Chapter 6 - The Question Hazel Was Afraid to Answer
Evelyn stayed.
One day became three.
Three became a week.
The house slowly changed.
Not because Evelyn cleaned it.
Because she refused to do everything.
“Thomas can hang coats.”
“Bennett can carry wood.”
“Clara can set the table.”
“Hazel is not responsible for raising everyone.”
That last rule caused the greatest difficulty.
Hazel had become accustomed to anticipating every need.
When Eli cried, she ran.
When Bennett lost mittens, she searched.
When Thomas argued, she mediated.
Evelyn began stopping her.
“Sit down.”
“But Eli—”
“Has a father.”
Silas heard that once.
He looked ashamed.
Then he went to Eli himself.
The boy stared at him as though something miraculous had occurred.
Slowly Silas came home earlier.
Not every day.
But often enough that the children noticed.
He repaired the porch with Thomas.
Helped Clara mix dough.
Carried Bennett on his shoulders after the boy fell asleep near the stove.
And one evening he sat beside Hazel while she read.
He did nothing.
No conversation.
No task.
Just sat.
Hazel later cried in Evelyn’s bedroom.
“I don’t know why I’m crying.”
“Yes, you do.”
“I don’t.”
“You finally got something you’ve been asking for.”
Hazel wiped her eyes.
“Then why does it hurt?”
“Because you were afraid it would never happen.”
A week after Christmas, Evelyn finally asked the question.
“Why me?”
Hazel looked confused.
“You read dozens of advertisements. Why did you answer mine?”
Hazel became uneasy.
“You sounded nice.”
“No.”
Hazel looked away.
“You chose me before we exchanged a single letter.”
Silence.
Evelyn sat beside her.
“Tell me.”
Hazel’s eyes filled.
“Mama knew your sister.”
Evelyn froze.
“What?”
Hazel reached beneath her mattress and removed a small notebook.
Inside was a name.
Margaret Mercer.
Evelyn’s dead sister.
Her hands began trembling.
“How?”
“Mama met her years ago in Cheyenne.”
Evelyn struggled to breathe.
Hazel explained.
Margaret had traveled west with her husband.
Their wagon broke near town.
Ruth Rowan helped them.
They stayed two nights at the ranch.
Evelyn had never known.
“Mama kept her address.”
Hazel whispered, “After Mama died, I found the notebook.”
“You didn’t choose a stranger.”
“No.”
“You chose me because of Margaret.”
Hazel nodded.
Evelyn stood so abruptly the chair scraped backward.
“That should have been in your first sentence at the depot.”
“I know.”
“You knew things about me before I knew anything about you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“This is worse than the advertisement.”
Hazel began crying.
Evelyn walked outside.
Silas found her beside the barn.
She told him.
He was stunned.
“I didn’t know.”
“I believe you.”
“That doesn’t make it better.”
“No.”
For the first time since arriving, Evelyn genuinely wanted to leave.
Not because of Silas.
Because Hazel’s deception had become too intimate.
Her sister’s memory had been used to bring her west.
That night Evelyn packed.
Silas stood in her doorway.
“I won’t stop you.”
“Thank you.”
“But I wish you wouldn’t go.”
Her hands paused.
“Why?”
Silas struggled.
“Because the house is different.”
“That is not enough.”
“I know.”
“The children being happier is not enough either.”
“I know.”
Evelyn faced him.
“Then why?”
Silas looked directly at her.
“Because I am different when you are here.”
Silence filled the room.
“That may be the most selfish thing you’ve said.”
“Probably.”
“And yet…”
She waited.
Silas swallowed.
“I don’t want you to leave.”
No mention of cooking.
Children.
Ranch.
Just her.
Evelyn looked at the packed suitcase.
Then at him.
“I’ll stay until the debt meeting in February.”
Silas nodded.
It was not forever.
But it was another beginning.
Neither of them knew that someone outside the window had heard every word.
May you like
And before sunrise, Caleb Voss knew Evelyn Mercer intended to stay.
---
