Cowboy Found a Widow and Her Son Sleeping in His Stable. He Made One Quiet Decision
Chapter 8
Caleb woke on the opposite bank.
His head was bleeding.
Anna was unconscious beside him.
Samuel was gone.
“Samuel!”
Caleb searched the river.
Nothing.
He ran downstream.
Then he heard crying.
A branch had caught Samuel’s coat.
Caleb pulled him free.
The boy clung to him.
“I thought you were dead.”
Caleb held him tightly.
“I don’t die that easy.”
Samuel looked at him.
“Like my dad?”
Caleb’s expression changed.
“Yes.”
Samuel lowered his eyes.
“I don’t want another father.”
Caleb didn’t answer.
The words hurt more than the gunshot that had nearly killed him.
Anna woke an hour later.
When she saw Samuel safe, she began to cry.
Caleb turned away.
That night, they camped beneath a rock overhang.
Anna noticed the wound on Caleb’s head.
“You need stitches.”
“I’ve had worse.”
“You always say that.”
“Because it’s usually true.”
She cleaned the wound.
Their faces were inches apart.
Caleb looked at her.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Anna whispered:
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For choosing us.”
Caleb looked into the fire.
“I didn’t choose you.”
She smiled sadly.
“You did.”
He wanted to deny it.
But he couldn’t.
Across the fire, Samuel slept.
Caleb finally understood what frightened him.
It wasn’t Silas.
It wasn’t death.
It was the thought of losing them.
And he had only known them for days.
