Nor did he let go of her hand to open the door to the sanctuary. She had to do it. Walking though the sacred hall, he couldn’t help but wonder if this was his future. Hazel and the boy in his arms. It felt right as they walked.
As they walked, they could hear people talking in the basement, and he felt Hazel hesitate. So, at the top of the stairs, he sat on the top step and was happy when she did too. They could hear people talking but not what they were saying.
“Do you know any of the bridesmaids?” They had gone to school together, and it was a small town. Hazel probably knew all of them.
“No, they’re her college friends and some of his relatives,” she answered.
“Did you and Natalie go to college together?” He turned so he could rest his back against the wall and leaned a little so the boy might be more comfortable.
“No, she went to Fargo, and I went to Grand Forks. But we didn’t really go at the same time anyway. I went right after graduating, and she skipped a year due to her injuries.” She turned slightly toward him.
“Did you finish?”
“No, I made it two years and then came home. It was too hard with John Henry and no help down there. I could farm with Grandpa while Grandma watched him. It’s worked out.”
“What did you go for?”
“Agribusiness, but I never got past generals.” She looked at her son in his arms.
“Do you like farming?” He was watching her eyes. They showed more pain now than when she had fallen into the room from the rain.
“It’s okay. I understand it, and it comes easy.”
“But you don’t love it.” He knew she didn’t by her previous answer.
“Not love, I guess.”
“Why did you go for that then?”
“Grandpa wants to hand the farm down to one of his grandkids. That’s me. I’ll keep it going for John Henry.” She looked at her hands.
“So, you plan to farm until this guy is an adult and hope that he wants to farm?” he asked.
Since he had met the family, he had been calling the boy just John, like his grandfather. But he now knew the boy was also named after her brother. John Henry was what everyone but her grandparents called him.
“Sounds dumb now, but it’s the plan.” She shrugged.
“How about Hazel? What does she want to do?” He ran his hand up and down the boy’s back.
“Hazel doesn’t get a say anymore. She will do what is expected of her now. Everyone is counting on her.”
He let her get off with the answer that wasn’t an answer at all.
“How old is he?” Ruston pointed at the boy on his back.
“Three, he’ll be four at Christmas time. He is what I do. I do everything for him.” She leaned forward to touch the boy on his back, running her hand over where Ruston’s hand had just rubbed.
“What’s the story of him?” he asked, wondering if she would answer. It was a very personal question, he realized only after he had asked.
“Too much booze, too much fun, and boom—a baby on the way. The dad didn’t want to believe he was his, so I let it go. I had enough love for him for two.” She scooted closer and brushed the hair out of the boy’s face.
“That’s it, no great love story?” He looked into her hazel eyes.
“Nope.”
“I didn’t realize until after you left that we had used protection.” He realized it was the first time in his life he wished he hadn’t. Having a child with Hazel didn’t scare him at all. Not like it should.
Her only response was a shrug as her eyes snapped from her son to his.