Ivy spoke for the first time. “What if you like Baltimore so much you don’t ever want to come back?” Her voice shook.
Emma dropped her gaze and didn’t answer. Burke suspected Emma wasn’t planning to come back.
“Oh, this just breaks my heart,” Sophie whispered. “The amount of pain she must be in to be willing to leave her family.”
Burke pulled her closer.
“I know it will be hard, Papa,” Emma said. “But I can’t stay here. It hurts to be in Hope Springs. It has for a long time. If I go with Grandmother, I think I have a chance to start feeling better. I need that more than I’ve ever been able to tell you.”
Joseph returned to where she stood and pulled her into a fierce hug. “This isn’t me agreeing,” he said. “I just need you to know that I love you.”
“I know you do, Papa.”
Mrs. Archer was not a particularly emotional person, but she too had grown teary.
“I suspect we have a lot to talk about,” Katie said.
“Take your time,” Mrs. Archer said.
Joseph walked with his arm around his daughter back to where his wife sat holding their newest little girl. Ivy brought Sean over with her to where they were, and the family sat holding each other.
Mrs. Archer moved to stand next to Sophie and Burke.
“They might not allow her to go,” Sophie said. “But we will make certain you have someone to go back with you.”
Mrs. Archer smiled, a little sadly. “I have every confidence they will let her go. Joseph has told me many times that he can tell she’s in pain but hasn’t known how to help. And I think Emma is right. She needs to be away from this place where she has suffered so much. She needs peace.”
“As someone who was brought into your home broken and hurting and in need of peace, I can say with confidence she couldn’t hope for a better place to heal.”
Mrs. Archer reached up and patted Burke’s cheek, then took hold of Sophie’s hand.
“I don’t think it’s anything short of a miracle that you two found each other. You are good for each other. You make each other stronger and bolder, and that is a fine thing.”
Sophie leaned against Burke’s shoulder.
“If there is one thing this valley specializes in,” he said, “it’s hope.”
The inn was busy when Tuesday rolled around. It was the day the stage arrived. Some weeks, the stage that stopped was heading north from the train depot. Some weeks, it was heading southtowardthe train depot. Now and then, one stage going in each direction descended upon Eliza and Patrick’s inn on the same day. This was one of those days.
Sophie had helped Eliza often enough that she knew how to do so without needing directions. She carried food out of the kitchen, made certain everyone had water. She helped Patrick where he needed it. She was at home in this inn. And it was a happy place to pass the time.
The stage travelers had been assigned rooms. Meals were served. The musicians were getting ready to begin their weekly entertainment.
Eliza might eventually be able to breathe.
Burke slipped into the inn, having been off checking on a family down the Red Road. He spotted Sophie and smiled. Her heart flipped about as it always did when he looked at her that way. She crossed to him, and he set his arms around her.
“I’ve missed you,” she said.
“And I have missed you.” He pressed a light kiss to her lips.
“Keep that up, you two, and I’ll send for the preacher,” Patrick warned good-naturedly as he passed them.
Burke’s chest shook with a laugh. She loved that he enjoyed the teasing. It was yet another sign that he was truly at home in this place.
“The inn’s busy tonight,” he said.
She nodded. “Two stages stopped here today.”
