Page 29 of Loyally, Luke
But when Ellie turned, Cam had already moved out of sight.
“I’ll send Gordon to tease him inside once he’s finished with a customer.” Nessa waved a hand and then led the way, weaving among the lovely and... not-so-lovely conglomeration of antiques.
Just as they turned the corner into the next room, Ellie nearly ran headlong into a wall of flannel, big shoulders, and... logs?
She blinked the man into view only to find she’d come face-to-face with Luke Edgewood. She glanced down at his wood-laden arms and then back to his face.
“Luke?”
His eyes widened—well, partly. The wounded eye, with a bluish hue around it still, drooped just a bit. But it looked much better than it had three days before. “Ellie?”
“My, my,” Nessa cooed. “I had no idea you two were acquainted.”
“We’re both working at the orphanage,” Luke started.
“The project of which Gordon is a part,” Ellie continued.
Nessa’s gaze flickered from Ellie to Luke and back. “Well, how delightful. We’ve only just gotten acquainted with Luke but already feel he’s going to be rather regular here, since he’s keen on antiques too.”
“Not so much the antique part as the well-made and less expensive part,” he corrected. The way his deep brown eyes lit as he grinned over at Nessa held a mesmerizing sort of quality.
How strange.
Brown eyes weren’t all that common in Skymar, so no wonder they’d prove a bit of a novelty.
“He’s collecting items for the cabin he’s renovating on Yarrow Fell.”
“Yarrow Fell?” Ellie looked over at him. “That’s a rather secluded spot in the mountains, isn’t it?”
“Seems to be.” Luke shrugged one shoulder, drawing her attention to the sturdy span from one arm to the other. A warm, strong shoulder she’d burrowed into when they shared a moment in the closet.
Heat shot into her face.
Shared a moment? No. When she overreacted—yes. That was all.
And thank heavens there were no paparazzi around to snap a photo of her sitting on his lap in the dark closet of an orphanage! Her throat tightened. And praise God for small favors that Mrs. Kershaw didn’t show upthen!
“Pete’s a bit skittish about the distance to Crieff, but I like the quiet.” Luke nodded, turning his attention back to Nessa. “And you can’t beat a view like that every morning.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t wonder that it’s one of the best in the North Country,” Nessa said, shifting her focus between them again, one of her brows raised.
Ellie noted Nessa’s humor-filled eyes and quickly gestured toward the wood in Luke’s arms. “What have you found?”
He raised one of the pieces, its dark wood bearing intricate carvings of... children and animals? “I came in trying to scope out what I could purchase locally, things like furniture and light fixtures, but when Gordon figured out what I was doing at the cabin, he showed me his back room where he keeps unique wood and scrap pieces.” He gestured to the wood. “Thought these would make nice frames for the signatures in the kitchen closet.”
“What an excellent idea.” Ellie stepped closer, slowly sliding her fingers across one of the pieces. “Mrs.Kershaw will love it, and it’s perfect for celebrating Cambric’s history.”
“There’s not enough of the carved pieces for the full wall, so I’ll use these two for the top and bottom and put something simple on either side to complete the frame.” He had such a pleasant smile. Kind. Gentle. “Seemed a good way to honor the past.”
Her gaze caught in his, the mutual understanding palpable. “Indeed.”
“I kinna wait to see the finished product, Luke.” Nessa tapped one of the wood pieces. “And you’ve made Gordon’s day. To have another craftsman to blether on with. He’s keen to work with you at Cambric too. Does his heart good to find a like-minded sort.”
“I feel the same, ma’am.”
Every time he said the wordma’am, Ellie wanted to smile. There was something about the quaintness of the word paired with the way he spoke it that made her think of chivalrous knights. How preposterous! Ma’am?
“This whole village seems filled with talent.”
