the civilized world---a microwave oven, cordless phone, curtains. Mindful of Brett's warning about adequate footwear, she chose insulated hiking boots for all. Lastly, she took advantage of an end of season sale on down comforters and jackets. She ordered the jackets a size larger, expecting the children to grow and she to be fatter by the time they were needed. Satisfied, she tackled the task she had put off.
    The dated teacher's manuals were useless. She made a simple outline of lessons to get her through the first few days. It felt like an eon since her student teaching experience. There would be no principal looking over her shoulder. She wondered if Brett would want to inspect her lesson plans.
    Later, as Rene sat on the porch watching the children play, the Hummer pulled into the clearing. Brett climbed the steps and dropped into the other rocking chair. “I hear you got quite a crowd at your clean-up party.”
    “ It turned out that way,” she said. “We threw away the shades. They were mostly broken.”
    “ That's what Mrs. Jolly said. She also told me you didn't have any teaching materials.”
    “ True. What's there is very old.”
    “ I paid quite a bit for new materials last year. I guess the son-of-a---” He stopped short. “The last teacher must have cleaned out the classroom.”
    “ He left all the dirt.” Rene managed a laugh.
    “ Order whatever you need.” He sighed. “Get what you want for the windows. You may want to show films or power point presentations.”
    “