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Tom Moore would never call himself an emotional man. He could have a temper, sure, but who didn't? Sometimes a bit of a temper was exactly what you needed to get things done. But he wasn't emotional as a rule.
And even with all that, as he watched the two men in red walk Rebecca out of her boarding house, there was a part of him that wanted to break down into tears.
He'd cry, for Rebecca, for Sarah, for the injustice of it all at having their dream taken right as they allowed themselves to feel some semblance of happiness, but he couldn't. Not now, not here, with the rest of the settlement reeling, quite a few looking to him for guidance, and little Sarah screaming for her mother. Not now.
He felt his spine stiffen and draw him to stand taller. Gone were the few minutes of - if not happiness - contentment at having Rebecca close and safe, and back was the fight for what was his. Because Rebecca and Sarah were his, in his heart at least, and that meant they'd be protected. Even if Rebecca had not asked him to protect Sarah, he would. He walked over to Peggy and Hettie who was holding onto the crying girl, trying to hush and calm her.
"Hettie," he spoke sharply, shortly, as was his way, "Peggy. Can you take Sarah to the ranch? If this is what I think, it might take a bit, and she can't be alone."
"She could stay with us," Olivia suggested, voice just north of trembling, "be closer to the news, when we get them?"
Tom shook his head. "And closer to anyone come looking," he rejected the idea. "The ranch will be safer." He knelt down to be at Sarah's eye level, doing his best to soften his features and voice through the mask he had to keep before he broke. "Sarah?"
The girl barely lifted her watery eyes, but he could tell she heard him well enough.
" You remember one of the first things you told me about your mom?"
She tried to shake her head.
"You said she could do anything she put her mind to," he reminded. "And this is just the same. She would do anything to get back to you. And she will."
Sarah's head already shook no, and continued to move with more force then before, clearly overtaken by fear. "She said we'd be safe here. She promised we could start over," she sobbed.
"I know. I know, love," Tom consoled, the endearment slipping out without his say-so. And you will. You'll stay at the ranch until we can get your mom back, because that way we can hide you, alright? Until we get your mom back, you need to keep yourself safe, too, right? You can be strong so your mom can come back to you, right?"
Sarah finally met his eyes, her own still filled with pools of tears, but he could see her mother's fire rising behind them. "I'll be strong. I won't let them take me away."
"Good girl."