Chapter 6 - The Woman Behind the Walls
Winter softened.
So did Garrett.
Not publicly.
Ranch hands still moved faster when he entered a barn.
Cattle buyers still thought twice before attempting to cheat him.
But inside the house, changes appeared everywhere.
Penny’s drawings covered the kitchen.
Her doll occupied Garrett’s favorite chair.
One wooden soldier from Jonathan’s room mysteriously appeared beside her bed.
Garrett pretended not to notice.
Sarah noticed everything.
Especially the way he watched Penny.
And the way he watched her.
One evening Sarah found him repairing Penny’s broken doll.
“You know,” she said, “there are ranch hands for that.”
“They would do it incorrectly.”
“Of course.”
Garrett glanced at her.
“Are you mocking me?”
“I wouldn't dare.”
“You're becoming too much like your daughter.”
Sarah smiled.
“I’ll accept that.”
Their hands touched when she reached for the doll.
Neither moved.
Garrett looked at her.
Sarah’s smile faded.
The distance between them suddenly seemed very small.
“Sarah.”
“Yes?”
He leaned closer.
Then Penny yelled from upstairs.
“MR. GARRETT! MY SOCK IS LOST!”
Sarah burst laughing.
Garrett closed his eyes.
“Your daughter has remarkable timing.”
“Our daughter—”
Sarah stopped.
Garrett looked at her.
She had said it without thinking.
Our.
The word hung between them.
Sarah stepped back.
“I meant—”
“I know.”
But Garrett’s expression said he wished she hadn't corrected herself.
That night Sarah couldn't sleep.
She loved him.
There was no longer any use denying it.
But loving Garrett meant risking loss again.
Thomas’s death had nearly destroyed her.
Could she survive another love?
Across the house, Garrett wrestled with the same fear.
He had loved Elizabeth.
He had loved Jonathan.
Then the river took them.
For years Garrett had believed distance was protection.
If nobody entered his heart, nobody could tear it apart.
Then Sarah and Penny arrived.
One stubborn widow.
One fearless little girl.
And somehow every locked door had opened.
But spring brought another complication.
Elizabeth’s younger sister, Margaret, arrived from Denver.
She was elegant.
Educated.
Beautiful.
And deeply suspicious of Sarah.
“You moved quickly,” Margaret told Garrett.
“What does that mean?”
“Elizabeth has been gone four years, and suddenly a widow and her child are living here.”
“Sarah works here.”
Margaret looked toward Penny playing outside.
“Does the child?”
Garrett’s expression hardened.
“Be careful.”
Margaret softened.
“I’m worried about you.”
“No. You're deciding what Sarah wants without knowing her.”
Sarah overheard enough to understand.
That evening she began packing.
Again.
Garrett found her.
Again.
“Why does every disagreement end with you putting clothes into that bag?”
“Because this isn't my house.”
“It could be.”
Sarah froze.
Garrett stepped inside.
“Stop running.”
“I’m not running.”
“You are.”
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
Sarah turned.
“I love you.”
Garrett went utterly still.
Sarah’s eyes filled.
“There. I said it.”
He took one step toward her.
She raised her hand.
“But I am terrified.”
“So am I.”
That stopped her.
Garrett Thorne admitted fear to almost nobody.
“I wake sometimes expecting everyone I love to disappear,” he said.
Sarah’s tears slipped free.
“So do I.”
Garrett reached for her hand.
“Then perhaps we stop being frightened separately.”
Sarah laughed through tears.
“That may be the least romantic proposal I've ever heard.”
His eyebrow lifted.
“I wasn't proposing.”
“Oh.”
“Not yet.”
Sarah stared.
Garrett smiled.
Then he kissed her.
Quietly.
Gently.
Without drama.
And somehow that made it more powerful.
From the hallway came a delighted gasp.
They separated.
Penny stood there.
Hands over her mouth exactly as Sarah had once done when Penny mocked Garrett.
“I knew it!”
Garrett groaned.
But Penny was already running down the corridor.
“EVERYBODY! MR. GARRETT KISSED MAMA!”
Sarah covered her face.
Garrett muttered something unsuitable for children.
The entire ranch knew before breakfast.
But happiness was approaching them now.
And so was the most painful decision Garrett would ever make.
Because Margaret had brought something from Denver.
A letter Elizabeth had written shortly before her death.
A letter Garrett had never seen.
May you like
And inside it was a secret about Jonathan’s final journey that would force Garrett to confront the guilt he had carried for four years.
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