The girls saw him and raced over.
“Where have you been, Mr. Blue?” Libby demanded as she clung to his hand.
“We missed you,” Eleanor whispered. “All of us.”
All of them? He tucked the words into his heart.
He’d saved room for them beside him and pulled Libby to one side and Eleanor to the other, then signaled for Clara to join them.
She hesitated but a heartbeat, then crossed to sit beside Libby.
He shifted the little girl to his knee so he and Clara sat with their elbows touching. For the first time in days, his world felt complete. His heart swelled with love, with hope she might love him in return.
Cookie led them in two hymns, and he sang but he couldn’t remember what the hymns were...only the joy and pleasure of joining his voice to Clara’s, having the girls’ voices sing along.
Bertie rose to speak. “I hear Blue has finished making the pews.”
“With Clara and the girls’ help,” Blue said.
“Thank you all. Soon we’ll be meeting in our new church, worshiping with others from the town and nearby farms and ranches. It’s good to move on. It’s good to start something new and better. As it says in Psalm 118, verse twenty-three, ‘This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.’ Don’t ever be afraid of moving forward with God.”
Blue was no longer afraid of the future. Only one thing concerned him. Would Clara want to share it with him?
As always, Cookie served coffee and cinnamon rolls after the service. Then Linette invited everyone up the hill for dinner.
The cowboys didn’t go without invitation. “You, too, Blue,” she added. “The girls have asked about you every day.”
The women left immediately. He watched Clara follow the others, wished she’d turn and, if not wave goodbye, at least signal something with her eyes. But she kept her attention on whatever Jayne said to her.
The men visited a bit longer at the cookhouse, then went up the hill. Blue didn’t object to sharing the meal with the others, but he needed to talk to Clara.
When the meal finally ended and the dishes done at no hurry, he asked Eddie if he could borrow a wagon.
Eddie grinned as if enjoying a secret. “Of course.”
Blue didn’t care if everyone stared at him when he approached Clara as the women came to the front room. “Clara, may I take you for a drive?”
He knew he saw a flare of pleasure in her eyes before she quenched it. “The girls?”
“Please leave them here,” Linette said. “They’re enjoying having lots of playmates.”
Clara spoke to the girls where they played with the other children, and both nodded. She returned to Blue’s side. “Very well. I’d very much enjoy a drive.”
He jogged down the hill, harnessed a horse to the wagon and rattled back to the big house.
Clara stepped out before Blue reached the door.
He took her hand and helped her up to the seat before scrambling up beside her. “I’ve missed you,” he said.
He hadn’t meant to blurt that out; he’d meant to work up to it. But his heart couldn’t contain the words any longer.
“I’ve been here every day since I left town,” she replied.
Did she sound disappointed that he had made no attempt to speak to her? “I thought you needed some time to sort out all the changes in your life,” he said as they rode from the yard.
“I had it sorted out before I left town.”
Good to know. Now if she would say if she saw him in her plans...
“There’s a spot I want you to see.”
They rode in silence for a spell. Then he pointed out the landmarks. “It’s a good country. A man would have to look hard to find any better. Of course, there are those unexpected snowstorms to contend with.” For the past three weeks they’d enjoyed sunshine and mild winter temperatures.
“I have learned it’s the people who make this a good country.”
His breath stalled. Did she mean him?
“They are accepting and supportive,” she added. “Something I’ve learned to appreciate. Even more, people here accept a woman as a valuable partner in life.”
He fit into that pattern. But he’d not tell her just yet. Not until they reached the spot he wanted to show her.