Page 12 of The Love Knot

“I don’t believe that is any of your concern.”

Something sparked in the marshal’s eyes. In a blink, his casual stance vanished. He stood ramrod straight, hands balled into fists and jaw clenched in warning as he stepped close enough to Pieter to bring their noses barely inches apart. “Everything that could impact the well-being of the women in this town is my concern. I saw the way your eyes followed Claire into the clinic. You’re not just here for the babe. You’re here for her. She came to us last year, fleeing an unwanted suitor. I aim to see she doesn’t fall prey to another. If she lets me know you’re not welcome, you might as well get comfortable in Seymour, for you won’t be visiting that babe or anyone else in Harper’s Station.”

Pieter bit back a defensive retort, stilled his riled pulse, and gave a sharp nod—one of understanding, not agreement. He’d never force his attentions on Claire, but neither would he let this meddling marshal dictate his future. “I appreciate your looking out for Claire’s best interests, Mr. Shaw. And while my personal reasons for being here are none of your business, I’m glad you care enough about Claire to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

The marshal stepped back and grinned. “Nosy, huh? Well, I’ve been called worse.” He gestured across the street toward the old station house. “Come on. Those women will be oohing and aahing for hours yet. After we rub your horse down and turn him out in the paddock, I’ll heat up some of Bertie’s coffee, and we can sit a spell.”

Pieter raised a brow. “You planning another round of interrogation?”

Shaw held his arms up, palms out. “Nope. Just two men chattin’, I swear. Male conversation is a rare commodity in these parts, believe me. I aim to take full advantage of you.” He chuckled and slapped Pieter on the shoulder.

“That’s the prettiest baby I’ve ever seen,” Maybelle declared as she wrapped Liam in his blanket and handed him back to Claire after doing a quick exam. “And healthy as can be, too.” Maybelle winked. “He’ll be running you ragged before you know it.”

Claire thanked her mentor and snuggled Liam close. He grinned up at her, his toothless gums shining with baby drool, his eyes dark blue and so jolly, she couldn’t help but smile back. “Oh, ye little heartbreaker. What am I to do with ye?”

Give him everything in your heart, Claire.

She bent forward and touched a kiss to Liam’s downy head. His tiny fist poked out of the blanket and flailed about as if he couldn’t quite contain his excitement at being back in her arms. She held a finger out to him, and he clutched it, bringing it to his mouth. Claire’s chest swelled. Such a precious child. So innocent. So sweet. It would be impossible not to love him.

I give ye my solemn vow, Polly. I will hold him dear to me heart and pledge all that I have to keep him safe.

“He’s a little darling,” Bertie Chandler crooned, moving in for a closer look. The rest of the ladies followed suit, surrounding Claire. How they had all learned of Liam’s arrival when she’d only been back in town for fifteen minutes, she had no idea, but nearly a dozen of Harper’s Station’s citizens filled the clinic’s waiting area, eager for a turn to hold the baby.

Part of her wanted to shoo them all away, to dash down the hall to her room and latch the door against them. Liam was hers, and hers alone.

Only he wasn’t. He belonged to Pieter, too.

Pieter. What was she to do with all he’d told her? His declaration of love. His explanations. His dairy farm in Snyder. Saints above. He had moved to Texas for her. For Liam. He deserved to be a part of the child’s life. But could she trust him enough to be a permanent part of hers?

“May I hold him?” Bertie asked, breaking Claire out of her thoughts. The older lady reached for Liam, and with great reluctance, Claire handed him over.

Most of the ladies shifted to Bertie’s side, all mesmerized by the boy, but Tori Porter and Emma Shaw stayed with Claire.

“Your poor sister,” Tori said, taking Claire’s arm and steering her toward a sofa along the far wall. “How desperate she must have been to send her child away.” The normally stoic shopkeeper’s eyes misted. “I remember how hard it was when Lewis was first born. If I hadn’t found that position tending house with Mrs. Barry, I might have been faced with a similar choice. Thank God she had you to turn to, Claire. I can’t imagine how devastating it must have been to give up her son.”

The three sat, Claire sandwiched between Tori and Emma. It reminded her of the day she’d first arrived in Harper’s Station, distraught and desperate to escape marriage to Stanley Fischer. She and her sister might be in very different situations, but she understood what desperation could lead a person to do.

“Da cut her off,” Claire explained in Polly’s defense. “Turned her out. She had no way to provide for the babe.” Her gaze found Liam, who was being passed from Bertie to her sister, Henrietta. “It was either leave him in a foundling home or send him to me.”

“Then she made the right choice.” Emma patted Claire’s knee and smiled warmly. “You’ll make a wonderful mother, Claire. You love him already, I can tell.”

Claire grinned as Liam grabbed a fistful of Henry Chandler’s gray hair, earning a muffled screech from the spinster. “I do.”

“And what of the man who brought him to you?” Emma’s arched brows and twinkling eyes didn’t bode well for keeping secrets. “Mal and I saw him driving and followed you to the clinic. The man could barely take his eyes off of you.”

Heat flushed Claire’s cheeks. “His name is Pieter van Duren. He’s a friend from back home. We . . . ah . . . courted once upon a time.”

Emma leaned her shoulder against Claire’s in a sisterly fashion. “He seems a much better candidate for husband than Stanley Fischer.”

Claire ducked her head and fiddled with her skirt. “Pieter’s a good man. A man I once loved to distraction. But he broke me heart. Quite unintentionally, it turns out, but at the time, the wound was so deep that I deemed marriage to a stranger preferable. Marriage where me heart would be safe from harm.”

“Yet you couldn’t go through with it,” Emma said.

Claire shook her head.

“And now he’s back,” Tori added. “And you have another choice to make.”

Claire bit her lip and looked from one friend to the other before her gaze drifted over to Liam. “Aye. And I have more than just meself to consider this time around.”