Anna didn’t seem to approve of the plan.
Patience’d had to practically force the girl to sit with her, and now she didn’t seem inclined to talk at all. She hadn’t realized a seven-year-old could be so sullen.
"That's a pretty dress you're wearing." Patience nodded toward the pink floral print of the gown that fit her niece perfectly.
“Naomi made it.” Anna sent a sideways glare at her, as though Patience had refused to provide clothing.
She forced a smile. “She’s a talented seamstress.” Maybe ifshe acknowledged how wonderful Eric and Naomi—and all these people—had been to Anna, it would help break down the barrier. “I’m so glad Naomi and the others here have been so kind.”
Anna shrugged, but Patience didn’t miss the tremble of her lower lip.Oh, Anna. Patience’s heart ached at all the pain this sweet girl had endured. All the loss.
She reached across the chasm between them and rubbed her thin shoulders. “I’m so glad you’ve had them. I know it was so hard when grandmother got sick.” Was that what the girl thought had happened to her? From what Patience could gather, they didn’t know for sure whether Mama had been ill or succumbed to the elements. Maybe it was a combination of the two.
Anna sniffed, fighting, it seemed, to keep from showing all her emotions. Patience kept rubbing her shoulders. “You know, your grandmother was my mother. I miss her.” The sting of tears burned her throat, cracking her voice. She’d better find a better topic soon or they’d both be a soggy mess. She fingered the necklace she hadn’t taken off since Jonah gave it to her. “These beads remind me of her.”
Anna sent her a sideways glance, once again almost glaring. Hadn’t Jonah said Anna treasured the necklace? Maybe she felt Patience had stolen it from her, taken the one thing she had to remember her grandmother by.
Patience unfastened the clasp. At least this she could remedy. And she could share the story behind the heirloom. “This first belonged to my grandmother—your great-grandmother."
As Patience placed the beads in Anna’s small hands, the girl studied them.
Patience leaned in a little, stroking Anna’s shoulders with her fingers once more. “Would you like to hear the story of how she was given them?"
Anna's head lifted slightly, curiosity flicking in her eyes.
“Before she met Grandpa Ben, Grandma was a nurse, and she traveled all over the world helping people. One time, she even went to South America to the Amazon rainforest and lived with the natives there for several months."
Anna’s eyes widened, though she might not know what the Amazon was. Patience described it as best she could from what Grandma Annie had told her—the lush green jungle, the exotic animals, the kind and generous people who had welcomed her grandmother into their midst. "And when it was time for her to leave, the natives gave her this necklace as a gift, to thank her for all she had done. She treasured it always and passed it down to my mother. Grandma was so brave and loved adventure. She used her talents to help others. And do you know what?”
Patience waited and was soon rewarded with a quiet, “What?”
“Your mama named you after her. Her name was Anna Marie Masters, but I always called her Grandma Annie.”
Anna’s eyes shone, and for the first time since Patience arrived, she seemed truly happy in Patience’s presence. A wave of love swept through her, so full it filled every part of her.Thank You, God, for giving me another chance with this sweet girl.
Patience studied the faces around the table, especially Jonah’s youngest brother, Miles, who was riffling through the crate of games. They’d finished dinner, and Dinah and Naomi were slicing apple pie for dessert, but the steady patter of rain on the roof had made the group restless.
Miles straightened, a deck of cards in his hand. “I say we play poker.”
Her middle tightened. Poker? Surely there was something else they could choose that wouldn’t make her feel…dirty.
“Not poker.” Jonah’s voice rumbledstrong at her side.
Thank you.
Miles looked up from the crate, his brows furrowed. "Why not poker? It's not like we're betting real money. I'm tired of chess, so it has to be some kind of cards."
Patience forced herself not to shift in her seat as unease settled in her stomach like a cold stone. She'd spent too many nights in smoky saloons, the clink of coins and the shuffle of cards the melody of her shame. This place felt so…different. So untainted. The last thing she wanted to do was mar the memories she was making here.
"Let’s play Rounds." Gil nudged a pack of cards in Miles’s hand.
Miles shrugged, pulling out the worn deck. "Rounds it is, then."
Soon, Dinah and Naomi brought plates full of sweet apple pie, and the cards had been dealt. A surprising number of the family had opted to watch rather than participate. If she’d known that was a choice, she would have done the same. But she’d been one of the first asked to play, so she’d committed. In the end, the players had been Miles, Gil, their niece, Lillian, and herself. From what she’d pieced together, Lillian and her brother, Sean, were Lucy’s children, who’d come to the ranch after their mother passed from the illness Jonah had spoken of.
The sweet aroma of pie and the camaraderie around the table made the game nothing like an evening in the saloon. She might have even been able to play poker without it feeling like she’d gone back to that other place. These Coulters were unlike any family she’d ever seen.
Boisterous and joking, yet kind and considerate. They weren’t afraid to confront when someone stepped out of line, yet there was always an undertone of love, as if nothing the other person did or said could ever stop them from being part of the family.
