Page 64 of The Heart’s Charge

He’d just exited the barn when movement near the road caught his eye. In a flash, he had his revolver out of its holster and ready to fire, but he lowered it when he recognized Bessie and Tessie at the head of the approaching wagon.

Jonah had mentioned that Eliza had run an errand. What he hadn’t mentioned was with whom. Spying Fern on the wagon seat made Mark’s chest tighten in concern. He’d been praying for her, but he hadn’t actually expected to see her again. At least she wasn’t raving like a lunatic and threatening to shoot him this time.

Once his weapon was safely holstered, Mark lifted a hand in greeting.

“Whoa, girls,” Eliza called to the team. “Whoa.”

The ponies didn’t seem to pay her much mind. Just kept plodding forward. Mark moved in front of Bessie and held up a hand. The old girl stopped and bobbed her head against his palm as if to say howdy. It made him grin.

And it made Eliza sigh. Loudly, and with great exasperation. But only for a moment.

“Did you find Alice?” Eliza asked.

Mark ran his hand along Bessie’s neck, then patted her side as he made his way back to the wagon. “Yes. She’s safe. We had a bit of a scare”—that was the understatement of the decade—“but all’s well now. Kate’s seeing to her in the house.”

“Thank the Lord.” Eliza’s gaze briefly tipped toward heaven before settling back on him. “I wanted to check in here before taking Mrs. Dawson home.”

“Would it be possible,” Fern murmured, “for me to have a word with Mr. Wallace before we go?” She clasped the wagon seat with both hands before turning to face him. “If you don’t mind, that is.”

Mark nodded. “Of course. In fact, why don’t I see you home, and we can talk on the way?”

Eliza wasted no time relinquishing the reins. In less than a minute, she had disembarked and he had climbed aboard. Taking the lines in hand, he clicked to the ponies and offered them a few warm words of apology for taking them back out when they’d thought themselves finished for the night.

“There’s a good girl, Tessie,” he praised as he looped them around and aimed them toward the road. “That’s right, Bessie, steady on.”

“Do you talk to everyone like that, or just horses and women in the throes of labor?” A tiny smile played at the corner of Fern’s mouth.

Mark chuckled, the tightness in his chest easing. If she could tease, she must be doing better. “Mostly just horses.”

Her smile flattened into a serious line. “I wanted to thank you.”

“Ah, you don’t have to—”

“Yes, I do.” Her adamancy took him aback. “If you hadn’t happened by . . .” Emotion clogged her voice. She steadied herself by grabbing the edge of the wagon bench and inhaling a long, slow breath. “My daughter would not be alive today if it weren’t for you. She wouldn’t be healthy and beautiful and absolutely perfect.”

Mark braced his boot against the footboard. “So you’ve seen her.”

She nodded as she raised a hand to wipe at her eyes. “Wendell’s parents have offered the two of us a home with them.”

“That’s good.” He smiled despite the misgivings running through his head. She was the babe’s mother. And it sounded like she’d have help. Just because he’d entertained a few fuzzy notions about him and Kate adopting little Sarah didn’t mean he had any right to stand between a mother and her child. Besides, his future with Kate was fuzzy enough on its own.

“I think it will be. Yancy and Myrna are good people. Wendell would want them to be involved in their granddaughter’s life.”

Mark tried to read her face, but there was so much uncertainty etched in her features that he had trouble seeing anything else. “What about you? Do you plan to be involved in your daughter’s life?”

She timidly met his gaze before dropping her chin to stare at her lap. “I don’t deserve to be.” Slowly her posture straightened and her head lifted. When she looked his way, he spotted a hint of hope shining through the guilt. “But when I held her today, something shifted inside me. I swore I could feel Wendell looking over my shoulder, whispering in my ear. Telling me how proud he was to see his girls together. How much he loved us. How much he believed in us.”

A tear slipped down her cheek. “God sent you at just the right time, Mr. Wallace. You saved my daughter. Saved me. I didn’t think I could live without Wendell. I thought he was the only person in the world who loved me. But I was wrong.”

Thank you for opening her eyes, Father. No one loves better than you do.

Fern wiped the tear from her face and lifted her chin. “I’m ready to build a new family,” she said. “To tell my daughter about her amazing daddy and be the mother Wendell always believed I could be.”

“I’m glad, Fern.” And he was. Life shone in her eyes, something that had been missing the last time he’d been with her.

Talk of babies and families drifted away as the buildings of Kingsland cropped up. Fern directed him to a ladies’ boardinghouse, and Mark steered the wagon to the side of the road and set the brake. As he turned to climb down, however, Fern stopped him with a hand to his arm. He resumed his seat and waited for her to speak.

“I want to name her after you,” she blurted. “I know you named her Sarah after your mother, but I had a horrible aunt named Sarah, so that name just won’t do, even though I’m sure your mother is a lovely woman—”