one with water and set it to heat on the expansive gas range.
“Okay?” she asked, a nervous edge to her voice.
“Great.” Jesse smiled to reassure her. “Let’s start unwrapping those caramels and putting them in this smaller pan.”
“How many?” Noah deftly slid a candy out of its covering, but made no attempt to eat it.
“How many kids in your class?” Jesse hid his surprise when Noah said eleven. “Small class.”
“He attends a private school,” Maddie explained.
“Okay, so eleven kids, multiplied by at least three treats for each. Let’s make fifty.” Jesse grinned at their surprise. “One of these is never enough, you’ll see. Plus they are small. Oh. I forgot to ask if you have toothpicks.” He noticed Maddie’s forehead crease in a frown. “Something we could use as skewers?” he prodded.
“I don’t think so,” she murmured.
“Does that mean we can’t make them?” Noah looked worried.
“We can still make them, but it’s much easier if we have something we can poke through the marshmallow to dip into the melted caramels, and leave in so we can stand it up.” Jesse wasn’t sure why, but suddenly it seemed very important that he help this woman and her child make his gran’s treat. “I could run back into town—”
“Dad got sticks for my science project. There were some left.” Noah’s eagerness made Jesse smile.
“Honey, I have no idea where those might be.” Maddie’s cheeks grew pink. She did not look at her son. “When we moved here we had so much stuff and—”
“And you wanted to get rid of Dad’s stuff,” Noah’s harsh voice accused. “Waste not, want not. That was his rule.”
“Yes, it was.” Maddie’s voice dropped to a whisper.
Jesse hated the way her lovely face closed up, like a daisy when the sun went behind a cloud. He had to do something.
“Can you call your dad and ask him if he knows where they might be?” he suggested.
The room went utterly still.
“He’s dead.” Noah’s voice broke. He glared at his mother. “You hated his rules, but I don’t.” Then he raced from the room.
Jesse had vowed not to get personally involved in a kid’s life again, not after the fiasco in Colorado. Why hadn’t he stayed out of his grandmother’s favorite grocery store tonight? Why hadn’t he avoided this woman and her troubled kid, simply swallowed his impulse to help?
Most of all, what was he supposed to do now to stem the tears tumbling down Maddie’s white cheeks as she stared after Noah?
Lord, You know how I’ve failed others. You know I’ve vowed not to get involved again, to never again risk failing a child.
So, God, what am I doing here with this woman and her troubled son?
Weeping in front of a stranger?
Liam would—Forget him!
“I’m sorry.” Maddie swiped a hand across her wet face. “Noah is still struggling to deal with his father’s death.”
“How long has it been?” Jesse asked quietly.
For the first time since she’d met him, Maddie tried to recall Emma’s words about her grandson. Why had he offered to help them, strangers he didn’t even know?
“Liam died of a heart attack just over a year ago.”
“A heart attack?”
She saw Jesse’s eyes flare with surprise and felt compelled to explain. “I’m twenty-seven. Liam was eighteen years older than me.”
“His death must have been very hard on both you and Noah,” Jesse said in the gentlest tone. “So after he died, you moved here?”
“We were renting a house that belonged to the church Liam pastored. We had to move because they needed the house for their new minister.” Maddie wasn’t about to admit just how eagerly she’d left that unhappy place. “Noah and I rented for a while, then moved to Broken Arrow Ranch last summer.”
“I see.” Jesse nodded. “That’s a lot of change for any kid to handle.”
She immediately bristled, then realized Jesse wasn’t criticizing, simply stating facts. And yet she still asked, “Do you think I was wrong to move here?”
“Are you kidding?” Jesse chuckled. “It was dusk when we drove up, so I didn’t get the full impact, but what I did glimpse of your spread was impressive. I doubt anyone would fault you for wanting to live here.”
“I love it,” she whispered, but she didn’t tell him it was because the ranch represented freedom. Maddie glanced out the window as she explained the rest of her story. “Broken Arrow belonged to an elderly couple. They’d just completed interior renovations when the husband got sick. When they decided to move closer to medical care, Emma and Tanner both suggested I buy this place.”
“Tanner—of Wranglers Ranch?” Jesse interjected.
“Yes. I think he and Sophie wanted to make sure they got a good neighbor. They helped us move here. But I’m not sure they’ve benefited much. I’ve had to call Tanner for help with a mouse—twice.” Maddie chuckled. “The upside for us is that Sophie’s a caterer. She often invites us over to try her new recipes and they are always delicious. I think I got the better deal when it comes to neighbors.”
“Ah.” His eyes twinkled with fun. “They get a good neighbor and you get good food. You’re a smart lady.”
“Not that smart.” Maddie frowned. “What do we do for skewers?”
“Why is making this so important to you?” Jesse asked curiously. “It’s just candy.”
She glanced at the doorway through which her son had disappeared a few moments earlier, then answered in a hushed tone. “It’s not just candy to me. It’s a chance for Noah.”
“To do what?” Jesse scanned the caramels and marshmallows. “This isn’t the stuff heroes are made of.”
“It could be.” Maddie wasn’t above begging when it was for Noah. “Please, Jesse, show us how to make these treats.”
She held her breath. Emma said Maddie was God’s child. Surely He would help her convince Jesse to help them?
* * *
Jesse had never been able to turn down anyone who asked him for help, and despite his recent vow to remain uninvolved, he couldn’t do it this time, either. Calling himself an idiot, he began unwrapping more candy, adding to the contents in the saucepan, which he noted was gleaming and without a scratch.
