her lap.
“I made the tea weak,” he said. “Your stomach might not tolerate much yet.”
She glanced at the tea and the hard-boiled egg that had been peeled and quartered. No one had ever gone to such lengths for her. Ever. A lump formed in her throat that she had to swallow before admitting, “I’m sorry—I don’t remember what Billy said your name is.”
“It’s Tom, ma’am. Tom Baniff.”
“Well, Mr. Baniff, I owe you my deepest gratitude.” The hint of redness that appeared in his cheeks was positively endearing. Once again her heart thudded. “It makes me almost believe in miracles,” she admitted. “How a doctor was traveling through just when one was needed.”
“I’m not a doctor, ma’am.”
A hint of a chill had the hair on her arms rising. “You aren’t?”
“No, I’m...um—traveling. Just traveling through.”
His expression had changed. His eyes had grown so serious the chill rippling her skin increased. As if he knew that, and knew she’d seen it, he turned toward Billy.
Once again setting a hand on Billy’s shoulder, he said, “Let’s let your mother eat in peace.”
A part of her wanted to say that wasn’t necessary, but her throat was swelling. When he’d shifted his stance, the black vest covering his chest had caught in the sunlight shining through the window. The vest was made of leather, and though hardly noticeable, she’d seen two tiny holes. Evenly separated and situated in the exact spot a badge would have been worn. A lawman’s badge.
A lawman out here meant one thing. He was after Hugh.
She waited for them to leave the room before letting the air out of her lungs, but even then it caught, making it impossible to breathe.
Her eyes were watering and her chest burning by the time she found the ability to draw in another breath. Guilt, shame and other emotions she couldn’t name washed over her. Hugh had warned her, more than once, what would happen if she ever went to the law, and she had no doubt he would follow through on those warnings.
Blinking away the moisture in her eyes, she glanced around the room. At the clothes hanging on the hooks, the hand mirror and brush on the dresser, the sewing basket in the corner, the dishes on the tray on her lap. Every item in this house that hadn’t been Uncle Walter’s had been stolen, or bought with stolen money, and she hated that. Hated knowing that, but as Hugh pointed out, she still wore the dresses, used the dishes, ate the food. Therefore, she was as guilty of committing any crime as he was. Had been since the day she met him.
For eight long years she’d wished she’d never met him, but in all that time, she’d never done anything to change the situation. Other than pray for a miracle.
She bit her lips together as they started to tremble. Through the open doorway, she could hear Billy talking.
“I could show ya when we’re done eating,” he said.
Clara held her breath, waiting to hear the man’s answer. Tom Baniff. She’d never heard the name, but lawmen from as far away as Texas were looking for Hugh. There was no way she could know all of their names.
Tom didn’t reply. It was Billy’s voice that sounded again.
“My pa says that’s the most important thing for a man to know. How to be a fast draw. The fastest. You agree, don’t you, Tom?”
The clank of a cup being set down on a saucer sounded before Tom said, “No, Billy, I don’t.”
He was speaking so softly she had to hold her breath in order to hear what he was saying.
“I believe knowing how to use a gun is important, and that a man needs to know how to use it safely. He also needs to know when to use it. But there are lots of other things he needs to know that are more important.”
“Like what?” Billy asked.
“Well, like knowing how to chop wood. You did a fine job with the kindling wood that built the fire in the stove so we were able to cook these eggs to eat. Now, that’s important. A man has to eat or he’d starve to death.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right about that.” After a stilled moment, Billy asked, “What other things are important?”
“Lots of things,” Tom answered quietly. “Things you do every day. Right now, the most important thing is taking care of your ma. Making sure she eats and gets the rest she needs so her leg heals. Now, finish eating so we can head outside and she can rest in quiet.”
“Think she’s done eating?” Billy asked softly, taking a clue from Tom’s quiet tone.
“We’ll find out once we’re done.”
Clara quickly ate the egg and took a gulp of tea, and then had to press a hand to her stomach as it revolted, having been empty for so long. She took a couple smaller sips of tea, hoping that would help her stomach accept the food.
It appeared to. When Billy and Tom appeared in the doorway, she no longer feared the egg would find its way back up her throat.
“How are you feeling?” Tom asked. “The egg wasn’t too much for your stomach, was it?”
“No, no, thank you,” she said. “It was perfect. I’m sorry that—that you’ve been detained here for so long. Now that I’m awake...” She glanced at Billy and the shine in his eyes as he looked up at Tom. “Billy and I will be fine. I’m sure you’ll want to be on your way.”
“Tom can’t leave yet,” Billy said. “Can you? Tom, tell her why.”
Her stomach threatened to erupt again and she pressed a hand to the base of her throat while swallowing hard. She didn’t have the right to pray that he hadn’t told Billy the truth, but sincerely hoped he hadn’t.
“We are in the middle of a project, ma’am,” Tom said. “One that will take at least another day to complete.”
“A project?” Flinching at how fearful she sounded, she pulled up what she hoped looked like a smile, and asked, “Wh-what sort of project?”
Tom’s smile was far more genuine as he ruffled Billy’s hair with one hand. “When Billy showed me where you cut your leg, we discovered the entire door frame on the barn was rotted.”
“Tom used some wood from the corral to fix the door, but first we had to cut down some trees to make poles for the corral,” Billy said excitedly. “And guess what, Ma? We got enough poles to use more wood off the corral to fix the porch. Those boards that are missing. But Tom said we couldn’t start pounding on the roof until you were awake.” As a frown formed, Billy looked up at Tom. “That’s important stuff for a man to know, ain’t it, Tom? How to fix a corral and a house. And a barn and how to cut down trees to make poles, and—”
“Yes, it is, Billy,” Tom replied, with a wink at her son. “Real important stuff. Now that your ma has eaten, let’s go get busy. We have plenty of work to do.”
He stepped up to the side of the bed, and as he reached down to take
