Then he answered honestly.
"At the time, perhaps."
He looked toward the window.
"I thought love meant promising someone a life you knew how to provide. I couldn't promise her the one she wanted."
Clara nodded slowly.
"What happened to her?"
"Married a schoolmaster. Moved east."
"Are they happy?"
"I hope so."
For a while, neither spoke.
Then Clara asked softly, "And you?"
Caleb looked at her.
He took a breath.
"I've had a good life."
She smiled faintly.
"That wasn't quite what I asked."
He laughed.
"No."
Then his expression softened.
"I've been lonely."
Clara felt something move inside her chest.
Caleb continued.
"Didn't realize how much until I started coming down here."
She looked up.
He held her gaze.
"At first, I thought I just liked your coffee."
Clara laughed.
He smiled.
"Then I found myself thinking about what you'd say when I saw something interesting on the trail."
Her eyes filled.
He continued.
"Or wondering whether you'd enjoy the sunset from my ridge."
He looked toward their joined hands.
"And I started looking forward to the sound of your voice more than anything I was doing alone."
Clara swallowed.
"Caleb."
He looked up.
She could barely speak.
"I don't know what to do with that."
His expression softened.
"You don't have to do anything tonight."
She nodded.
He smiled gently.
"We've got a winter to get through."
Clara laughed through tears.
"That we do."
He lifted her hand.
Pressed a gentle kiss against her knuckles.
Then released it carefully.
And for the rest of the evening, Clara felt a warmth that had nothing to do with the stove.
The meeting with Amos Pike was quieter than Clara expected.
She had imagined an argument.
Perhaps shouting.
Perhaps the merchant accusing her of trying to ruin him.
Instead, Pike sat behind his counter with the old account book open in front of him, looking as though he had discovered a fault in the foundation beneath his own house.
Hester stood beside him.
Martha Bell sat near the stove.
Elijah Ward, the retired justice of the peace, had brought his spectacles and several sheets of paper.
Clara remained seated across from the merchant.
Caleb waited near the door, not because he intended to intimidate anyone, but because he had agreed to carry the supplies back to the church afterward.
For nearly an hour, Pike compared the old association records with his commercial ledgers.
Then he removed another book from a locked drawer.
Its cover was dark red leather.
He opened it.
Turned several pages.
And stopped.
"Well."
Clara leaned forward.
"What?"
Pike ran one finger down a column.
"There's an entry from when I bought the store."
Elijah Ward adjusted his spectacles.
"May I?"
Pike turned the book.
The older man read carefully.
Then looked toward the association agreement.