It was all gone, all lost. His brother, his dreams, his hope.
It was all dead and buried now.
Sometime later, a soft voice called, “Conn?” and he felt a hand touch his back gently.
He rose and dusted himself off and wiped his tears, embarrassed and bewildered.
How long had he been here, crying his heart out?
A long time, he realized. The sun was setting behind the mountains. Its last rays illuminated Mary’s golden hair, making it glow like an angel’s halo.
The dog stood beside her, and Conn realized the animal had been here the whole time, watching over him.
She stared at Conn with concern. “Are you all right?”
“I’ll be okay.” Looking past her, he saw two young men back by the tents, staring in this direction but keeping their distance.
“My brothers,” Mary explained. “I told them to wait. I’m sorry I wasn’t here to welcome you when you arrived. We were in town, buying…” She trailed off and grabbed his hand. “I’m sorry, Conn. I know you loved him. I’m so sorry.”
He nodded and gave her hand a squeeze. “We’re all sorry. It’s all we can be now.”
He released her hand.
Neither of them spoke for a time.
Finally, Mary pointed to the dog. “I named him Chief.”
Conn chuckled.
“What?”
“Chief,” he said, petting the dog again. “That’s what my name means in Irish.”
“Oh, I’d always thought it was short for Connor.”
He shook his head. “No, it’s just Conn.”
“Well, it’s a good name for him, then,” she said, “because having him here was kind of like having you watching over me. When those men attacked…”
“I sure am glad Chief came through for you. But it sounds like you came through, too, Mary. Those boys had no idea what they were getting themselves into.”
They were quiet again for another long moment.
The sun continued its descent, dimming the world around them.
Then Mary said, “You’ll ride on now?”
“Not yet,” he said. “I told you I would help you rebuild.”
“You don’t have to stay, Conn. It wasn’t fair of me to ask.”
“I’ll stay.”
“I have my brothers.”
“You need to at least get the house up before the snow flies,” Conn said, but then he realized that maybe she didn’t want him here.
Maybe she was trying politely to get rid of him. Maybe she understood what kind of man he was. Maybe she even understood better than he did what kind of man he was.
