Both Mr. and Mrs. Robinson sighed in relief as the children let out pent-up shrieks of delight and immediately began moving again.
“Which one of us gets the penny, Mrs. Harper?” one of the girls asked.
Ruthann smiled, partially in response to the girl’s eagerness and partially from hearing herself referred to asMrs. Harper. While Nate talked with Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, the children crowded around Ruthann.
“Hmm,” Ruthann said, resting a finger against the side of her mouth as she considered each child. “You were all very good at this game.”
“Don’t give it to Tommy. He pinched me.” One of the little boys looked ruefully at his brother.
Ruthann hid a smile behind her hand. “Well, I think in this situation, I’ll have to change the rules just a little bit.”
Among cries of “That isn’t fair!” and “Why can’t I win the penny?” Ruthann drew four more pennies from her pocket and presented all five coins to the eldest child, a boy of about twelve.
“Each of you deserves the penny, and so I’ll entrust your brother to use this money to purchase a treat that you may all share evenly.”
The boy nodded seriously and placed the coins in his pocket while his siblings chattered happily and thanked Ruthann.
“I still don’t think Tommy should get any.” The boy who’d been pinched crossed his arms and glared at the one Ruthann assumed was Tommy.
“He stayed as still as the rest of you, so in this case, I say that Tommy also deserves to share in the treat,” Ruthann said.
The littler one didn’t look appeased—at least until the eldest began talking about whether they should purchase peppermints or chocolates.
After the Robinsons left, Nate turned to Ruthann, who was busying herself with straightening the lace on the little end table. “Thank you. I don’t know what I would have done without your help.”
“You’re welcome. I have to admit that I enjoyed it. They’re sweet children, and I’m sure their photograph will be very good.”
“I hope so.” Nate frowned a moment. “I can’t imagine having to do all of that over again.”
“They are a handful,” Ruthann admitted. She stepped around the table to where Nate was pulling the settee to an angle. “But I do love children, and I always wished I’d been part of a family that large.”
“As did I.” He glanced at her as he stepped back to assess the scene before them. “But mostly because being the only child meant I drew all of my mother’s attention—which wasn’t always for the best.”
Ruthann laughed. “Well, I had a brother who was always in significantly more trouble than I could ever find, so I suppose I had it much easier. I do hope to have a large family someday, though.”
She didn’t realize what she’d said until the words were out of her mouth and Nate had caught her gaze with his. Did he think she wanted a large family withhim?
She did, of course. But given that she’d only just admitted her longstanding feelings for him last night, it seemed awfully soon to start discussing how many children she wished to have. Especially considering how he hadn’t exactly reciprocated her feelings.
Ruthann clutched her fingers into her palms and prayed she hadn’t scared him even further away. God appeared to be listening, because instead of closing her out and retreating as he’d done last night, Nate simply held her gaze.
It was impossible to see what he was thinking. But he didn’t look away, and he didn’t get that look in his eyes that meant he was withdrawing back into himself.
“I imagine you will be an excellent mother,” he finally said, and Ruthann thought her heart would stop.
Yes, she hoped for more. A confession that he would like her to be his children’s mother, for instance. But he was still here, with her, looking at her,seeingher, and that was enough.
“Would you like me to help with anything else?” she asked as she took a step forward.
But before he could answer, her toe caught the edge of the rug and she began to fall forward. Ruthann gave a little cry. Instinctively, she reached out her hands to break the fall—but found them pressed against Nate’s chest instead of the floor.
He’d caught her.
And now, here she was, in his arms. Her face burned and she moved to extract herself, but he must have thought she’d lost her balance again, because his arms tightened around her.
And all she could do was look up—right into his face, which was so close she could feel his breath against her skin.
It was like every dream she’d had of him since the moment they’d shared six years before. But instead of being just an image in her mind, this was real.
