suppose he saw things I refused to see.” Hugh’s gaze slammed into Annie so that she gripped the door to keep from falling back. “She had a reputation for wildness. I put it down to her youth. I discovered it was more than that. She couldn’t seem to get enough of...” He hesitated, as if searching for the right word. “Life, I suppose. She lived in a permanent state of excitement and when I could no longer offer that, she sought it elsewhere.”
“She left you for more excitement?” It was so much like Dawson’s first wife, Violet, that she could barely keep the shock and anger from her voice. She’d watched Dawson and Mattie suffer when Violet sought what she wanted elsewhere. At least Dawson had his family to help him.
Hugh stared at the picture. “She left and she took Evan.” The agony in his voice echoed inside Annie. The little boy had paid a heavy price for his mother’s foolishness.
She took the three steps to Hugh’s side and rested a hand on his shoulder, feeling the tension beneath her palm. “It’s an answer to prayer that you found him. My whole family prayed daily that you would and now you have. Evan has you and me and Grandfather and my whole family to teach him what life should be like.” She stood there, quietly waiting and silently praying for healing for both father and son.
The tension eased from Hugh’s shoulder and she removed her hand lest he think her too forward.
He slipped the picture into the right-hand top drawer and closed the drawer firmly. “I have to trust God that Evan can be helped.”
“I’m positive he can be. He sees everything. I believe Evan understands what is being said around him and even more important, he is aware of other people’s feelings.” She told him how she had seen concern in Evan’s eyes when she cried while chopping onions. “It’s a very good sign.”
He pushed to his feet and stood facing her, barely eighteen inches between them. She was overwhelmed by his nearness, felt his strength and his powerful personality just as she had from the first time she saw him.
“I hope you are right and I admit I’m willing to believe anything that offers me hope about my son.”
She smiled what she hoped was an encouraging smile though inside, she trembled just a little at all the longings rushing through her. She did not want to care about this man any more deeply than as a partner sharing concern about Evan. “How can he fail to get better with so many people on his side?” Her words were meant to make her remember she was here only to do a job of caring for Evan and his father.
He caught the door and pulled it wider, waiting for her to go ahead of him. They walked side by side to the kitchen. And Annie told herself it meant nothing but common courtesy. Perhaps also mutual concern over a little boy. But nothing beyond that. It was something they were both agreed on.
After they ate soup and thick slices of bread, followed by the remains of a cake discovered in the pantry, Hugh announced he was going to visit Mr. Barret.
Grandfather, who had spent the morning reading or snoozing in his chair, said, “Would you like me to go with you?”
Hugh looked about to say yes, then shook his head. “It’s bitter cold out there. You’re better off staying inside and keeping warm. Thanks for offering.”
Grandfather looked so relieved that Annie’s estimation of Hugh rose several notches. She followed him to the door as he donned a heavy woolen coat. “Thank you for realizing it’s best for Grandfather to stay home.” Home stuck momentarily on her tongue. She gave a decisive nod of her head. She would soon get used to this house being home rather than the ranch house.
Hugh seemed surprised at her words. “I’m not about to take advantage of an old man.” He studied her a moment. “Or of a young woman.”
Before she could challenge his assumption that he was taking advantage of her, he stepped outside and closed the door, a cold blast sweeping across the floor. She reached for the knob, about to call out a protest but pulled her hand back and turned away.
She’d given up on love and meant to keep her heart safe from emotional involvement but she had not given up on this arrangement. She had four weeks to prove to him that it should be made permanent. Surely four weeks would be long enough.
Hugh walked four blocks down Silver Street and turned right. He passed three houses and reached the home Mr. Barret shared with his elderly sister, neither of whom seemed to have a cheerful bone between them. He paused outside the door to pray for strength, wisdom and a large dose of Christian kindness. The elderly pair had followed Mr. Barret’s married son to Montana to look for gold but his son had been killed in an accident several years back and his wife, the younger Mrs. Barret, had returned east to her kinfolk. Neither of the elderly Barrets could see any reason to leave their home in Bella Creek although they had no family here. According to Mr. Barret, they had no relatives anywhere. Surely that was enough to make the pair morose.
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