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marriage?”
    As she stared into her tea, her hair fell forward, hiding her face momentarily. Pushing it out of her eyes, she stared out the window. His question had evidently caught her by surprise. She leaned her chin on one hand.
    He waited, letting her gather her thoughts, as parents with children passed by the window. A young couple walked by holding hands, the girl chatting up at her boyfriend with a glowing face.
    Bonnie wiped her hands on jean-covered thighs and sighed. “I liked being married as far as being married went. Only, I never felt part of a partnership. I would like that. I believe in the family unit. I believe it should be a complete unit. I believe God set things up that way. I miss having someone to talk to at the end of the day. I miss the comfort of…of companionship. Sometimes I feel cheated of all that a family could be. There’s just me. On the other hand, how can I believe those men who always want me to go places and leave the kids behind? They may like the packaging. They just don’t like what’s attached.”
    When she turned from the window to look directly at him, he was caught between breaths by the honesty in her clear blue eyes.
    Shrugging she gave a tired little sigh. “I think I probably have the heart of a grandmother. I’m very good around the house, but pretty sorry at painting the town.”
    “Tell me what you think broke up the marriage—I get that your husband was a jerk who loved money. What else brought you to divorce?”
    Once again a silence fell while she traced the tabletop designs.
    The bell over the door jangled and an aroma of cooking food wafted around them.
    Her voice, when she finally spoke, was quiet and filled with disappointment. “Ed wanted to be rich and famous. Initially, we were comfortable, able to afford extras. But he ran us into bankruptcy buying too much too fast. He blamed me, and then began resenting the kids. I gave him the choice of counseling or leaving. He left. Perhaps I let it go on too long. I had three babies to take care of, and he made me feel incredibly guilty because I wasn’t working. One day I went grocery shopping after the divorce and came home to no furniture.”
    “If he asked would you go back?”
    “No!” Her voice hardened.
    Breathing began again as she rolled the white mug through the water spots on the table. The relief he felt at her answer made him feel a little weak.
    “Maybe I should hear more about the kids.”
    Her hands stopped moving as she looked into his face with surprise in her expression. She swallowed hard.
    “Faith is the oldest. She is quiet, reads too much, and loves horses. She has been taking riding lessons for three years. She’s ten and has her own horse, a papered thoroughbred we bought from racetrack stock in Ocala when we had that money for the extras. My son is seven. He rides the family pony. He started school last year but isn’t doing well. I can’t get him to stop playing long enough to work. He has no concept of school as anything other than a social event. His name is Daniel. He’s funny and sweet but very frustrating. The youngest is Hope. She just turned four. I don’t know her as well as the others, because for the last three years, I’ve worked all the time. A woman in the neighborhood babysits for me. Hope is the main reason I want to ranch. So I have time to be with them all. Faith and Daniel got to be with me when they were little. Hope hasn’t had that chance. I…want to be more of a mother than I can be now.” She paused.
    “What you want is a family sitter. Someone that will allow you the freedom to be with your children?”
    Her cheeks flamed. “I want a family, father included.”
    “How is the father included?”
    She turned her head away, her eyes bright with the suspicion of tears. She didn’t answer.
    “Bonnie.” He waited, testing the feel of her name on his tongue. “Bonnie, this has to be discussed. It’s not as if we met one day and wanted to share our