Chapter 7

[Kent Farm—about 3:15 PM

Clark finished stacking four hay bales beside his father's wagon. He would feed Willow and Buttercup after the ride was finished. He looked around to make sure that there would be nothing to give the Secret away. He hopped up into the wagon to make sure there weren't any nasty splinters or nails sticking out anywhere. "Looks decent."

"I'll say," Lana agreed while looking up at him from the back of the wagon. "But then, you're you. Always there to make a girl feel good, aren't you?"

"Some more than others," he concurred while flashing her a wide grin. He climbed down and gave her a kiss. "How was your shift?"

"It was okay. Busy but that helps the time to go faster," she informed him. "I was wondering how Lex and Chloe made out with Maggie."

"Maggie? Is that the name of his house guest?" he wondered.

"That's her apparently. Lex called her a ball of fire," she recalled.

"Chloe was probably just like her at the same age," he surmised.

She nodded. "I'd say so. By the way, this is a nice thing you're doing, Clark."

"It's no trouble, right? I mean—hey, if it makes a little girl happy, then great. Besides, my friends are having fun too." He placed the bales one by one in the back of the wagon. "Help me spread this around."

"Sure," she agreed while climbing up beside him. As he cut the bales' ropes with his pocket knife, she asked, "Do you have a blanket?"

"In the barn," he told her. "I can lend you my jacket if you want."

She giggled. "I won't have you catching cold for me, Clark. I brought an extra for us."

"Always prepared, aren't you?" he teased.

"Always," she replied, letting her eyes sparkle at him.

He was about to kiss her again but his enhanced hearing picked up on Chloe's car pulling into the driveway. "Rain check?"

"Yeah," his girlfriend agreed as they climbed down and rounded the barn.

"Hi, guys!" Chloe greeted them. "How's everything?"

"Wagon's set to go," Clark declared. "Where's our guest?"

"She's right here, Clark," Lex indicated while helping Maggie out. "Maggie, those are our friends, Clark Kent and Lana Lang. Clark, Lana, this is Maggie."

"How are you, Maggie?" Lana asked with a warm smile. "Ready for a hay ride?"

"Really? That's great! Can I see the horsies? Huh? Can I?" Maggie asked.

"She's really into this," Clark supposed.

"Told you so," Lex agreed.

"Love horsies!" Maggie emphasized.

Clark grinned at her. "That's great! Follow me, okay?" He took her hand and led her toward the barn.

His three friends watched as he and the guest headed for the wagon.

"Don't look now, Lana, but I think someone has a nesting instinct," Lex guessed.

"Lex, you know how Clark is with kids," Lana deflected although her cheeks blushed slightly due to her own hopes in that regard.

"Careful, Lana, some day it's going to be your kid," Chloe teased. "Come on; let's see how the two kids are doing."

As the trio followed, both Lana's and Chloe's minds spun with the thought of being mothers. Seeing Clark like that made them both feel warm inside.

But for Chloe, her bond with Maggie, although only there for part of a day, just felt right for some reason. It made her feel both scared and secure all at once. She sensed a huge burden in taking on both Maggie and Lex in a serious way. Yet it felt right.

She glanced at her boyfriend and he returned the smile as they headed for the wagon.

[Frudgers Pizza—Granville—7:00 PM

The hay ride proved more enjoyable than even Lex and Chloe had anticipated. In addition to her new friends, Maggie enjoyed feeding Willow and Buttercup their carrots, oats and hay. Then with cocoa in hand, she snuggled between Lex and Chloe as Clark directed the horses three times around his parents' back pasture at a steady pace.

After Clark put the horses up and the wagon away, they drove over to the pizza place in the next town and their dinner treat.

"Like this!" Maggie cheered.

"I'm glad," Lex told her while rubbing her shoulder and smiling warmly at her.

"We like it too, Maggie," Lana assured her.

"And this is the best pizza place in the area," Clark added while burying his face in the menu.

"You can say that again, Farm Boy," Chloe concurred while doing the same.

Five minutes later, the group ordered two pizzas. Maggie picked out a pepperoni, beef and onion pizza for one. The other was a sausage, pepper and mushroom.

"Say, Maggie, you want to go and play some games while we're waiting?" Lex supposed while eyeing the arcade.

"You mean it?" the Squirt supposed, not believing he was coming around on his own.

"He actually can do kid stuff, Maggie, as hard as it is to believe," Chloe noted wryly while smirking at Lex.

"Just like you, Chloe," Lex retorted, not giving an inch. "Come on; Maggie." He led her over to the video room and asked, "What do you want to ride first?"

She pointed a chubby finger at the merry-go-round. "Horsies!"

"Horsies it is," he agreed while plunking some tokens into the slot and helping her up onto a horse. "There you go." He stepped away and watched her go around and around on the mechanical horse.

For twenty minutes, he did this—repeating the payment as per the pint sized companion's request. Hell, he didn't care about the money. That was just a drop in the bucket. However, Maggie's happiness hit him. Just the little bit of stability that he and Chloe had given her had accomplished miracles. I can't bear to see her in that orphanage again. She's a great kid. While he knew the pain was still there inside of her, she needed to be loved.

Just like he had…and still craved.

He glanced back at Chloe and their friends at the table weighing his options.

This situation had definitely changed his perspective on things.