Thomas almost smiled.
“You?”
“Yes.”
She leaned closer.
“You love them.”
“But love needs attention.”
Thomas’s eyes filled.
“I work.”
“I know.”
“So change how you work.”
That was not easy.
Thomas hired another ranch hand.
Money was tight.
Still did it.
He returned earlier twice each week.
One evening he helped Luke repair a broken clock mechanism.
Another he listened to Caleb explain cattle breeding for nearly an hour.
He tucked Jonah into bed.
Awkwardly.
Jonah asked:
“Are you sick?”
Thomas laughed.
“No.”
“Why are you here?”
That question nearly broke him.
“Because I should be.”
Edwin stayed a week.
He watched.
At the end, he withdrew the threat of legal action.
Not because Mercy convinced him.
Thomas did.
That mattered.
Before leaving, Edwin found Mercy alone.
“You’ve done good work here.”
Mercy looked at him.
“Thank you.”
“I misjudged you.”
“Yes.”
He blinked.
Mercy smiled.
“You expected me to say otherwise?”
“No.”
He almost laughed.
Then:
“Thomas intends to marry you?”
Mercy’s cheeks warmed.
“You should ask Thomas.”
“I’m asking you.”
Mercy looked toward the yard.
“I don’t know.”
“Why?”
She thought.
“Because I need to know he wants a wife.”
“Not a replacement for the labor he lost.”
Edwin’s expression softened.
“You’re wiser than Anna was at your age.”
Mercy immediately disliked the comparison.
“Anna deserves better than being used to compliment me.”
Edwin went still.
Then nodded slowly.
“You’re right.”
Another small correction.
Life at Bell Ranch became warmer because people were increasingly willing to be corrected.
Not always gracefully.
But enough.
Thomas finally asked Mercy to marry him in April.
Badly.
She was kneading bread.
Naturally.
He entered the kitchen holding an envelope.
Mercy looked up.
“You look ill.”
“I’m not.”
“Then why are you pale?”
Thomas placed the envelope on the table.
“What is this?”
“Contract.”
Mercy frowned.
“If you’re asking me to sign another feed agreement before breakfast, I will strike you.”
“Read.”
She wiped her hands.
Inside was a legal document.
Not marriage license.
Employment agreement.
Mercy read.
Permanent household manager.
Annual salary.
Right to independent savings.
Termination provisions.
One-year housing guarantee if employment ended.
Mercy stared.
“What is this?”
Thomas’s hands looked nervous.
“I want to ask you something.”
“But before I do, I need you to know saying no will not cost you your job.”
Mercy stopped breathing.
Thomas continued:
“You came here because you needed work.”
“I was your employer.”
“Then we became…”
He struggled.
Mercy waited.
“Whatever this is.”
She almost smiled.