LITMIR.BIZ

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gaze skimmed those at the table and settled on Evan who huddled in the corner, his shoulders hunched forward, hearing every word and wondering what these adults would decide and how it would affect him.

      Hugh met Annie’s look. Saw desperation and determination. She inclined her head slightly toward Evan signaling that she was concerned about how the boy would react to this conversation.

      Her look, her concern about his son and Logan’s comments about a beau of Annie’s made up his mind. “Annie and I are agreed that she should stay here for now. Evan and I need her. Your grandfather provides chaperoning.”

      Annie’s smile rewarded him.

      Had she heard the limitation of his offer? For now. Until someone more suitable, more likely to find this situation to their satisfaction answered his ad. Why was he having to remind himself of that so often?

      * * *

      Annie poured Hugh a cup of coffee as he sat to visit with Logan. What Logan said was true. They had always had a closer relationship than she’d had with her other brothers but nothing he could say would change her mind about her decision. In less than twenty-four hours, she had already proven to Hugh how much she was needed here. And she meant to prove she was invaluable.

      As the men discussed the weather, she mentally planned the next few meals and observed Evan out of the corner of her eye. The boy gave the appearance of indifference but she was certain he listened with interest to every word. He glanced at the window as they mentioned the possibility of a storm. His hands twisted as Logan wondered if the cows would find enough shelter.

      Logan pushed aside his cup. “I better get home and tell Sadie how our discussion went. She will be disappointed I wasn’t able to change your mind.”

      “Assure her I am fine. We are all fine.”

      “That’s a fact,” Grandfather added. “I rather like the notion of spending the winter in town. That drive in the cold gets less and less appealing.”

      Logan chuckled. “Are you admitting you’re getting old?”

      “Nope. Just cold. And don’t try and convince me you enjoy riding out to the ranch every day.” Grandfather knew as well as Annie that Logan didn’t go out every day since the fall work ended.

      Logan managed to look slightly embarrassed. “I’ve got things to do in town. Come spring I’ll be out more often. In fact, Sadie and I are talking about building a house on the ranch property. We like the idea of the kids being around family more.”

      Annie slid an overt look at Evan, noting the way he watched them from the curtain of his eyelashes. It was the word family that drew his attention and she vowed to use the word as often as possible.

      With goodbye to all in the room, including Evan, Logan made his departure. Hugh returned to the office and Annie turned her attention toward cooking, though her thoughts were not on the familiar tasks. No. Instead, she prayed for guidance. A thought came and she began to speak.

      “Evan, that was my brother. I have three brothers and they are all married and all of them have children. We are a big family. The reason my brothers come to see me is because they care. They would do anything for me. That’s what families do.”

      She prepared a pot of soup for the noon meal and described everything she did from peeling carrots to chopping onions.

      “Onions make me cry.” She wiped her eyes on the corner of a towel. She looked directly at the boy and caught a look of concern in his face before he jerked away. “Not because I’m sad but because they give off a juice that stings my eyes.” The fact that he showed emotion over her tears so encouraged her she wanted to run to the office and tell Hugh.

      The office door remained ajar. How much could he hear? She half considered raising her voice so he wouldn’t miss a word. Somehow she would make an opportunity to tell him of Evan’s reaction.

      While the soup simmered on the stove, Annie swept the floor and then got down on her hands and knees to wash it. Not because it was dirty. Mrs. Ross had seen to that. But in order to have an excuse to get to Evan’s level. As she worked, she continued to talk.

      She told him how Grandfather had started the Marshall Five Ranch, and Grandfather told of his early days. She spoke of the first horse she could remember riding.

      Soon enough it was time for dinner and she went to the office. Hugh sat with a fan of papers before him. He held what looked like a photograph in his hands. She observed for a moment, then rapped on the door.

      “Dinner is ready.”

      He looked at the picture a moment longer before he let out a long breath and laid the picture faceup on the desktop.

      Curious, she tried to see it.

      He noticed her interest and tipped the picture toward her. “Evan’s mother.”

      She studied the likeness of a very pretty young woman. “Bernice?” Why was he showing her now when he’d refused to talk about her last night?

      “Do you remember me mentioning Stewart Caldwell?”

      “Wasn’t that the preacher who took you in when your parents died?”

      “Yes, after my mother died. My father had disappeared before that.”

      “I’m sorry. You’ve had a lot of loss.”

      He drew his finger along the edge of the frame holding the photo. “Stewart warned me not to marry Bernice but I thought I knew better.”

      “Why did he warn you against her?”

      “I 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

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