“I thought I heard Mama’s voice.”
Caroline prayed he hadn’t overheard her and Jackson’s conversation. “What did the voice say?”
“I couldn’t make out the words.” He shrugged and sat in his chair. “I musta dreamed it.”
“Is Jewel awake?”
He shook his head.
Caroline poured him a cup of milk and sat at the table with him. “Would you be upset if I stayed a few more days? I still must ask your father’s permission, but I wanted to know how you felt about it first.”
The same crease that had marred his brow when he’d scanned the room returned. Then his forehead smoothed. “It’s all right.” He took a sip of his milk and sighed. “I suppose I should give up on getting a puppy. By the time we make it back to town, they’re all gonna be gone.”
“How big is the litter?”
“Seven, I think.”
“Don’t give up yet. It’ll take a while to find homes for all of them.” She didn’t know why she was encouraging him to hope for a gift that had already been quashed, or why she was extending her stay. She could bide here for months, and it still wouldn’t change Jackson’s situation.
Caroline turned at the sound of whimpering.
Jewel was standing on the bottom step of the stairs, crying.
“What’s wrong?” Caroline asked as she went to her.
“I wet,” Jewel replied, holding out the soggy skirt of her gown.
“It’s all right.” Caroline took her by the hand. “Come stand by the fire while I heat some water for a bath.” The sun had started rising, but not enough to lend any real warmth.
Caroline brought the tub from the washroom and set it near the hearth. She filled it with enough water to give Jewel a good rinsing, then stripped the tot and set her in it.
Jackson walked in on the scene and frowned. “It’s a bit cold for that, isn’t it?”
Caroline looked up from where she knelt. “She wet herself.” At his grunt of acknowledgement, she added, “The biscuits and ham are on the stove. Would you please move the skillets to the table?”
By the time he’d done that and refreshed everyone’s cups, Caroline had Jewel clean and dried and wrapped in a blanket. “This will do until we finish breakfast,” she told her as she set her in her chair.
“Aunt Caroline wants to stay,” Noah piped up before she could even take her seat.
Caroline’s eyes closed at the blurted admission then opened and lifted to meet Jackson’s nebulous stare. “I thought I might stay a few more days, to help with the children. But only if it’s all right with you.”
Jackson sat mute for an excruciatingly long moment. “It’s all right with me, but I don’t see the point.” He’d been forced to bridle his reply, because Noah and Jewel hadn’t yet learned he’d be sending them to live with his sister, but it still landed with a sting.
“I’ll pack, then,” Caroline said in a quiet voice.
Noah looked at her then his father. “I don’t want her to go.”
“Noah,” she and Jackson said in unison.
Jackson made a gesture of deferral, but Caroline ignored it. She’d started to tell Noah that his father had the final say,because it was the truth. She’d let Jackson say his piece, and she would leave if he didn’t want her here.
“I suppose a couple more days wouldn’t hurt.”
Wouldn’t hurt?It would all but kill him.
Every minute spent with Caroline reminded him of all he’d given up. It was a constant painful digging, like a knife gouging pieces from his flesh. He couldn’t say he wished she’d never come—she knew the truth now, and she didn’t hate him anymore—but he wasn’t sure how much longer he could tolerate her presence.
The only reason he’d given in was that once she left, so would his children. And living without them would hurt just as much.
