But when he arrived, Delia and Anna weren’t waiting for him on the bench. Thinking that perhaps they were still inside, speaking with the teacher, he started toward the door.
“She kicked me!” a male voice shouted in disbelief from somewhere around the building.
Max turned, following the sound of the voice. And there, around the side of the schoolhouse, a man who looked a few years younger than himself was bent over, rubbing the back of his leg, while Anna stood with her small hands clenched into fists and Delia clutched her reticule against her chest.
“Stealing is wrong,” Anna said, repeating the words Max had said to her more than once. She gave a furious look to the man, who had already straightened and turned his attention toward Delia.
“So is kicking people,” the man growled before reaching for Delia’s reticule again. “All I need is a few coins.”
Anna drew back her leg again, and Max broke into a run.
The man didn’t hear him until the very last moment, and the second he turned around, Max sent a fist directly into the side of his face.
The man grunted and stumbled sideways. Before Max could stop her, Anna kicked his leg again.
“Go away!” she shouted at the man.
Max rested a hand on her shoulder, pulling her gently back behind him in case the would-be thief didn’t know what was best for him.
But the man scrambled up and took off.
“Are you all right?” Max asked looking from Anna to Delia.
“We’re fine,” Delia said. “Although I can’t say the same for my reticule.” She held the bag up, one of the handles torn and fluttering in the breeze.
“Did he take anything?”
Both Anna and Delia shook their heads. Max flexed his right hand as pain shot from his knuckles up into his wrist. It had been a long time since he’d been in a fight, and it wasn’t something he particularly missed.
“I’m glad you arrived when you did,” Delia said. “Although Anna did the best she could to get him to leave.”
Max turned a smile toward his daughter. “Where did you get the courage—” He wasn’t able to finish the sentence. Anna barreled into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his jacket.
Stunned, Max stood there for a moment, unsure what to do. Delia looked as surprised as he was. Then she gave him a reassuring nod, and, slowly, he wrapped his arms around Anna. The affection was so unexpected, and Max thought his heart would burst with the emotion that rushed through him.
And then, just as quickly as she’d hugged him, Anna stepped back—and ran away.
“Anna!” Delia called after her, but the girl raced around the corner and was gone from sight. “I’m sorry,” she said to Max. “I thought we’d put an end to that.”
“It’s fine.” Max reached for Delia’s hand, speaking over the lump that had risen in his throat. “She’ll be home soon.” He spoke with a certainty he’d never felt before.
Delia looked up at him. “I’m glad you came back when you did.”
Max clenched and unclenched his right hand. He hoped he wouldn’t have to do much writing at the hotel tomorrow. “So am I.”
“He came out of nowhere. Anna and I had just stepped out of the schoolhouse, and I asked her to show me the flowers growing along the side of the building. While we were looking, that man came up behind us and asked for money. I told him I hadn’t brought any, and he didn’t believe me. He grabbed my bag andAnna kicked him and . . . Then you arrived. It was the last thing I expected to happen in the daylight hours.” She looked ahead of them, along the road. Max followed her gaze, searching for Anna, but the girl was nowhere to be seen. “Anna was awfully brave,” she said.
“I have the feeling that she’s had to be brave often in the past,” Max said. He grasped Delia’s hand more tightly as they walked, thankful that both she and Anna were unhurt.
“What was it like when you went to get her?” Delia asked, clutching her torn reticule under her other arm.
Max pursed his lips. He didn’t like thinking about it, so he hadn’t spoken on it to Delia. “A neighbor had taken her in, thankfully. But the building was in a poor state, on a street I wouldn’t feel comfortable bringing either women or children to at night. Some of those people made that fellow we just met look downright amiable. I didn’t see the rooms Anna’s mother had rented, but the neighbor described them as unkempt, and I think she was being kind.” He swallowed as guilt crept up his throat.
What would have happened if he’d stood his ground all those years ago? If he’d remained in Denver, despite Vivian’s refusal to marry him? He still could have been a father to Anna.
If Vivian’s father hadn’t shot him dead first.
“There’s no use wishing you could change the past,” Delia said softly. She was looking up at him as if she knew precisely what he was thinking. “All we can do is look ahead and try to make the right decisions moving forward.”
