Page 6

Grandfather also lowered his fork and considered his words.

“I once knew an old Indian so weathered and wrinkled you could get lost in the crevasses of his face. He and I worked for the same outfit back before I got married.” He paused and grew somber as he always did when he thought about his long-dead wife.

“I knew him several weeks before I heard him utter a word. When I asked him about it, he said he never had anything to say until then.” Grandfather’s gaze went to Evan.

“I expect it’s the same with him. Same with leaving his corner.

He’ll do it when life beyond that spot is more interesting, more enticing than the walls he’s pressing into. ”

Hugh turned his gaze toward his son.

Annie watched him, her heart slowly melting as sorrow intermingled with hope in his face.

She was needed here, and she could think of no better reason for seeking an arrangement with Hugh than to offer one little boy a safe home.

Hugh’s concern for Evan would guarantee Annie a home as well.

Unless a more suitable woman appeared on his doorstep in the next four weeks. She knew he’d sent the advertisement for a wife beyond the possibilities of Bella Creek.

Outside, the wind battered the walls of the parsonage.

A cold draft swept by her feet, and she knew the temperature had dropped.

If it snowed, travel would be difficult.

Perhaps too difficult for any interested woman to be willing to venture to Bella Creek in answer to a request for a mail-order bride.

Being a ranch-raised young woman, she couldn’t bring herself to pray for a storm to break all records, but perhaps God would see fit to send enough snow to keep visitors away.

Surely, that wasn’t too selfish a request.

Hugh tried to relax. Grandfather Marshall’s words of support and encouragement meant a great deal to him. As did Annie’s insight into why Evan had struck out. He noticed she rubbed her leg when she rose to make the tea.

“Did he kick you?” he asked softly, not wanting to upset Evan.

“It’s nothing.” She glanced at Evan. “He didn’t do it out of spite.”

Again, she had an understanding of the child that rather surprised him.

The few times he’d seen her before led him to believe she cared only about having fun, though if he’d stopped to think, he might see that she carried a huge load of responsibility and some lighthearted activity on occasion might be in order.

The thought only darkened his mind. There would be little enough time or opportunity for fun while caring for Evan. Hugh had consulted Dr. Baker who offered no assurances that Evan would ever be okay.

“Some children,” the doctor said, “are permanently damaged by being treated so poorly. Others, however, respond to patience and love. Just look at little Ellie.” He referred to the baby his daughter and Conner Marshall had adopted. The difference being that she was so young compared to Evan.

As Hugh drank his tea, he tried not to dread the upcoming bedtime. Three nights Evan had been with him, and three nights had been an experience he wouldn’t wish on anyone. It would surely test Annie’s commitment. But if she left, what was he to do?

He again prayed for a suitable woman. Again, no one came to the door except for the wind, and he shifted his attention to Evan. He’d soon learned that to look directly at him caused the boy to shrink into the corner and turn his back to Hugh, so he pretended to look out the window.

“Sounds like the wind is getting worse. We might get a storm.” He watched Evan out of the corner of his eyes. The boy looked at the window, then from under lowered eyelids, watched Hugh. What was he thinking? What did he see when he looked at the adults? Was he able to assess their reliability?

Annie quietly cleaned the table and did the dishes while the dread in Hugh’s thoughts continued to grow.

She finished and stood watching Evan. What was she thinking? She brought her gaze to Hugh, her eyes holding the darkness of the night. “How do you get him to bed?”

He pushed to his feet. “Can we talk in my office?” He turned to the older man. “Would you mind staying with him?”

Grandfather waved them away. “Sort things out. You’ll need to be in agreement if you’re to reach him.”

Hugh followed Annie to his office, careful to leave the door open so her grandfather could see them. He could tell by the set of her shoulders and the tip of her head that she expected he was going to take her to task about something. Nothing was further from the truth.

“About bedtime,” he began and was relieved to notice her shoulders relaxed. “It’s been difficult, so I thought it best to warn you.”

“Tell me about it.” She sat in the chair he’d indicated earlier, and he sank to his own across the desk.

“As you can see, he doesn’t like to be touched and doesn’t like anyone to get too close.

I think the woman who kept him let him sleep on a mat in the corner.

He relieved himself in the slop bucket.” His throat tightened with the memory of how he’d found the boy, and the words poured out as he described the situation.

“I searched for him for months. At times, I thought I would fail to find him. It wasn’t until I offered a reward of twenty dollars that the woman came forward. Twenty dollars! That’s all my son was worth. She told me when Bernice was dying?—”

“Bernice?”

“She was my wife.”

“I see.”

She couldn’t begin to see what it had been like. News of his dead wife’s behavior had circulated. Her dishonesty, her sneaking about with other men, and then her disappearance.

“I’m sorry. Please continue.”

He sucked in air. “Bernice told her to hang onto Evan until I came, and I’d pay for him. The woman should have been charged with something. She barely kept him alive, and now I don’t know if he’ll ever be right.” He couldn’t go on.

She had her head down as if studying her hands folded in her lap.

What was she thinking? Had she been moved at all by Evan’s plight?

He was about to go on, describing bedtime, when she lifted her head, and he saw a sheen of tears.

“How can anyone treat a child that way?” Her voice was a hoarse whisper. “It’s criminal.”

“It is criminal, in my opinion, but Sheriff Jesse assures me there isn’t anything he can do about it.”

“I hope that changes someday.” She spat out each word as if she couldn’t wait to get the bitter taste of them off her tongue.

His estimation of her rose several degrees. At least she wasn’t one of those men or women who thought children were of little value unless they could work. “Me too. But it won’t undo what has happened to Evan.”

“I’m sorry and angry at the same time.” She almost choked. “So sorry for Evan.” A beat. “And you.” Her voice strengthened. “But so angry at that woman. Please don’t ever tell me who she is or where she lives. I might hunt her down and exact justice.”

He imagined her in buckskins, carrying a long gun and the fire of vengeance upon her face. It so tickled him that he chuckled. “I think for everyone’s sake, that will be one of my secrets.”

Their gazes locked, and he got the sensation that she saw far more than he wanted her to, but he couldn’t pull away.

“Hugh—may I call you that?”

He nodded. Hardly seemed they could stand on formality if they were going to be living under the same roof.

“Hugh, what happened to your wife?”

Her question slammed through him, leaving him floundering for footing. Having a son who exploded at his slightest touch made him feel helpless and frustrated, but being reminded of Bernice brought a flood of failure. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Another of those secrets?”

He couldn’t tell if she found the idea annoying or if she didn’t care.

She studied her hands again, examining one fingernail after the other.

Just when he thought she’d accepted he didn’t mean to tell her more, she began to speak. “In this case, I think it affects Evan. If Bernice left after a squabble, he might have heard you and...well, it might make him frightened of you.”

“We didn’t squabble.” There were times they hardly spoke. Bernice preferred to talk to other men. “She found me sadly lacking.”

Annie stared at him. “Lacking? In what way?” She seemed to find it hard to believe.

He told himself her surprise didn’t please him. After all, what did she know about him? Yet it did his ego good to think she might not think it possible. He shrugged. “I wasn’t exciting enough. Didn’t offer enough adventures. I found it difficult to please her.” Just as he had with his mother.

Annie made a derisive noise. “That sounds to me like she had a problem, not you.”

Hugh knew there was more to it than that; just as he knew that he was far too old to be flattered by Annie’s defense of him. Knowing all that didn’t change the fact that he almost smirked like a silly kid. Instead, he coughed a little. “About Evan’s bedtime...”

Annie tipped her head and grinned. “That is why we’re here, isn’t it?”

He grinned back, then sobered. What was wrong with him that he responded to a young girl’s attention so readily?

He had to concentrate. “I can’t let him stay in the kitchen on his own any more than I can let him sleep on a mat like an animal.

” He held up his hands in exasperation. “I know. You wonder how letting him sit there all day is any different, but somehow it is. At least I know he’s safe and in the company of others. ”

She nodded.

“So I carry him to my room. As you can imagine, he kicks and screams the entire time.” He couldn’t help the little tremble in his voice.

The whole procedure left him dazed and defeated.

“I have a mattress on the floor for him. As soon as I put him there, he scrambles off and pushes it away. It’s like he’s resisting me, not the bed. ”

“Hugh, he’s afraid if he trusts you, he’s going to be disappointed or worse, hurt.”

She spoke with such certainty that he realized more lay behind her observation than she wanted him to know. Her little secret. And it did affect Evan. It made her more understanding. He was about to ask for her to explain but she spoke again.

“Does he eventually use the mattress? Does he sleep?”

“The first night, he curled up in a ball in the corner. I covered him after he’d fallen asleep. Yesterday, he waited until he thought I had dozed off before he crawled to the mattress and pulled the quilt over him.”

“That’s great progress.” She grinned widely.

For the first time since he’d found Evan, he almost felt encouraged. “I was so afraid of what he’d do the first night, I pulled my bed against the door to make sure he wouldn’t run off.”

“Somehow, I don’t see him running. Now, if he was still with that woman, I would wonder why he didn’t, but I guess it means he’s smart enough to know he isn’t able to survive on his own.”

Hugh couldn’t help but smile. “That shows that the boy has a good mind despite the way he acts.”

“Oh, he’s bright enough.” She told how she’d been able to tell what he liked to eat by his reaction. “I regret that I thought we had made more progress than we had. It was my fault he acted the way he did.”

“I don’t suppose it’s anyone’s fault. We just have to learn to understand him.”

“I’ve been praying that God would give me wisdom and patience.”

To hear how she’d been able to communicate with Evan and to know she’d prayed for him renewed his courage. “Thank you. Do you mind if we pray together before we head back to him?” Normally, he had no hesitation about offering to pray for others, but this was his need, not someone else’s.

“I’d like that.” She leaned forward, her hands clasped together on top of his desk and her head bowed.

He stifled an urge to cradle her hands between his.

Instead, he bowed his head and prayed for wisdom, understanding, and healing for his son.

Silently, he additionally prayed for a more mature woman to come to his door because, despite his resolve to keep things completely businesslike, he found Annie’s concern and care very appealing, and it frightened him.

He must, above all else, guard his heart against the risk of caring for a woman, especially one who would soon realize that she could do far better than spend her life with a man who could offer nothing but a home with him and his hurting young son.