Mia’s warm gaze met his. “Oh, I will, will I?”
Billy looked up at her with his sweetest child-like expression. “Oh, please? I promise I’ll behave!”
Mia glanced at him and shook her head. “You do realize I taught children your age in New York City and have years of experience? I know when I’m being played. Dewy-eyes will not work on me, even when they are on your adorable face.” She smiled, tousled his hair and slid off the bed. “If you’re interested in breakfast, I suggest you do something with your hair. It’s sticking up in every which direction—and clean your teeth. I also expect you to keep your room picked up, which means you make your bed.” She speared Billy’s gaze with hers. “Do you think you can do that every day?”
He nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I can do that.”
“Good. Meet us downstairs when you’re done and your breakfast will be the first one cooked.”
Josiah chuckled as he watched Billy jump off the bed and scramble into his clothes then pull the covers up and try to make the bed as neat as it had been before he’d slept in it. Shaking his head, he followed his wife down the stairs and sat at the table, watching her precise movements as she put another plate on the table with a fork and napkin, just like theirs.
“You were excellent with him. How did you know he came back?”
Mia poured the last of the coffee into his cup and, after making more, she set the skillet on the stove to heat before answering. “I didn’t,” she said as she stirred the ingredients and poured the batter for the first hotcake into the skillet. “I had just set the table when I heard something upstairs. I thought maybe an animal had gotten through an open window or a crack in the attic, so I went to check.
“I remembered you had left the back bedroom doors open after we checked them yesterday, but when I got up there, one was closed. I opened it and found Billy asleep in the bed. He was so sweet, curled up on his side with his thumb in his mouth.”
She glanced outside, and he could see the sheen of tears in her eyes, but he kept silent. Instead, he studied the woman standing so strong before him. Really studied her. She had pulled her long brown hair back from her pretty face and woven it into a braid around her head then tied it into a long ponytail at the base of her neck. Every once in a while, she would reach up and smooth her hair over the top of her ears, which made him smile. His hands itched to untie the white ribbon and let it fall loose around her so he could run his fingers through its silky strands.
The style was casual and elegant at the same time and emphasized her high forehead and round chin while trying to hide her ears, although he couldn’t see a reason why. He thought they were cute. Yes, they stuck out a bit, but they had character and suited her. Her brown striped shirt and cotton skirt were pretty but not practical for wearing on a ranch. A schoolroom, yes. Ranch, definitely not. He would need to buy her sturdier clothing and, from the quick glance he caught of her high-heeled lace-up kid-leather boots, they wouldn’t last a week out here either. He did notice the high collars she wore covered the white scars on her back that he’d seen last night. He wanted to ask her about them but knew it was too soon.
She flipped Billy’s second hotcake, buttered them, and had barely set the plate on the table when the boy ran down the stairs, disappeared into the bathroom for a minute, then reappeared and dropped into his chair, a wide grin on his face.
Mia leaned down in front of him, her eyes narrowed as if inspecting his face and nodded. “You did a very fine job. Do you like hotcakes?”
Billy’s eyes widened. “Sure I do. Who doesn’t?”
Mia chuckled. “Should I make you two more then?”
“If you want to.”
“A ‘yes, please’ will do for an answer.”
Billy glanced at Josiah and rolled his eyes but said, “Yes, please.” The moment the next two hotcakes appeared on his plate, he dug in as if he hadn't just devoured the first two.
Josiah finished his breakfast, his stomach blissfully full, and pushed his empty plate away. “That was delicious, Mia. Thank you.”
Mia collected the dirty dishes and let them soak in the soapy water while she wiped the crumbs from the table and put the syrup and butter back in the pie safe. With Josiah’s help, it took half the time to clean up. With one last glance, she dried her hands on the towel, spreading it out on the counter to dry, and let Josiah lead her out to the porch.
He turned to the seven-year-old, who now sat in one of the chairs with the bison gripped in one hand. “Billy, do you know where Summer is?”
Billy’s gaze dropped to the wooden animal. He didn’t answer.
“I thought you both wanted to live here? We talked about it?” Josiah willed the little boy to take the bait and answer. He didn’t like knowing that the nine-year-old girl was out there alone, even if she was used to it. There were too many bad people who would take advantage of her, and if Harjo was correct, there were several still in the area. He wanted to find Summer and bring her home before they found her. Especially if Johnny was, indeed, hanging with them.
“Billy?” Mia asked, which seemed to do the trick.
“We do want to live here. Josiah said we could, even before we knew you were comin’.”
Mia turned a questioning gaze to Josiah, one brow raised high on her forehead. He smiled and gave her a small shrug. “I’m so thankful he did, Billy, because I would love for the two of you to live here with us. If Summer is anything like you, I can’t wait to meet her, but for that to happen, we need to go get her first. Can you help us do that?”
Billy studied the bison, turning the wooden carving this way and that, as he made up his mind. Finally, he raised his little face and met Josiah’s worried gaze. “She’s gonna be real mad at me for telling you where she is, but if you have my back, then I’ll tell you where she’s hiding.”
Josiah nodded. “You know I do, little one.”
Billy let out a long sigh then slid off the chair and marched down the stairs. “Come on then. We’re gonna have to walk a ways to get there.”
Mia turned to follow but Josiah grabbed her arm and pulled her against him, holding her to his chest. With his free hand, he wrapped her long, silky hair around his fist. “You are an amazing woman, you know that?”