He Warned Her He Came With Four Children — The Cowgirl Said, “Good This Ranch Needs a Family”
Chapter 4
The next morning, Clara found Thomas repairing the fence.
“You should be sleeping.”
“So should you.”
“I wasn’t the one shot at last night.”
“You weren’t shot.”
“Neither were you.”
Thomas smiled.
Clara tried not to smile back.
“You’re impossible.”
“So are you.”
Mary approached them.
“Miss Mercer?”
Clara turned.
“Yes?”
“Can I ask something?”
“Of course.”
“Are we staying?”
Thomas stopped working.
Clara looked at him.
Then at Mary.
“If your father agrees.”
Mary looked at Thomas.
Thomas swallowed.
“I don’t know.”
Mary’s expression fell.
Clara crouched beside her.
“Then perhaps you should ask your father what he wants.”
Mary nodded.
She walked away.
Thomas watched her.
“She thinks I’ll leave again.”
Clara said nothing.
“She has reason to.”
“Do you want to leave?”
Thomas looked at the house.
“I want them safe.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
He looked at her.
“No.”
Clara smiled.
“Then stay.”
Thomas stared.
“You make everything sound simple.”
“No.”
She returned to the fence.
“I just don’t believe everything has to be complicated.”
Later that afternoon, Mary helped Clara collect eggs.
Samuel carried wood.
Ruth followed Clara everywhere.
Joseph learned that the ranch dog would tolerate his attempts to pull its ears.
For the first time in months, the children laughed.
Thomas stood near the barn watching them.
Clara joined him.
“You’re smiling.”
“I am not.”
“You are.”
Thomas shook his head.
“I forgot what they sounded like.”
Clara looked at him.
“What?”
“When they’re happy.”
She did not answer.
Instead, she said:
“You should come inside for supper.”
“I will.”
“You always say that.”
“This time I mean it.”
That evening, the six of them sat around the table.
It was crowded.
It was noisy.
It was imperfect.
And Clara realized she liked it.
Very much.
