She was stacking the plates.
“About what?”
“The food.”
Her hands stopped.
Caleb lowered his voice.
“Did you buy something in town?”
“We haven't been to town.”
“Then where did the extra food come from?”
Adeline looked toward the window.
“I had a little money.”
“How much?”
“Not much.”
“Adeline.”
She set the plates down.
“I bought a few things before I left Kettle Creek.”
“You told me you had almost nothing.”
“I said I had no steady work. I didn't say I had no money at all.”
“How much did you spend?”
She did not answer.
Caleb's concern sharpened.
“Did you use all of it?”
Adeline looked at him.
“Most of it.”
He stared at her.
“You spent your money feeding my children?”
“They needed a Christmas breakfast.”
“They needed you to keep enough money to get to Bishop's Ford.”
“I can walk when the roads clear.”
“You've already walked three days through a snowstorm.”
“I can do it again.”
He took a step toward her.
“Why would you do that?”
Adeline's expression changed. For the first time, a trace of impatience entered her voice.
“Because they are children, Caleb.”
“They're my children.”
“Yes,” she replied. “And I am not asking you to forget that.”
“Then why are you acting as though their needs are yours to carry?”
She looked at him for a long moment.
“Because I know what it is to sit at a table and pretend you aren't hungry so that someone younger can eat.”
The words landed between them.
Caleb remembered the wrapped biscuit beside her plate. He remembered the way she had saved food without explanation, the careful manner in which she had stretched every meal, and the worn condition of her boots.
He looked at the table.
“Is that what you've been doing?”
Adeline lowered her eyes.
“Sometimes.”
“How often?”
She did not answer.
“Adeline, how often?”
“Enough.”
He felt anger rise, but it was not anger at her. It was anger at the world that had taught a woman to hide her hunger while feeding other people's children. It was anger at himself for noticing the extra food before noticing the cost.
He dragged a hand over his face.
“You should have told me.”
“Would you have let me spend the money?”
“No.”
“Then I suppose I made the right decision.”
He stared at her.
She looked frightened now, but she did not retreat from what she had said.