Chapter 9
Clara lowered her head.
“She sounds wonderful.”
“She was.”
“Did she ever help people she hardly knew?”
“All the time.”
“Even when helping them might cause trouble?”
“Especially then.”
Clara’s fingers tightened around her shawl.
Mason studied her.
“Why do you ask?”
She hesitated.
“I wondered whether she was the kind of woman who’d be disappointed in me.”
Mason leaned forward.
“Clara, whatever happened before you came here doesn’t make you worthless.”
“You don’t know what happened.”
“No. Because you won’t tell me.”
She flinched.
Mason regretted the sharpness immediately.
“I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair.”
Clara looked at him with wet eyes.
“Some things change the way people see you.”
“They shouldn’t.”
“But they do.”
He nodded reluctantly.
“Yes. Sometimes they do.”
She rose.
“Good night, Mason.”
“Good night.”
At the doorway, she stopped.
“Do you think someone can love two people in one lifetime?”
The question caught him completely unprepared.
He looked toward Evelyn’s photograph.
Then toward Clara.
“I think a heart can survive losing someone and still have room for another.”
Clara stood very still.
Mason continued quietly.
“Didn’t believe that until recently.”
For a fleeting moment, something warm passed across her face.
Then her expression collapsed into sadness.
“I’m glad,” she whispered.
She disappeared into the hallway.
Mason remained by the fire long after the storm had passed.
He couldn’t decide whether she had been asking for him or mourning something she had already lost.
Three mornings later, Clara nearly collapsed while carrying water from the pump.
Mason caught the bucket as it slipped from her hand.
“That’s enough.”
She tried to take it back.
“I can finish.”
“No. You’re barely standing.”
“Please, Mason.”
“Clara, I’m taking you to the doctor.”
Terror flashed across her face.
“You promised!”
“I promised I wouldn’t bring somebody here without telling you. I never promised to ignore you getting worse.”
She backed away.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then help me understand!”
His voice rose unintentionally.
Clara recoiled as though he had struck her.
Mason froze.
The bucket fell between them.
Water soaked into the dirt.
He stepped back immediately.
“I’m sorry.”
Clara stared at him.
“I shouldn’t have shouted.”
She nodded, but her hands continued trembling.
Mason removed his hat.
“Please. Whatever you’re frightened of, you’re safe here.”
Her gaze shifted toward the road beyond the pasture.
“You don’t know that.”
“What do you mean?”
She swallowed.
“Sometimes the danger doesn’t disappear just because you find a good place to hide.”