stooped down to bring her face level with Meg’s. “I’ll see you tomorrow, sweetheart. Make sure you help Sheriff Gleason take care of Pugs.”
“Yes, ma’am. And don’t worry, me and Sheriff Gleason will be okay.”
Ward hoped she was right. Then he frowned at Pugs. “Wait a minute. You’re not leaving the dog here, too, are you?”
Hazel straightened. “Of course. He needs to get used to being with you since...” She glanced Meg’s way. “Since I already have a pet.”
He understood her reluctance to let Meg know she was leaving. No point in giving Half-pint something new to worry about. He still couldn’t quite accept the idea of Hazel’s imminent departure himself. In fact, he’d decided it was probably just another of her not-quite-thought-through schemes and that she’d give up on it eventually.
Still, there was a nagging voice inside him that said he was wrong.
“Don’t worry,” Meg said, giving him a reassuring look. “Pugs won’t be any trouble and I’ll help take care of him.”
Hazel straightened and, with a final wave, turned and left him alone with the little girl and the dog. He tamped down the cowardly urge to call her back.
What did he do now?
Shaking off his uncharacteristic uncertainty, Ward brought Meg the rest of the way into his house and watched as she took it all in. Which didn’t take long, given the small size of the place. This first-floor level was really just one large room—to the left was the kitchen and dining area and to the right was what passed for a parlor. There was also a small washroom just behind the kitchen.
A set of stairs led up from the parlor to the second floor, which was where his bedchamber was located, along with a small room that served as storage in lieu of an attic.
That was it. It had always been more than enough for him, especially since he didn’t entertain guests here. But right now it felt exceedingly small.
He’d seen Hazel peeking inside when she thought he wasn’t looking. What had she thought of the place? Not that that mattered, he told himself irritably.
Meg moved to the sofa, drawing his attention back to her. “Is this where Chessie and I are gonna sleep?”
“I’m afraid so.” Was the child having second thoughts about the arrangement? He certainly was. “It’s not too late to go back to Miss Hazel’s place if you want.” He did his best to keep the hopeful note out of his voice.
Meg sat down on her soon-to-be bed with a bounce. “I like it here.” Then she looked around. “Where will Pugs sleep?”
“Over there on the floor by the stove.” He hoped Half-pint wasn’t expecting him to turn any of his linens into a dog bed.
Meg popped up and went to the cart. “Me and Miss Hazel made him a bed, we just need to decide where to put it.”
Of course they had. “That was right thoughtful of you.”
“Uh-huh. And it’s pretty too.” She drew out a large, lumpy-looking pillow made of a yellow-and-blue-striped fabric. “Pugs already tried it out and he likes it.”
“As he should.” He hoped Meg didn’t hear the note of sarcasm in his voice.
Fortunately, the child seemed oblivious to any undertones. She nodded agreeably. “We’re going to make another one for him to use at Miss Hazel’s house when we’re there with her.”
“Sounds like Pugs is going to be a very pampered pooch.”
She nodded. “Miss Hazel says Pugs took very good care of your sister and that he probably misses her a lot. So now we need to take extra special care of him.”
Leave it to Hazel to put such a sentimental spin on it. Still, he couldn’t find it in himself to fault her for it. “Miss Hazel is right.” Ward looked at the cart full of things Hazel had delivered along with Meg. Apparently she had indulged in a bit of shopping this afternoon. He’d have to remember to reimburse her.
Having to stow all of this stuff made Meg’s moving in feel much more permanent than it had seemed earlier. Where was he going to find the room? He looked around at the sparse furnishings of his place. There was really only one choice.
He moved to the large bookshelf situated on the far end of the room. He quickly cleared off one of the lower shelves. “Let’s stack your things here for now. We’ll find something better tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir.” Meg carefully placed her doll on the sofa and came over to help him.
Nestled in one corner of the cart, he found what looked like a miniature bird cage, complete with a metallic bird perched inside. “What’s this?”
“It’s a music box. Miss Hazel gave it to me. Isn’t it the most beautiful thing you ever saw?”
“It’s mighty pretty, all right.” He examined the delicate brass contraption.
Meg nodded. “She has a lot of them and she let me pick out whichever one I wanted.” The child took it from him and turned the key affixed to the back of the box. “This one was my favorite.” As soon as she released the key, a lilting tune began to play, filling his home with its happy sound.
“I never had anything this special before,” she said dreamily.
They finished unloading Meg’s things to the strains of the delicate tune.
He finally leaned back on his heels, studying the results of their labor. Maybe he could come up with a couple of crates or an old trunk tomorrow. Perhaps Hazel had something he could borrow.
He paused on that thought. He’d have to stop relying on the accommodating seamstress for those sorts of things.
Was she really leaving? She’d said it was because she wanted to work with her aunt, but he suspected there was more to it than that. What wasn’t she saying? It shouldn’t bother him so much that she wasn’t confiding in him, but for some reason, it did. She’d always been so open with him before. If truth be told, she often over shared. He couldn’t remember now why that had irritated him.
Meg tugged on his pants leg, reclaiming his attention. She had retrieved the book he’d just put away. “Would you like to read me and Chessie a story?” she asked.
He stood and dusted his hands. “All right, but let’s get your bed fixed up first.”
Hazel had been supremely confident that he could handle this. It suddenly seemed quite important he proved her confidence in him was not misplaced.
* * *
Hazel had been up since dawn. How had Ward and Meg gotten on last night? It had been difficult to leave yesterday evening, especially when she’d seen the I’m-not-ready-for-this-yet expression on Ward’s face. But it had been the right thing to do. That little girl had her heart set on being Ward’s family and Ward needed someone in his life to show him that kind of devotion.
And it obviously wasn’t going to be her. As she sipped on her morning cup of coffee, she bowed her head and offered up a heartfelt
