PART 3 — THE BOY WHO WAS ALREADY PROMISED AWAY

“Will you take my brother too?”

The question hung in the cold November air.

Levi Ransom looked down at the little boy hiding behind Hannah’s skirt. Toby’s fingers were wrapped around the wooden spool, and his eyes moved nervously from Levi’s boots to the horse standing beside him.

Then Levi looked at Hannah.

She was trying very hard not to cry again.

“Miss Pike,” he said gently, “come here a moment.”

Hannah тιԍнтened her grip on her brother’s hand.

“I won’t go without him.”

“I didn’t ask you to.”

“You might change your mind.”

Levi slowly lowered himself onto one knee. His old joints protested, but he paid them no attention.

“Listen to me, Hannah. I came here looking for a child. I found two. That’s a different matter, and it deserves a proper answer.”

Toby peered around his sister.

“Do you like horses?” Levi asked him.

The boy said nothing.

“That’s all right. Duke isn’t much of a talker either.”

Hannah glanced at Toby, and for the first time since coming outside, the corner of her mouth lifted.

Levi continued, “I can’t promise you everything will be easy. My ranch is a long way from town, and winter is coming. But I can promise that nobody will ask you to leave your brother behind.”

Hannah’s eyes filled again.

“Both of us?”

“Both of you.”

Before she could answer, the front door opened sharply.

Mrs. Vane stood on the porch, her keys jingling at her waist.

“Mr. Ransom, I must speak with you.”

Levi stood.

“About what?”

“Your application concerns Hannah Pike. Toby has already been matched with another household. The arrangements are complete.”

Hannah’s hand тιԍнтened around Toby’s.

“Who matched him?” Levi asked.

“A respectable widow from Denver. Mrs. Eleanor Bell. She has written to us several times and is prepared to offer the boy a comfortable home.”

“What about Hannah?”

“Her placement is a separate matter.”

“Then it shouldn’t be.”

Mrs. Vane’s expression hardened.

“You cannot simply take both children because the girl has become attached to her brother.”

Levi looked at her for a long moment.

“Attached?” he repeated. “He’s her brother.”

Clara Whitby appeared behind the matron.

“Mrs. Vane, perhaps we should let Mr. Ransom see the children’s records before making any decisions.”

“The records are not for casual inspection.”

“I believe he has a right to know what he is being asked to consider.”

Mrs. Vane gave Clara a warning look, but the young teacher did not step aside.

Levi removed his hat.

“Then let’s consider it properly.”

Inside, Toby sat beside Hannah on the long bench. He placed his wooden spool between them, as though it were something precious that might be taken away if he let go.

Mrs. Vane brought out two thin folders.

“Hannah’s parents died in a fever last spring,” she explained. “The children were brought here by a neighbor. They have no close relatives willing to take responsibility.”

“Any family names?”

“None that have offered ᴀssistance.”

“And Toby’s placement?”

“A letter arrived from Mrs. Bell. She has a house in Denver, no children of her own, and sufficient means. She intends to collect him this afternoon.”

Levi looked at the clock.

“How long until she arrives?”

“Two hours, perhaps less.”

Hannah went pale.

“Please,” she whispered. “Don’t let them take him.”

Levi turned toward her.

“No one is taking anybody anywhere until I understand what’s happening.”

Mrs. Vane tapped the folders with one finger.

“Mr. Ransom, you should understand that adopting two children is considerably more complicated than adopting one. There are expenses, schooling, medical care, legal proceedings—”

“I own three thousand acres.”

“That does not make you a father.”

The room fell silent.

Levi looked at the woman.

“No,” he said. “It doesn’t. I suppose I’ll have to learn.”

Clara’s expression softened.

She opened Hannah’s folder and pulled out a small sheet of paper.

“There is something else.”

Mrs. Vane immediately reached for it.

“Miss Whitby.”

But Clara held it back.

“This was found among the children’s belongings when they arrived.”

Levi took the paper.

It was a letter, folded so many times that the creases had begun to split. The writing was uneven, as though the person who had written it had been in a hurry.

At the top were two names:

Hannah and Toby.

Below them were only a few lines.

If anything happens to me, keep my children together. Hannah is brave, but she is only a little girl. Toby needs his sister. Please don’t let them grow up thinking they were left behind.

There was no signature.

Levi read it twice.

“Who wrote this?”

“Possibly their mother,” Clara said. “We cannot be certain.”

Hannah stared at the letter.

“It’s Mama’s.”

Her voice was barely audible.

“How do you know?” Levi asked.

“She wrote our names that way. She always made the H too tall.”

Toby leaned against his sister.

Levi carefully folded the letter and returned it to Clara.

“Then I have my answer.”

Mrs. Vane frowned.

“You cannot decide based on a sentimental note.”

“I’ve decided based on two children who have already lost their parents. I won’t make them lose each other too.”

“But the board—”

“I’ll speak to the board. I’ll speak to the judge. I’ll pay whatever legitimate expenses are required. And if the law says I must wait, I’ll wait.”

He paused.

“But I won’t leave without making certain these two have a chance to stay together.”

A knock sounded at the front door.

Mrs. Vane looked toward the hall.

“That will be Mrs. Bell.”

Hannah’s face crumpled.

Toby stood so quickly that his spool fell from his hand and rolled beneath the bench.

Levi bent, retrieved it, and placed it in the boy’s palm.

“Keep that safe,” he said.

Then he walked toward the door.

A woman in a dark green traveling coat stood outside beside a polished carriage. She was perhaps fifty, with a silver brooch at her collar and a small leather case in one hand.

“Mrs. Bell,” Mrs. Vane said. “You have arrived.”

The woman stepped inside.

“I hope I haven’t kept anyone waiting. The road was dreadful.”

Her gaze settled on Toby.

“There you are, young man.”

Toby moved behind Hannah.

Mrs. Bell noticed.

“Shy, is he?”

“He’s frightened,” Levi answered.

The woman looked at him.

“And you are?”

“Levi Ransom.”

“Ah. The gentleman interested in Hannah.”

“That’s right.”

Mrs. Bell glanced toward the little boy again.

“I understand you’ve come to take the girl. I am here for Toby.”

Levi stood between her and the children.

“I’m afraid that arrangement is going to need reconsidering.”

Mrs. Bell’s eyebrows rose.

“On what grounds?”

“Because the children belong together.”

The woman gave a restrained sigh.

“Mr. Ransom, I have traveled a considerable distance. I have prepared a room for this boy. I’ve purchased clothing and made arrangements for his education.”

“I don’t doubt it.”

“Then surely you understand I have made a commitment.”

Levi nodded.

“I understand commitments.”

He looked toward Hannah.

“And I understand what happens when people make decisions about children without asking what those children need.”

Mrs. Bell’s expression changed slightly.

“Are you suggesting I would mistreat him?”

“No. I’m suggesting that he has a sister, and you cannot pretend she doesn’t exist.”

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Then Mrs. Bell looked at Toby.

“Would you like to come with me, dear?”

The boy said nothing.

Hannah bent toward him.

“You can tell her.”

Toby pressed the spool against his chest.

Finally, he whispered two words.

“Hannah stays.”

Mrs. Bell looked surprised.

“What was that?”

“He says he wants his sister,” Clara explained.

The woman glanced toward Mrs. Vane, then back at Levi.

“I see.”

She closed her leather case.

“I won’t force a child into a home where he is unhappy. But I do hope you understand that I cannot wait indefinitely.”

Levi nodded.

“That’s fair.”

Mrs. Bell turned to leave, then stopped.

“Mr. Ransom?”

“Yes?”

“Make certain you know what you’re promising. Children remember promises longer than grown people do.”

When the door closed behind her, Levi stood quietly for a moment.

Then he turned toward Hannah and Toby.

“Now,” he said, “I believe there’s a ranch that needs two new visitors.”

Hannah did not move.

“Are we really going?”

“Not until the proper papers are signed. But you can come with me for a visit, if Mrs. Vane and the board agree.”

Hannah looked at Clara.

Clara nodded.

“I’ll make certain everything is arranged correctly.”

Toby took one cautious step toward Levi.

Then another.

He held out his little wooden spool.

Levi looked at it.

“What’s this?”

Toby whispered, “For you.”

Levi accepted it with both hands.

“I’ll keep it safe.”

And for the first time that morning, Toby smiled.

But as Levi helped the children gather their few belongings, Clara noticed something strange in the bottom of Toby’s folder.

A second letter.

It had not been there when she first opened the file.

And the handwriting on its envelope was unmistakably different.

It was addressed to:

The man who comes for Hannah Pike.

Clara’s face lost its color.

“Mr. Ransom,” she said quietly. “I think you need to read this before you take them anywhere.”