"And some don't know what they're seeing."
Clara began crying.
He drew her carefully into his arms.
She rested against him.
For a long time, they watched the valley.
Then Caleb whispered, "I want you in my life because you're Clara."
She closed her eyes.
"Not because you can feed a settlement."
He smiled against her hair.
"Though I won't complain about your cooking."
She laughed through tears.
He held her a little closer.
And in the bright winter sunlight, Clara began to believe that love might be something she could receive without proving she deserved it first.
Benjamin Ellis recovered slowly.
By the middle of February, his fever had eased, his breathing improved, and Dr. Avery was cautiously hopeful.
The boy remained weak.
But he could sit by the stove and eat small meals.
His mother brought him to Clara's cabin one afternoon.
He held a folded piece of paper.
Clara looked up.
"Benjamin!"
He smiled shyly.
"Hello."
She approached.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better."
"Good."
He held out the paper.
"I made this."
Clara accepted it.
Inside was a drawing.
A large woman stood beside a stove.
A mountain man stood near the door.
Several children sat around a table.
At the top, written in uncertain letters, were the words:
THE HOUSE THAT FED US.
Clara stared.
Her throat tightened.
Benjamin pointed toward the large woman.
"That's you."
She nodded.
"I can see."
"And that's Mr. Morgan."
Caleb, standing nearby, leaned closer.
"Very handsome fellow."
The boy laughed.
Clara smiled through tears.
"Thank you, sweetheart."
Benjamin looked toward the drawing.
Then said, "My mother says you helped us."
Clara knelt carefully.
"Lots of people helped."
He nodded.
"But you let us come inside."
Her eyes filled.
She touched the paper gently.
For a moment, she remembered the first night.
The frozen children.
The crowded cabin.
The little girl asking whether the jars contained food.
Clara looked toward Benjamin.
"I'm glad you came."
He smiled.
Then hugged her.
She held him carefully.
His mother wiped her eyes.
And Caleb stood beside the stove looking at the woman he loved with an expression he no longer tried to hide.
The next danger arrived as a letter.
It came from the bank's creditor agent in a larger town beyond the mountains.
The message had been carried through the upper trail during a brief break in the weather.
Amos Pike read it twice.
Then brought it to Clara.
She was working at the church.
He approached with the paper clenched in his hand.