“Why’d you do it?”
Hays leaned against the fence, putting his forearms on the top rail, lowering his eyes to allow his Stetson to cover his face. “I was just trying to make her happy. I knew she’d be heartbroken if she found out there wasn’t enough money to pay for the school building.”
Pa was quiet for a moment, and then he sighed. “There’s something you and I need to get straight. Something I’ve put off for too long.”
Apprehension snaked its way up Hays’s spine, until he was standing straight.
Pa’s blue eyes were locked on Hays’s face. “Son, you can’t fix the world.”
“I know that—”
“Do you?” Pa took a slow drink of coffee. “I’ve known you all your life. You think you can shield your loved ones from pain, but sometimes the only way to learn a lesson is to struggle through the hurt.”
“If it’s in my power to stop it, why shouldn’t I try?”
“There have been times when I saw you and your brothers walking toward trouble, but sometimes I had to let you go through it.” Pa pointed out a mesquite tree sitting next to El Regalo. “See that tree?”
Hays nodded.
“Do you know what makes it so strong?”
“No, sir.”
“Storms. When the wind blows against it, the tree is strengthened. If there weren’t storms, the tree would be weak and wouldn’t stand up straight.” He looked back at Hays. “We get strong by enduring the storms of life. If we’re always sheltered, we’d be too weak to stand. Emma is no different. She’s a strong woman, and she doesn’t need you to protect her from the things she can bear on her own.”
“But what if something is too hard for her to withstand?”
“That’s when you need to stand beside her and lend her your strength—not by taking away the storm, but by holding her up through it.”
Hays let out a long sigh.
The sun peeked above the horizon, tinting the land in shades of pink. What Pa said was true, though it wouldn’t be easy to do.
“I think I’ll mosey on into the kitchen and see if Perla has started breakfast.” Pa took another sip of coffee and turned toward the house.
“Pa.” Hays put his hand on his father’s arm to stop him. “I respect your desire for me to marry, but I need you to know that I’ve made up my mind about something.”
Pa studied Hays. “Go ahead.”
“I love Emma and I plan to ask her to marry me.” Hays paused and took a deep breath. “But if she won’t, then I’ll have to forfeit my inheritance.”
“You’re willing to give it all up for her?”
“I won’t marry someone I don’t love just to hold on to a piece of property.” He swallowed, realizing all he’d give up if Emma rejected his proposal.
“You’ve loved that land all your life, yet you’ve only known her for a couple of months. Are ya sure?”
The ache in Hays’s chest wasn’t from fear of losing the land; it was fear of losing Emma. “I’ve never been so sure in my life.”
A smile lifted Pa’s whiskered cheeks. “And you’ve never made me prouder.” He pulled Hays into an embrace. “I love you, son. You have my blessing to do whatever you need to do to be happy.”
Hays squeezed his pa close, his throat tightening with emotion. “I love you, too.”
He’d do what he could to please his pa—even if it meant disappointing him from time to time.
Emma sat on the wrought-iron bench in her parents’ backyard, her head bent in prayer as the midmorning sun climbed higher in the eastern sky. She had a lot to think about on this Sunday morning as her father’s sermon drifted out the open windows of the church. Papa hadn’t asked her if she was coming to the service. He knew she needed time alone.
A sparrow sang in a nearby tree, drawing Emma’s attention to the dry, barren land just behind the hedge. What she wouldn’t give to sit by the Sabinal right now, under the canopy of trees, and let the soothing water carry her troubles away.
The thought made her pause. Until now, every time she had craved the peace of a river, she had yearned for the Mississippi—this was the first time she had yearned for the Sabinal.
It was the one place in Hartville where she felt truly at home—but whether it was because of the river or because of Hays’s company and the tender kiss they had shared, she couldn’t be sure.
Thoughts of Hays made her sigh and turn again to prayer. She had come to respect Hays more than anyone she’d ever met, which made his decision last night all the harder to bear. The money wasn’t the real issue. It was the feeling of dishonesty behind his act and the sense that she didn’t know whether she could trust him, especially where her heart was concerned. Was he being dishonest about other things? Like his desire to marry her for love, and not to claim his land?
The final hymn came to an end, but it would be some time before her family came back to the house.
Emma closed her eyes and imagined she was sitting on the banks of the Sabinal under those glorious trees.
“Miss Longley?”