Page 284 of Conveniently Wed
Stella chuckled at her annoyance. “It is my home.”
So, she’d been here weeks, not days.
“We can help you find your traveling companions,” Bruce said.
Her fists clenched. “I never want to see them again.”
“Why is that?”
Stella marveled at Bruce’s calm patience as he prodded for an explanation.
Clara glowered. “Because they aren’t good.” She tried to push past them. “I’ll take Louie and leave, if you don’t mind.”
Bruce blocked her. “I do mind. You can’t live out there on your own. You need help.”
“My ancestors have survived in this land for years.” Did she mean Indians? Stella looked more closely. She didn’t look very native, but the little boy did.
“Do you have a gun?”
She tried to outstare Bruce.
“That’s what I thought. Doesn’t your brother deserve a safe, warm place?”
At that, Clara’s shoulders sank. “Can I stay in your barn? I won’t be a bother.”
Bruce and Stella looked at each other. She wondered if he had the same thought as she and guessed he did when he gave a tiny nod.
“I needed help too,” Stella began. “That’s why I was away so long. I found a safe place in the town of Glory. You could go there. Go to the place where I found shelter.” She told Clara about the Kinsleys. Clara looked both interested and cautious.
“Think about it,” Bruce said. “If you’re agreeable, I’ll take you there in the morning. In the meantime, you can sleep in the house.”
“I don’t know?—”
“We can sleep in a bed?” An awed voice drew their attention to Louie standing in the doorway. “In your house?” His dark-eyed gaze went from Bruce to Stella.
“If your sister agrees.” Stella didn’t think Clara would be able to deny her brother’s pleading look.
“For tonight only.” She lifted the child into her arms.
Bruce shepherded them all in the direction of the house, perhaps hoping to get them inside before Clara took flight.
Stella managed to catch his attention. “Where are they going to sleep?” she whispered.
“They can have my bed. I’ll sleep in the barn.”
She nodded, not surprised at his offer.
Clara hesitated at the door, drew in a deep breath, and crossed the threshold.
Stella took her to Bruce’s room and saw that they were settled. She wondered if they had eaten, but when she started to ask if they were hungry, Clara glowered so fiercely that she decided against finishing her inquiry. No doubt they would survive until morning.
She left the room, closing the door behind her.
Bruce waited. “I wonder what the real story is.”
Stella shrugged. “She isn’t likely going to tell us anytime soon. The best place they could be is with the preacher and his wife.”
“I agree. Let’s pray they agree to go.”
