He wished she would look at him so he could gauge her response. Was she glad of the excuse or merely agreeing for the sake of the girls?
Either way, he only cared that he could delay saying good-night, though the approaching darkness would make it a short outing.
The girls quickly slipped on their coats. Blue and Clara grabbed their own, hurrying to keep pace with the eager children.
Blue caught them before they got out the door. “You’ll have to be very quiet if you want to see any deer.”
Nodding, their eyes bright, they tiptoed out and down the path toward the river. Clara stayed at his side. He tried not to think how good and right this felt...a family outing.
When they’d gone a few moments a flicker of movement in the trees caught his eyes. He planted his hands on the girls’ shoulders to stop them and pointed to the left. “See them in the trees?” There were three deer in the shadows.
Libby squinted and shook her head.
Eleanor caught her breath, and a look of wonder came over her face. “I see them,” she whispered, her eyes round with awe.
The animals’ heads came up, and they pranced away, disappearing in the trees.
“I saw them. I saw them.” Libby jumped up and down. “Can we go closer?”
“They’ll be gone now.” The deer’s keen senses had picked up the human intruders.
“Maybe not. Can we go see? Please?” She turned her blue eyes on him as she begged.
He wondered how anyone refused her requests. “It’s up to your mother.” He glanced back at Clara.
“Is there any danger?”
He quirked an eyebrow. “Do you think I’d be okay with the idea if there was?”
She lifted her hands in the air and grinned. “What was I thinking? Go have a closer look.”
Laughing, he led the way down the bank. The girls continued moving quietly as they scrambled down to the river.
He held out a hand to assist Clara, half expecting she would say she could manage on her own. But she took his hand. He smiled inside when she made no attempt to pull away once she reached the rocky shore. Nor did she resist when he pulled her closer, tucking her hand around his arm.
She didn’t look at him, but he saw the smile curving her lips and his grin came from a spot deep inside his heart that had been locked and silent for two years. It felt good to again feel alive inside.
“Be careful,” Clara called to the girls, who ran ahead. “Stay away from the water.”
“Yes, Mama,” they chorused.
Clara and Blue followed at a more leisurely pace. He, for one, was not anxious for this evening to pass. He allowed himself to think she shared the feeling.
They reached the spot across the river from where he’d seen the deer, and they drew to a halt.
The girls peered into the shadows.
Eleanor released a heavy sigh. “Aw, they’re gone.”
“’Fraid so,” Blue said.
She turned her worried gaze to him. “Were they scared of us?”
“I expect so.”
“But we weren’t going to hurt them.”
“How could they know that? And if they stayed to find out, and you did mean to harm them, it would be too late for them to escape.”
Eleanor turned her serious consideration to her mother. “That’s like Mama.”
Clara pulled back. “What do you mean?”
Eleanor answered her mother’s question. “You keep saying we have to leave, but like the deer, you don’t stay to see if it’s okay or not.”
Clara stared at Eleanor, who gave a shrug and went to join her sister watching the trees, hoping to again see the deer.
Clara shook her head. “Sometimes she says the strangest things.”
“She’s just a child.” But the similarities struck him. If the deer hung about, they would likely be shot. If she stayed, Clara feared her father would find her and take away her children.
“I do understand your need for caution,” he said.
At some point she’d slipped her hand away, and he reached for it and brought her back to his side. “Just remember you aren’t alone.”
She nodded and allowed him to guide her farther along the rocky shore of the river. The girls ran ahead.
He rested his hand over her fingers where they lay on his arm. If only he could lock time to this place and this feeling, hold it forever in his heart.