Page 7 of Montana Groom of Convenience
Sawyer caught her arm. “No more running into the street.”
They exited into the empty waiting room.
“Wait,” Carly said.
Sawyer stopped and gave her a hard look. “You’re changing your mind again?”
“I never changed my mind before, and I don’t plan to now. But I think we should tell Jill our plans.”
His gaze went to his sister. “Why?”
Annoyance colored her voice. “Because it concerns her.”
Sawyer and Jill looked at her, one as silently demanding as the other. Carly sucked in air. Fine. She’d be the one to tell the news.
She sat on the bench so she’d be face-level with Jill. “I’m very sorry about your mama and papa. You must miss them very much.”
Jill blinked twice and then grew impassive.
Carly glanced at Sawyer. His expression matched Jill’s. The child had already learned to hide her feelings and had learned it well from someone who admitted to being very good at it.
“Sawyer—” She stumbled a bit at using his name so freely, but seeing as they were to be married... “Well, he wants you to have a home where you’ll always belong.”
Jill’s eyes darted toward her brother. “He’s gonna leave me here, isn’t he?”
“No, sweetie. That isn’t what he has in mind at all. You see, I have a very nice home that needs a—” She couldn’t bring herself to say a man. “A family. You need a home. I need a family. So your brother and I are going to get married, and we all get what we need.”
Jill stared, her brown eyes intense, but Carly couldn’t tell if she approved of the idea or found it loathsome. “Is that okay with you?”
“What kind of home you got?”
“I live on a ranch with my father. We have horses and cows?—”
“Puppies and kitties?”
“Not at the moment.” Carly promised herself she’d get one of each as soon as possible. “We had a dog, but he died during the winter. He was old.” Carly missed him and hadn’t considered replacing him yet. It was time to think about one now. Every child needed pets.
“I’d have to work?”
“You’d have chores. We all would. It’s how families operate.”
Jill nodded. “That’s what Mama said, too.” She nodded. “Okay.”
Sawyer cleared his throat. “Seems we’re all agreed.”
“Then let’s go find the preacher.” Carly led the way out of the doctor’s house. She turned left, marched past the schoolhouse where Jill would soon be attending, past the town square with trees budding and flowers pushing up through the sod. They turned by the church and went to the manse where Hugh had his office. The three of them stood at the doorway. It felt strange to be coming to this entrance. Carly always went to the door that opened to the kitchen. She knocked.
Hugh opened the door, a smile driving deep dimples into his cheeks. “Carly, go round to the kitchen. Annie’s there.”
“I’ve come to see you.” Remembering the other two, she corrected herself. “We’ve come to see you.”
Hugh’s mobile face sobered and a hard look replaced his smile. He surely must wonder why Carly had brought a man and a child to his office.
“Then, by all means, come right in.” He waved them toward the pair ofchairs facing the desk, realized he needed another chair, and snagged one from against the wall.
They sat. Carly to the right, Sawyer to the left and Jill in the middle. Hugh took his place across the desk from them.
Carly had always liked Hugh. He was darkly handsome with a quick smile and those lovely deep dimples in his cheeks. And single-minded. He’d come to town to find his missing son, Evan, and hadn’t given up until he’d rescued the boy, not unlike Sawyer’s situation. Surely, he’d see the similarities and it would make him eager to help.
