“It is,” Mama said. “I relayed my concerns to your father, and we’re in agreement.”
Matthew’s eyebrows knitted together. “I told you we merely tried to survive. Our concerns were water and safety, and that was all. Besides, I had just learned Miss Timperman wasn’t coming.”
His parents looked at each other.
“Surely you believe me?” He was hardly a boy, testing their patience with lies. And although as a grown man, he didn’t need their permission or guidance to do anything, he wanted their respect.
“We believe you, son,” Father said. “You’re a good man, and we’re comforted by that each and every day. But this isn’t about what did or didn’t happen.”
Matthew’s heart fell as he realized what his father meant.
“As people in town start to hear your story—and they will, if you wish to be truthful—they’ll make assumptions,” Mama said, her voice as gentle as it had always been.
“Assumptions that won’t reflect well on Miss Zane,” Father added.
Matthew dug his fingers into the edge of the settee. Just the thought of anyone casting aspersions on Sophia’s reputation made him want to hit something, and he wasn’t the sort of man who went looking for fights. “I won’t let that happen,” he said in a low voice.
“I’m afraid you won’t have control over whether it does or doesn’t happen,” Father said.
“They’ll talk anyway.” Mama folded her hands in her lap. “Are you going to be in every parlor in town? At every store counter and every table in the diner and the hotel?”
Matthew swallowed as he realized they were right. If people talked, he could do nothing about it. Nothing at all unless they approached him or Sophia directly. And in the meantime, the gossip . . . He closed his eyes for a second, desperately seeking a way to keep it all from happening. “We won’t tell anyone.”
Mama shook her head, and Father’s expression radiated empathy.
“Think of how that will make you feel. How it will make her feel, if you have to keep such a difficult experience to yourselves. To never tell a soul. What will happen if the sheriff needs information on those outlaws? Will you opt to let them continue terrorizing people? What if Miss Zane finds a young man to marry? Is she supposed to never tell him about what happened?” Father’s voice was even and kind, the way it was when he wanted people to truly think about a situation.
Matthew sighed. He was right. There were far too many things that could go wrong if they never told anyone about Sophia’s kidnapping and their subsequent journey through the desert. “Then what do I do?”
Father looked to Mama, who pressed her lips together as if she were gathering her courage. Matthew’s hands dug farther into the settee.
“While you walked Miss Zane home, your father and I discussed it. And the only conclusion we could come to was that you ought to marry Miss Zane.”
Chapter Thirteen
IT WAS A LITTLE AFTERthree o’clock the next day when Matthew sent a note to the boarding house to let Sophia know he would be arriving with a carriage in just over an hour. When he arrived, she eagerly followed him outside to see a carriage with two horses just out front.
