Katie continued to stop at the church daily, but she avoided Aaron at all costs. She went to find Sarah Jane or Micah or spoke to the boys directly. All of the boys were excited for the Christmas service because Katie had been teaching them to sing.

“Please, don’t go, Miss Sanders!” Jacob pleaded.

Katie smile ruefully. She adored the child, and he knew it. “Fine, Jacob. We’ll do one more. But then I'm going straight home.”

Katie looked at all the boys, counted to three, and pointed at them. They began to sing.

When they had finished, Katie clapped her hands. “That was wonderful!”

Jacob rushed up to Katie and tugged on her skirt. “Miss Sanders, could we sing that song at the Christmas service?”

“I don’t see why not. I’ll add it to my notes,” Katie told him, ruffling his hair.

Jacob smiled angelically. “It’s Headmaster Cavett’s favorite!”

Katie’s expression darkened as she thought about Aaron. Every time she remembered he was leaving stabbed at her heart. She tried to pull herself together for Jacob. “Then I’ll make sure we do it. Thank you, Jacob. That’s awfully thoughtful of you.”

Jacob opened his mouth to say something else, but quickly shut it.

Katie noticed his lower lip trembling. “What’s the matter, Jacob?”

“Jonah said he overheard Headmaster Cavett talking to Pastor Barton about New York. Jonah said he’s leaving in a few days and not coming back. Is that true?” Jacob looked down at the floor, blinking his eyes rapidly.

Katie knelt down and looked Jacob in the eye. “Has he talked to you about it?”

Jacob shook his head. “He keeps telling us to worry about our schoolwork and not worry about him. But I’m going to miss him, Miss Sanders. I’m going to miss him very badly.”

Katie saw a wet tear rolling down Jacob’s cheek and wanted to cry herself. “Well, Mr. Cavett has a job to get back to in New York. But I’m sure he would want to talk to you about this himself. Why don’t we go talk to him about it now?”

Jacob shook his head. “No, miss.”

“Why not?” Katie was confused.

“Because I don’t want it to be true!” With that, Jacob spun around and rushed out the doors to the church. A few boys raced after him, which caught Aaron’s attention.

“No running in the church!” Aaron yelled. He looked up, and his eyes met Katie’s.

Katie turned away and hurried after Jacob. The poor dear!

She found him outside, listlessly watching Freddy inside the hatbox. “Jacob? Would you like to talk?”

Jacob folded his arms. “No!”

Katie bent down and took a seat next to him on the ground. “Okay. I’ll sit with you for a little while.”

They sat together in silence until Freddy let out a loud ribbit. Katie burst out laughing and Jacob soon joined her.

“Why don’t we go back inside?” Katie suggested. “It’s going to get cold out here.”

Jacob sighed. “Miss Sanders?”

“Yes?” Katie looked the boy in the eyes.

“Do you think Headmaster Cavett would take me with him if I asked nicely and promised to behave?” Jacob asked, a solemn expression on his face.

Katie’s heart swelled. The poor boy! “Oh, Jacob. I’m sure that seems like it would be lovely, but Mr. Cavett wouldn’t be allowed to do that. He’s working hard to find you a nice family who will adopt you forever.”

Jacob pouted. “I don’t want a new family! I want Headmaster Cavett.”

“He’s a very good teacher,” Katie agreed. “But he doesn’t have a wife or any other children. Wouldn’t you get lonely?”

Jacob yawned. “Maybe.”

“You know,” Katie continued. “When I came to Nowhere, we didn’t have a place to stay, either. A family took us in. Edna Petunia and Cletus Sanders—you might have seen them in church. They opened their home to all of us girls from an orphanage in New York—fifteen girls in all. And you know what?”

Jacob leaned in closer, absorbed in Katie’s story. “What?”

“It’s been wonderful for us! We are all very good friends with each other and now many of my sisters are married. They have husbands and children and in-laws of their own, and now we’re one huge family. I love it!” Katie continued.

“What does that have to do with me?” Jacob asked crossly.

“I think that you’re lucky to have such good friendships with the other boys,” Katie explained. “I think you should try to stay near them instead of running away. Does that make sense?”

Jacob nodded slowly. “I guess so. But...”

“But you wish Mr. Cavett would stay here, too?” Katie guessed.

Jacob nodded again, more emphatically this time. “Hm. I wonder...”

“You wonder, what?” Katie asked, a little nervous. In her experience, any time Jacob had an idea, usually mischief was involved.

“You said he had a job to get back to in New York. Do you think we could convince Headmaster Cavett to stay if we found him a job here in Nowhere?” Jacob asked.

Katie sighed. “Oh, Jacob. I don’t know if that would work. After all, we already have a school in Nowhere, and Miss Carroll is the teacher. We don’t need a Headmaster.”

“He could do other jobs! He’s very smart!” Jacob protested.

Katie fought back laughter. “Jacob, it’s very sweet of you to want to help. But I’m afraid the decision is up to Mr. Cavett. Come on. Why don’t we go inside? You can talk with him if you’d like.”

Again, Jacob shook his head stubbornly. “I don’t want to. I think I want to be by myself.”

Freddy let out another loud ribbit.

“Oh, and Freddy, of course,” Jacob quickly added.

Katie nodded. “All right. Don’t stay out here too long. And please behave yourself. You don’t want to lose privileges before the Christmas service, do you?”

“Yes, ma’am!” Jacob agreed.

Katie ruffled his hair one more time, then stood up and walked back inside the church. She saw Aaron sorting through piles of paperwork at his desk.

Katie wondered if she should say something about what Jacob had told her. Ordinarily, she would have wanted to warn Aaron that one of his pupils was so upset. But she didn’t particularly feel like talking to him. Like Jacob, Katie was hurt, too.

Meanwhile, outside, Jacob was hatching a plan to convince Aaron to stay in Nowhere with the orphans. He recruited Jonah, Callum, and the other boys to help him.

Callum looked at the other boys nervously. “Does Miss Sanders know about this plan?”

Jacob hesitated for a moment, then flashed a broad smile. “Yes, she does! She thinks it’s a great idea,” Jacob lied. He knew that Katie had said no such thing, but they didn’t have much time left. Christmas was only a few days away, and Headmaster Cavett would soon journey to New York, leaving them behind in Texas forever. It wasn’t right, and Jacob was going to put a stop to it.

“We just need some thread, some zippers, and a little tacky...” Jacob explained. The boys hung on to his every word. Although he was one of the youngest and smallest, he was also one of the leaders of the group, never hesitant to come up with a bold plan. When Jacob talked, the others listened. And Jacob had a lot to say.

Inside the church, Aaron watched as Katie Sanders gathered her things and prepared to leave. He wanted to go to her and find out how she was doing and if she needed any help getting ready for the Christmas service. He knew that she was working with the boys on something musical, but he didn’t know any of the details. It seemed to occupy the boys, which was very helpful for him as he tried to make arrangements for their permanent home placements.

Things seemed to be coming together, even though the situation wasn’t as nicely wrapped up as he would have hoped. Lazarus Ballinger had said there was a job waiting for him, but it wouldn’t wait long. Aaron knew that if he didn’t return at once, Lazarus would find a different headmaster to take his place. He had seen many fine young men fired for not perfectly complying with Lazarus’s orders.

As he often did, Aaron wished for the days when Lazarus’s father, Robert, had run the business. Robert was an intelligent, caring, and patient man who was always generous with his employees. He had high expectations, but he also understood when they were ill or had to care for family members. He had taught Aaron the importance of holding the boys to rigorous standards. Aaron knew he wouldn’t be half the teacher or man he was without the influence of Robert in his life. In a way, Robert was the father he had never had.

That was why it stung even harder that Lazarus was such a miserable employer. He had none of his father’s good traits with the same high expectations for his staff. Aaron sometimes wished he could quit and start his own school, but he didn’t have the funds for that. As an orphan, he had no savings to speak of. Now, his meager salary from Lazarus provided a place to sleep, food on the table, and little else. Aaron didn’t complain, though; he knew there were others throughout the country who had it far worse.

But sometimes, he liked to daydream about buying the company and firing Lazarus. Aaron laughed at the thought.

Sarah Jane caught Aaron chuckling and walked up to him. “It’s good to see you smiling. I haven’t seen you laugh in a while. How are you?”

Aaron grinned. “Thank you, Sarah Jane. I was just having a ridiculous fantasy. Nothing that will ever come true, that’s for sure.”

“Well, whatever makes you smile. I’m about to turn in for the night. Did you need anything?” Sarah Jane asked. She liked to visit the orphans and Aaron in the evenings to see if they needed any extra blankets, pillows, tea, or water.

“Thank you, Sarah Jane. We’re fine. But we appreciate your and your family’s hospitality,” Aaron said gratefully.

Sarah Jane nodded. “It’s no trouble. We help when we’re able.”

“Good night, Sarah Jane.” Aaron picked up another piece of paper and stared at it.

“Good night!” Sarah Jane left Aaron to his paperwork and went back to her family’s living quarters. She hadn’t heard a peep from Katie about her relationship with Aaron in a few days’ time. Moreover, Katie wasn’t her normal, cheerful self. Sarah Jane made a note to herself to ask Katie if anything was wrong. All of the other Sanders girls had found happiness and joy from finding her true love. Sarah Jane was determined to make sure Katie did, too.