Page 32 of A Convenient Heart
From across the room, Drew grunted. “We’re too far out for the kids to attend school in town.” If Jack wasn’t mistaken, there was a flush of guilt in his expression.
Nick and David stomped inside, complaining that the wind was turning colder. The added bodies and noise turned the attention off Jack and filled the room fair to bursting.
Soon enough, Jack found himself seated at the round table in one corner of Merritt’s kitchen, surrounded by the children, his knee pressed against Merritt’s.
“How come you haven’t decorated for Christmas?” Tillie asked, her mouth full.
“I supposed I haven’t had time this year,” Merritt said with a furtive glance at Jack. “I’ve been extra busy with the pageant.”
And if he’d learned anything about her at all the past two days, he suspected she’d be up late tonight writing down the pageant script.
“They’re not still going to hold it?” Nick said from across the room, where he stood at the counter with his plate.
Merritt nodded. “We are. At the dance hall.”
Nick commiserated with her, and Jack learned that he’d once wanted to become a teacher. Again, Jack’s curiosity was engaged. Why was the young man back on the ranch instead of following his passion?
The family camaraderie was evident when Tillie spilled her cup of milk and David helped her mop it up. Jo rolled her eyes, but he also saw the girl sneak a piece of her biscuit onto Tillie’s plate when the girl complained of still being hungry.
Drew and Nick ribbed Ed about the wooden top he’d promised to craft his nephew for Christmas and promptly forgotten about.
Merritt was teased for keeping her mail-order beau a secret, but she took it with good-natured laughter, nudging his boot with her shoe beneath the table.
Jack knew every move to make at the poker table. How to present himself, how to hold his cards and arrange his chips to let his confidence shine through.
But in the middle of a family supper like this…he was completely out of his element. He soaked it all in, listening and watching and staying out of it as much as he could.
And then he found himself on dishes duty, prompted by Tillie, who claimed it was her turn to be rescued from the mountain of dishes.
He was elbow-deep in sudsy water and she was standing on a chair beside him, drying, when she said, “I like you, Mr. Jack.”
He only hesitated a moment. “I like you too.” It was impossible not to. The young girl was full of stories about her room, her uncle’s dog, and the ranch.
“I’m glad you came here to marry Merry.” The girl giggled at the rhyming words. “Now you’ll be in our family forever.”
He couldn’t answer that. His throat was hot.
“How’d you learn how to be a businessman?”
He cleared his throat, thankful for her quick mind that had already taken her in another direction.
Tillie continued, “I don’t know what I want to do when I grow up. Maybe be a teacher like Merry.”
How he’d learned to gamble wasn’t a story for a little girl. But she was watching him with curious, focused eyes, and he knew she was waiting for an answer.
He glanced over his shoulder. Merritt and her cousins and the other kids had gone into the front room. The adults were drinking coffee, and Jack could hear two of the brothers arguing about something.
“For a while, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I lost my parents…and was alone for a long time.” He stumbled through the story, trying to edit as he spoke. There were parts a little girl shouldn’t know.
He’d been aimless after he’d run away from the Farrs’ farm. He’d wanted to get as far away as possible. He’d taken odd jobs. Helped with harvest in a nearby small town.
“And then I met a friend of mine. Bybee. He taught me his trade.” Playing cards. “Realized I had a knack for it. Taught me everything he knew.”
Unfortunately, Bybee hadn’t been as naturally talented or skilled as Jack. He’d cheated one too many times and been caught. There’d been a brawl, guns drawn. Jack’s mentor and only friend had been gone with a flash of light and the echoingbang!from a revolver. Jack hadn’t had time to mourn; he’d had to move on quickly lest someone accuse him of being a part of Bybee’s cheating.
“We…ah…had to part ways,” he told Tillie as he handed her the last plate. “But I never forgot what he taught me.” How to read tells, having the patience to strike at the right moment.
Tillie dried the plate with her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth. She was adorable, and Jack’s heart panged.
