Tessa nodded. “I’m sure there must be a reward for Coalie’s return. Kincaid will want to collect it.”
“I ain’t going to no ranch,” Coalie announced. “I ain’t leaving Peaceable without you.”
“Please, Coalie,” Tessa pleaded. “What if Kincaid comes back? What if I can’t stop him from returning you to Chicago?”
“David won’t let him,” Coalie replied confidently.
“What if David isn’t here? Like this morning? What then?” Tessa hugged him closer. “Oh, Coalie, I love you. I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want you to be hurt or lonely or frightened ever again. Please say you’ll go with Mary just for a while, to see if you like it.” Tessa brushed away her tears.
“Aw, Tessa…Coalie shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Don’t cry.”
Mary stepped forward and put her hand on Coalie’s shoulder. “It won’t be for long, Coalie. It can be just a visit. You can meet the other children—Joy and Hope and the twins, Jimmy and Kate. And my brother, Sam, can teach you to ride a horse.”
“It won’t be for long?” Coalie looked to Tessa for confirmation.
“No,” she said.
“And I can come back if I don’t like it?”
“Of course. I’ll come and get you myself. Nothing will stop me.”
“You promise?”
“I promise,” Tessa answered. “And when this is over, we’ll go on with our plans to find a house and garden with a few sheep to tend, just like we dreamed.”
“All right, then.” Coalie agreed. “I do like horses. Always wanted to ride one.”
Tessa took a shaky breath and stood up. “Then it’s settled.” She bit her lip to keep from crying again.
“Let’s shake on it,” Coalie suggested. And the three of them—Coalie, Tessa, and Mary—clasped hands.
Mary waited until Coalie went back to the storeroom to gather his belongings before she voiced her concerns. “I’m not sure this is best. I’m willing to take him,” she said, “only because I don’t like seeing children threatened. But you have to do something for me in return.”
“I’ll do my best,” Tessa cautiously replied.
“It’s not so much to ask,” Mary continued. “I just want you to persuade David to visit the ranch more often. We’ve missed him since he moved to Peaceable. He stays away purposely, and there’s absolutely no need. We know he didn’t do anything wrong, and we’re waiting to listen whenever David’s ready to talk about it.”
“Did you tell him that?” Tessa asked softly.
“Well, no,” Mary admitted, “but of course David knows better than to think we’d believe rumors and innuendo.” How much did Tessa Roarke know about the scandal in Washington? she wondered.
Tessa looked Mary right in the eyes. “Does he?”
Mary was impressed by Tessa’s insight. “How much do you know about my brother?”
“Not much,” Tessa admitted. “But I know how it feels when people look at you with pity in their eyes, wondering all the time if you really did the things they heard. Maybe David thinks you look at him that way. Do you?”
Mary ignored the question, though she recognized the fact that Tessa had given her food for thought. “Well, I’d better be going. I’d rather not face David right now.”
Tessa nodded. “You’ll take care of Coalie?”
“I’ll protect him with my life.”
“Good,” Tessa said, “because if anything happens to him…” She let the rest trail off.
“Nothing will happen,” Mary assured her. She called to Coalie. “It’s time to go.”
Coalie joined them in the office, pulling himself up to his full height in a manly posture, years older than his age. “Are you sure this is best, Tessa?”