Chapter Four #2
After a moment of contemplation, Rebecca nodded her head and let go of Hannah’s hand to raise her arms toward Garrett.
He lifted her up, alarmed that he could easily feel the wing of her shoulder blade protrude into his palm and at how little effort it took to settle her weight on his hip.
Rebecca murmured ‘thank you’ to Garrett as she melted into his chest, and let her chin rest on his shoulder.
The moment she did, Garrett felt his heart twist. The little girl was obviously tired.
He wagered they all were after such a journey, but something about holding Rebecca did something strange to him.
How many times had he wanted to be held just like he was holding Rebecca after his mother died?
It felt good, important even, to be able to provide another child with the comfort he’d once craved.
“There we go,” he said, feeling his heart do a somersault at how fast the little girl leaned into him. He looked at Hannah just in time to see her mouth the words thank you. He gave a nod and a wink at the pretty, tired young woman as he heard Logan and Dean introduce themselves to the bunch.
“Looks like you could use a hand there, big fella,” Logan said, walking up to the oldest boy to shake his hand. “Mind if I take some of those cases for ya?”
“Thanks a lot,” the boy answered. Garrett looked up just in time to see the young man square his shoulders and extend his hand to Logan in a respectful fashion.
“My name’s Isaac. These are my brothers Jacob and Louis,” he said, nodding to the second younger boy, then scooped up the youngest, hitching him on his hip just as Garrett had done with Rebecca.
“Good to meet ya, Isaac,” Logan replied, shoving the luggage into Dean’s arms, who’d been mostly quiet.
“What’s say we get out of all this chaos and get you all settled into Garrett’s buggy while these two love birds have a talk?” He went on, nodding toward Hannah and Garrett.
That same look of distrust passed through Isaac’s eyes as Garrett had seen in Rebecca’s, but unlike her, he didn’t look to Hannah for permission.
Garrett knew right away by the way the young man handled himself that he’d taken on more than what most fifteen-year-olds were capable of.
An old soul perhaps trapped in a young body.
Or perhaps, a child forced to take on too much responsibility.
“That sounds like a good idea,” Isaac agreed.
“Wait a moment,” Hannah spoke up, worry lacing her voice as she stepped up to Logan.
“I know Garrett, in some ways at least, but I don’t know you. I can’t just let you walk off with my brothers and sisters!”
Any man could have been offended by the implication, but Logan only grinned as he reached for the lapel of his waistcoat and pulled it back, revealing the shining star of his sheriff’s badge.
“Don’t worry, ma’am, Garrett doesn’t make friends with those sorts of fools. He’s a good man, and he only keeps good men around him,” Logan stated calmly as what little color left in Hannah’s cheeks drained in embarrassment.
“I—I didn’t know you were the Sheriff. I—I’m sorry, sir.” She began to panic, and Garrett couldn’t stand it. Even if she was fooling him, he couldn’t let her fall to pieces.
“Don’t call him sir, it’ll go straight to that already big head of his,” Garrett said teasingly, coming to her rescue.
“But he is right about fools. I don’t suffer them.
Logan and Dean are good people. Trust me, they’ll protect your siblings, and you and I won’t take long.
I just want a second to speak to you away from the crowd here, if you would be alright with that? ”
Hannah took another worried glance over at her siblings, who were still silently waiting for her permission.
“I want to keep them in sight,” she said, her protective nature coming through her soft voice.
“Of course,” Garrett readily agreed, “We’ll follow them out to the buggy and just take a few steps away.”
After another moment of hesitation, Hannah gave a reluctant nod, and their small group started making their way off toward the much quieter side street where Garrett had hitched his horse and buggy.
He helped Rebecca up into the small seat.
Maria quickly followed and took the little girl under her arm as the boys did their best to fit themselves into the cramped space.
Logan, thankfully, had brought his buggy as well, and was getting their small pile of luggage packed up.
“Garrett, I am so sorry,” Hannah said in a rush once they stepped away from the others, “I know this isn’t what we talked about, but—”
As tears sprang to her eyes, Garrett reached out, not even thinking, and took her hands. He squeezed them gently, despite his own nerves being frazzled over the change of plans.
“Easy,” he soothed, “Take a breath, and tell me what happened.”
He could feel Hannah’s anxiety trembling through her hands, but even so, she drew in a deep breath as he suggested, and let it out before she started to explain.