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“I think she misjudged you,” Luke said, smirking.
“In what way?” Although he was pretty sure he knew. He’d already heard that Clara said he was an intimidating boss. A hard driver.
He shook his head when Luke looked uncomfortable.
“Never mind. She probably said something like I was demanding and maybe a little bit scary and intimidating. And none of those things would be untrue. But...” He was a little uncomfortable just saying it, but again, the truth was the truth. “I was in church last week, and I realized a lot of things that I should have been doing but haven’t been. I decided I was going to make some changes, not the least of which was to stop trusting in myself and start trusting in Jesus. I guess that would be the first thing, but I suppose that all three of you know that when you do that, life has a tendency to change.”
“It should. But a lot of times, it doesn’t,” Luke said easily.
“I’m glad to hear it. Actually, I’m really glad to hear it,” Matt said thoughtfully. Then, a grin broke across his face. “So Clara wanted the schoolhouse?”
There was a little bit of insinuation in those words, and Alex didn’t have any trouble hearing it.
“She did. She... She was the reason I was in church. And I’ve never worked with anyone I enjoy working with more. I suppose the idea that she might not stay with me, and that she might be opening up a shop of her own, prompted me to make some changes. Which forced me to recognize the fact that I wasn’t really living like I should be.”
“How about we sit down and talk about it. That food smells really good,” Luke said, pointing to the casserole that Davis carried with the plates he held in his hand.
“Mind if we join you?” Matt said again.
“Sure. I don’t know how sturdy that picnic table is. It looks like it’s been here since before the war, but we can try it. Nice views anyway.”
“I don’t know about the war, but it’s been there since I went to school here anyway,” Luke said good-naturedly as they started toward the table Alex had indicated.
“It’s pretty sturdy. Just don’t slide across the board, you might get a splinter in your butt, and I’m not taking it out for you,” Matt said, looking at what Alex assumed to be his little brother. Even though Luke was taller than Matt.
“I think my wife would get any splinters out that I got, but I’m not sure she’d appreciate it, so I think I’ll be careful. Thanks for the warning,” Davis said, setting the casserole down on the table.
Matt set down the cooler he carried along with the cups, and before long, they had the plates out, the food dished, and Luke had said the blessing.
“You haven’t seen a little girl running around here anywhere, have you?” Davis said casually after they talked about the weather and a few other things that were happening in town. The Harvest Festival being one. Which had Alex wanting to roll his eyes at how small towns loved their festivals.
“No. Did someone lose a child?” Alex asked, surprised that he hadn’t heard as much from Clara. In fact, he hadn’t heard anything from her all day. He’d told her to take Monday off, and since he hadn’t been in town, he hadn’t seen her.
He had to admit there was a small part of him that hoped she would come up, if not to see him, at least to see the school. He just wanted to...talk to her for a few minutes. Funny how when she was gone, he missed her like that.
“Not really. My wife just said the little girl that’s been helping us with the stable—she must be twelve or fourteen or something like that—admitted to her today that her sister is in foster care here in Strawberry Sands, and the older girl ran away from her foster home so that she could be with her sister. My wife got the impression that she is...homeless.”
“The little girl that works in the stable? Becky?” Matt said, knowing immediately who Davis was talking about.
“Yeah. Becky.”
“What about the boy that’s with her?”
“I didn’t think to ask about him. I assumed that was her brother. Or maybe she told me it was. Honestly, with Kathleen being in the NICU, that’s where all of my focus was, and I was just thrilled to have dependable people helping me with the horses. I didn’t think to question her too much. Of course, my wife has different instincts, and ever since we brought Kathleen home, she’s been worrying this question in her mind, where the little girl is from, where her parents are, and what’s going on with her.” Davis shrugged, like he couldn’t help it that he’d missed all of that.
“So you think the little girl has been just hanging out in town? Living nowhere? Where is she sleeping?” Alex asked, thinking back to his own childhood. He’d been neglected, sure. But he’d always had a home.
“I’m not sure. I don’t think she knows either.”
“I’ve seen her at the diner. Maybe she’s taking the money that she’s earning there and buying food for herself at the diner.” Luke lifted his shoulder, sticking a forkful of food in his mouth.
“Should we find her and give her something to eat?” Alex asked, more concerned than he liked to admit.
“My wife is feeding her now. She had to use the restroom, and my wife called me, just to clue me in on what was going on. She asked if I could make some discreet inquiries. The little girl was very concerned that the authorities were going to come and take her away and she wouldn’t be able to see her sister anymore. My wife didn’t want that to happen, because Becky isn’t the kind of person who trusts very easily, and Kim didn’t want her to get stabbed in the back.”
“You guys should adopt her,” Matt said easily, his eyes following one of the horses as it lifted its head, then galloped across the field and down over the hill.
Alex watched the horse too, remembering that horses made up a good portion of the paintings that Clara had drawn. Maybe that was another reason why she liked the school better than she liked the fancy new house.
