She turned.
His expression was gentle.
"I'm here."
Clara began crying.
"I know."
He squeezed her fingers.
"Clara."
She looked toward him.
He hesitated.
Then spoke quietly.
"I was frightened too."
The admission surprised her.
He looked toward the fire.
"When the horse slipped, I thought I might not make it back before the weather turned worse."
Clara swallowed.
Gabriel looked toward her.
"And all I could think about was that you were waiting here."
Her eyes filled further.
He continued.
"I kept imagining you standing by the window."
Clara pressed one hand against her mouth.
Gabriel swallowed.
"For years, I came home because there was a roof and a fire."
He looked directly at her.
"Today, I wanted to come home because you were in it."
Clara began sobbing.
Gabriel drew her gently closer.
She leaned against him, careful of his knee.
He wrapped one arm around her shoulders.
For several minutes, they remained that way.
Neither spoke.
The storm raged.
The fire crackled.
And something between them changed.
For the first time, Gabriel realized that his fear of losing Clara was stronger than his anger about how she had arrived.
He hadn't forgiven her completely.
Trust would still require time.
But he no longer wanted to imagine the ranch without her.
And that frightened him more than he expected.
Near midnight, the storm began easing.
The wind remained strong, but the worst gusts had passed.
Gabriel sat beside the fire with his injured leg raised on a stool.
Clara rested on the neighboring chair, wrapped in a blanket.
Jasper slept between them.
The house was quiet.
For a long time, neither spoke.
Then Gabriel looked toward Clara.
"Are you comfortable?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
He glanced toward her stomach.
For a moment, he hesitated.
Then asked, "Has the baby been moving?"
Clara looked surprised.
She smiled softly.
"Yes."
Gabriel nodded.
"Good."
She watched him.
For a moment, she seemed uncertain whether to say more.
Then a small movement passed beneath her hand.
She looked down.
Smiled.
Gabriel noticed.
"What?"
Clara hesitated.
"The baby's kicking."
He went still.
For a moment, the fire seemed unusually loud.
Clara looked toward him.
She remembered the last time she'd offered to let him feel the movement.
He wasn't ready then.
She hadn't asked again.
Now she simply smiled.
"It's quite lively tonight."
Gabriel studied her.