PART 5 — THE BROTHER WHO WANTED TO TAKE THE GIRLS

The man standing beside Margaret Ellison introduced himself as Mr. Thomas Reed, an attorney from Helena.

He removed his hat and stepped onto the porch.

“Mr. Blackwood, I believe you know why we’re here.”

Wade looked at the envelope in Margaret’s hands.

“No. But I suspect I’m about to.”

The attorney opened his leather case.

“Your brother, Daniel Blackwood, has submitted a formal peтιтion requesting temporary guardianship of your three daughters. He argues that your recent marriage has created an unstable household and that the children would be better raised by their maternal aunt.”

Wade’s expression hardened.

“Daniel hasn’t visited this ranch in nearly two years.”

“He claims that distance has made it difficult for him to intervene sooner.”

Clara appeared behind Wade.

“Intervene?”

Daniel’s attorney looked at her.

“Mrs. Blackwood, the peтιтion specifically questions your influence over the children.”

Clara glanced toward the kitchen.

The girls were watching from the doorway.

She immediately stepped aside so they wouldn’t hear more.

Wade noticed.

“Whatever you need to say, say it to me. Don’t involve my daughters.”

The attorney handed him a document.

Wade read the first paragraph.

Then the second.

By the time he reached the final page, his hands had тιԍнтened around the paper.

Daniel claimed Wade had married Clara for convenience, that she had no genuine maternal relationship with the girls, and that their attachment to her demonstrated an unhealthy dependence.

There was also a statement accusing Clara of attempting to erase the memory of Margaret, the girls’ deceased mother.

Wade slowly lowered the document.

“That is a lie.”

Thomas Reed adjusted his spectacles.

“Your brother has witnesses.”

“Who?”

“Helena Blackwood.”

Everyone turned.

Helena stood near the wagon, her face pale.

Clara looked at her in disbelief.

“You signed something against us?”

Helena didn’t answer immediately.

Then she walked toward the porch.

“I gave Daniel a statement about Margaret’s wishes. I did not know he intended to use it to take the children from Wade.”

Wade’s expression was cold.

“You knew he was preparing a peтιтion.”

“I knew he was concerned about the inheritance.”

“And you said nothing?”

Helena looked toward the girls.

“Because I thought I was protecting them.”

Clara stepped forward.

“From what?”

Helena looked at her.

“From losing another mother.”

Clara shook her head.

“You cannot protect children by making them afraid to love someone.”

For a moment, Helena seemed unable to find an answer.

Then the cabin door opened.

Nora stepped outside holding the old pH๏τograph of Margaret.

“Is Uncle Daniel coming?”

Wade knelt.

“Not today, sweetheart.”

“Is he going to take us away?”

“No.”

Nora looked at Clara.

“Can Mama come too?”

The attorney cleared his throat.

“Children cannot decide these matters.”

Wade stood.

“Perhaps adults should start listening before making decisions about their lives.”

Thomas Reed placed another envelope on the table.

“There’s something else. Your brother has provided a letter bearing Margaret’s original signature.”

Wade went still.

“Let me see it.”

The attorney opened the envelope.

The handwriting was unmistakable.

It was Margaret’s.

To my sister Helena,

If anything happens to me, I want you to remember that the girls must never become bargaining pieces in a family disagreement.

Wade is their father. He must remain their father.

But I have one more wish.

If my younger sister Clara is ever found, I want her to know that she belongs with us. I have spent years searching for her, and I will not allow the distance between us to become another permanent loss.

If she enters the girls’ lives, please welcome her.

She has always had a generous heart.

And if Wade ever becomes too afraid to let happiness return to his home, remind him that love is not a limited thing.

Margaret.

Wade read the letter again.

Then he looked at Clara.

She was staring at the page as though the handwriting had opened a door into a life she had never known.

“My sister,” she whispered.

Helena nodded.

“Margaret found you shortly before she became ill. She wrote to you, but the letter was returned. She was preparing to travel east when her health worsened.”

Clara’s eyes filled.

“She knew where I was?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Helena lowered her head.

“Because I was afraid. Margaret had spent years looking for you, and when she finally found you, I thought she would leave everything to you. I was afraid of losing my place in the family.”

Clara looked at her for a long moment.

“You weren’t losing your place. I was coming home.”

Helena began to cry.

Wade folded Margaret’s letter carefully.

Then he turned toward the attorney.

“This changes nothing about my responsibility as their father. But it changes everything about the claim that Clara has no place in this family.”

Thomas Reed studied the letter.

“I’ll need to review its authenticity.”

“Then review it.”

“And Daniel will likely request a hearing.”

“Let him.”

The attorney closed his case.

“One more thing, Mr. Blackwood. Your brother intends to arrive tomorrow.”

Wade nodded.

“Then he’ll find me here.”

That evening, Clara sat beside the kitchen window while the girls prepared their lessons.

Wade entered carrying two cups of tea.

He placed one beside her.

“You’ve been quiet.”

“I’m thinking.”

“About Margaret?”

Clara nodded.

“I spent most of my childhood wondering whether I had ever belonged to anyone. I was told my family couldn’t keep me. Then I grew up believing my sister was gone.”

She looked at the pH๏τograph.

“And now I find out she spent years looking for me.”

Wade pulled out the chair opposite her.

“She never stopped.”

Clara looked up.

“How can you be certain?”

“Because I read what she wrote.”

He hesitated.

“There’s something else I should tell you.”

“What?”

“When I first married you, I thought I was hiring help for my household.”

Clara’s expression changed slightly.

“I know.”

“I was wrong.”

He placed his hands on the table.

“You became the person my daughters ran to when they were frightened. You taught them to read. You gave them reasons to laugh. And you did all that while I was too busy believing I already knew what they needed.”

Clara looked away.

“I didn’t do it to earn anything.”

“I know. That’s why it matters.”

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then Wade asked quietly:

“Would you still want to teach at the schoolhouse?”

Clara looked surprised.

“You remember?”

“I remember every word of that letter now.”

She smiled faintly.

“I still want to.”

“Then we’ll make it happen.”

He glanced toward the girls.

“And I’ll take over the morning chores so you don’t have to do everything before leaving.”

Clara laughed softly.

“You don’t know how to braid June’s hair.”

“Then I’ll learn.”

“You don’t know how to mend Nora’s dresses.”

“I’ll learn that too.”

“And Daisy won’t eat breakfast unless somebody sits with her.”

Wade looked toward his daughter.

“Then I’ll sit.”

Clara’s eyes softened.

For the first time, Wade wasn’t promising to change simply because he feared losing his household.

He was beginning to understand what it meant to share it.

The next morning, Daniel Blackwood arrived.

He stepped down from his carriage wearing a fine black coat and carrying a polished walking stick.

He looked at Wade.

Then at Clara.

Then at the three girls standing behind them.

“So,” he said, “this is the household everyone has been talking about.”

Wade didn’t move.

“What do you want, Daniel?”

“To discuss what is best for the children.”

“They’re standing right here. You can start by asking what they want.”

Daniel smiled thinly.

“Children don’t understand these matters.”

June took Clara’s hand.

Then she did something nobody expected.

She stepped forward.

“Uncle Daniel?”

He looked down.

“Yes?”

“Are you going to make Mama leave?”

Daniel glanced at Clara.

“I don’t believe that is an appropriate question.”

June’s eyes filled.

“Then why did you bring papers?”

Wade’s expression changed.

He looked at his brother.

“You see? That’s what your papers have done.”

Daniel’s smile disappeared.

And then Nora reached into her pocket.

She pulled out a folded piece of paper.

“Papa, I think this belongs to you.”

Wade opened it.

It was a drawing made by all three girls.

A small wooden house stood beneath a mountain.

Four figures stood in front of it.

Wade.

Clara.

And the three little girls.

Above them, in crooked letters, Nora had written:

OUR FAMILY. NOBODY LEFT BEHIND.

Wade looked at the drawing for a long moment.

Then he looked at Daniel.

“You can take your peтιтion to court.”

Daniel’s expression hardened.

“Gladly.”

“But you’re not taking my daughters.”

Daniel leaned closer.

“You might not have a choice.”

He handed Wade another envelope.

Inside was a document signed by a county judge.

And Wade quickly realized that the battle for his daughters had already begun.