Chapter Twenty
Caleb guided the wagon through the crowded edge of Copper Bend as lively music carried from the town square, and every familiar building seemed determined to remind him why he had avoided the harvest festival even before leaving town.
Lanterns hung beneath awnings, bright ribbons crossed the street between rooftops, and the smell of roasted corn drifted through the air, yet none of it eased the strain that crept into his shoulders when people began turning to watch him pass.
Some stares held curiosity, while others carried the same suspicion he had faced during the cattle sale.
A man outside the mercantile paused with a cup halfway to his mouth, and two women near the church steps leaned closer together after Caleb’s wagon rolled past. Their words remained hidden beneath the music, though he knew the shape of their conversation without hearing it.
Amy sat beside him wearing a dark green dress that had already destroyed every useful thought in his head.
He had been fastening Daisy’s harness when she stepped onto the porch, and the sight of her had left him holding the same leather strap long enough for Russ to ask whether he had forgotten how buckles worked.
Her hair had been pinned up, and the green fabric deepened the color of her eyes while fitting her with an elegance the ranch rarely gave her reason to show.
Caleb had managed to tell her she looked nice, which sounded painfully inadequate after the effort she had made, although Amy had smiled like the clumsy praise actually pleased her. The image of that smile remained with him even as the wagon entered the square.
Noah leaned forward from the rear bench, where Maggie sat beside him with Eloise tucked in one arm. “Is that a ring toss?”
“It appears to be,” Amy replied, twisting carefully so she could follow his gaze. “Although the bottles look rather close together.”
“They make them close so you miss,” Caleb pointed out.
Maggie frowned. “That’s cheating.”
“It’s business.”
Amy glanced toward him, amusement softening her expression. "You might allow them to believe the festival exists for pleasure until we've at least stepped out of the wagon."
Caleb looked back at Noah, who was already leaning over the side to study the games. "Give him five minutes and he'll have his eye on every wooden horse in the square."
Noah’s concern appeared at once. “How much do I get?”
Caleb looked ahead while guiding the wagon past a family crossing the road. “That depends upon whether you intend to waste those coins responsibly.”
Amy’s quiet laugh warmed the space beside him, and Caleb felt some of the strain leave his grip on the reins.
He had tossed out easy remarks during the ride, hoping to appear calm enough that Amy would not sense how much returning to town unsettled him, yet her presence made the effort both easier and more dangerous.
He wanted her to enjoy the afternoon, though every whisper threatened to remind her she had married a man Copper Bend still considered questionable.
Russ waved from a patch of grass near the livery, where Delilah stood with their children beside a wagon decorated with corn stalks.
Caleb steered toward them and stopped beneath the shade of an elm before climbing down.
He moved around the wagon to help Amy, hesitating when she placed one gloved hand into his.
The contact should have been ordinary between husband and wife, but the trust required to let him guide her down felt more precious after their argument.
Amy stepped onto the ground, and her skirt brushed his boots while his hand remained around hers longer than necessary. She lifted her eyes to his, and the quiet intimacy of the moment seemed to catch them both by surprise before Noah climbed down from the wagon, forcing Caleb to let go.
Russ approached with the pleased expression of a man who had already decided the day would provide entertainment at Caleb’s expense. “You made it.”
Caleb reached into the wagon for Maggie. “We did.”
"I wondered whether you'd turn around once the church steeple came into view."
Maggie wrapped her arms around Caleb's neck as he lifted her from the wagon, sparing him an answer. Delilah greeted Amy with a smile and drew her toward a nearby pie stall where Lydia waited, while Caleb set Maggie beside Noah.
His gaze followed Amy almost without thinking.
She moved easily through the crowd, smiling at Lydia and greeting the people around her, the strangers smiling back.
Pride settled quietly inside him. She belonged anywhere she chose to stand, though the way a few men looked at her stirred an urge to close the distance between them.
Russ noticed immediately. "You can stop watching her," he said. "She isn't going anywhere."
Caleb handed each child two dimes and two nickels, refusing to acknowledge what his friend had said. "Keep them where you can find them."
Noah tucked his money safely into his pocket, while Maggie hid hers inside Eloise's apron before hurrying after Lydia.
Russ waited until the children were out of earshot. "That dress has left you short of words, I see."
Caleb glanced toward him. "Go bother your own wife."
Russ's grin widened. "Try enjoying yourself. You look like you're waiting for bad news."
A burst of laughter rose from near the pie booth, drawing Caleb’s attention back to Amy.
Maggie stood beside her with sugar dusting her mouth, while Noah held half a pastry, attempting to explain why Maggie had eaten hers before the game began.
Amy crouched between them, listening with patient concentration before wiping Maggie’s face with a folded handkerchief.
The sight struck Caleb harder than the whispers around him.
Amy had arrived as a stranger, yet she cared for the children with a tenderness no arrangement could have required. Caleb had believed he alone stood between them and further loss, but Amy had quickly become part of their safety without demanding recognition.
Maggie placed one sticky hand against Amy’s cheek, leaving sugar near her jaw.
Amy laughed and caught her wrist before the child could add another mark, then drew both children toward the ring toss booth.
Warmth moved through Caleb with enough force to unsettle him because the scene resembled the family he had once refused to imagine.
Amy belonged beside Noah and Maggie with a natural ease that had nothing to do with duty, and he wanted to belong there with them.
A woman passing by with her husband offered Caleb a cautious nod. He returned it, though her gaze shifted toward Amy before she leaned closer to the man beside her.
Caleb heard his name beneath the surrounding noise, and tension entered his jaw while he watched the couple walk away.
Six years earlier, he would have followed them and demanded they speak plainly, but creating a scene would have made Amy’s first festival memorable for every wrong reason.
He crossed toward the game booth instead.
Noah stood behind a painted line with three wooden rings held in one hand. Amy remained near his shoulder, offering advice that sounded encouraging without pretending the task was easy.
“Look where you want the ring to go,” she instructed him. “Throwing harder won’t improve the direction.”
Caleb stopped beside her. “That principle applies to most things.”
Amy glanced up, and her smile arrived before she remembered their still unresolved distance. “You may need to explain that to Maggie.”
Maggie had abandoned the throwing line and stood near a display of sugared nuts, watching them with open longing.
Caleb placed one hand on the back of her dress before she wandered farther, getting her attention. “Your turn comes after Noah’s.”
Noah threw the first ring, which struck a bottle and bounced toward the attendant’s feet. His shoulders dropped, though Amy touched his arm before frustration could settle in.
“You nearly had it,” she said. “Aim a little farther back.”
Caleb expected Noah to question the advice, yet the boy only adjusted his stance and tried again. The second ring circled the neck of a blue bottle before sliding into place.
Noah stared at it, then turned toward Caleb with astonishment brightening his face. “I did it!”
“You did,” Caleb said, unable to hold back his own smile.
“Now choose your prize before the man changes his mind.” The attendant laughed and invited Noah to select from a row of carved toys.
Noah chose a small bay horse, then offered his final ring to Maggie without being asked.
She accepted it with both hands and marched toward the line.
Amy stood beside Caleb as Maggie prepared to throw. “That was kind of him.”
“He’ll remind her of it during their next argument, I’m sure.”
“He still deserves credit now.”
Caleb looked to Amy, finding a gentleness in her expression that made the surrounding crowd less important. Sugar remained near her jaw where Maggie had touched her face, and he fought the urge to brush it away.
“She’s smiling more now, even if she still doesn’t always heed me,” he said.
Amy’s attention returned to the children. “Maggie listens when the advice suits her.”
“Noah does too.”
“He wants to do well.”
“He trusts you enough to fail where you can see him,” Caleb remarked.
Amy turned toward him again, appearing surprised by the observation.
Caleb wished he possessed Russ’s ability to speak without weighing each word, because the warmth in her face encouraged truths he still struggled to offer.
“You’ve given them room to be children. “I didn’t realize how much they needed that,” he admitted.
The words fell short of everything he wanted to say, but Amy’s expression softened. “They needed to feel safe before they could stop resisting all the changes around them,” she murmured.
“Yes. And you gave them that.” Caleb held her gaze while the noise of the festival swelled around them. The words carried the same quiet promise he had felt when she studied the ranch accounts beside him.
Maggie threw her ring with both hands at that moment, sending it past the bottles and beneath the rear table. “I aimed far,” she announced. Amy turned away with a laugh, and Caleb felt the warmth inside him deepen.
The afternoon passed in a blur of small competitions and more sweets than the children had ever been allowed at home.
Noah entered a sack race and finished near the middle after falling once, while Maggie insisted on joining a beanbag game intended for older children.
Amy praised both of them without exaggerating their success, and Caleb found himself watching her more often than the games.