Page 24 of Stuff My Turkey
"Oh, I'm not—" I started.
"The sewing kit's in the guest room vanity," Heath interrupted. "I can show you."
I followed him down the hall, grateful for the momentary escape.
"You don't have to sew his button," Heath said once we were alone. "Dottie's just testing you."
"I know. But now I want to prove I can do it just to spite her." I rummaged through the vanity drawer, finding a small tin of sewing supplies. "How hard can it be? Thread goes through needle, needle goes through button, button stays on shirt. I'veargued before the Texas Supreme Court. I can handle basic haberdashery."
The corner of Heath's mouth twitched. "If you say so."
Back in the living room, Earl had removed his western shirt and sat in an undershirt while Dottie supervised my button repair efforts. My first three attempts at threading the needle failed miserably.
"Having trouble, dear?" Dottie's voice dripped with false sympathy. "Not everyone has a knack for domestic arts."
I gritted my teeth and finally threaded the needle. The button itself proved trickier. After jabbing my finger twice and securing the button so it hung at an odd angle, I handed the shirt back to Earl.
"There," I said with forced brightness. "Good as new."
Earl examined my handiwork skeptically. "Well... it'll hold til Dottie can fix it proper. Thank you, Honey."
Dottie pursed her lips. "Maybe if you focused more on traditional skills, Heath might be more inclined to make things official. Men appreciate a woman who can keep a proper home."
Heath's jaw tightened. "Honey's skills in the courtroom are more valuable than her ability to sew buttons."
"Maybe in the capital city of our glorious state," Dottie sniffed. "But out here, practical skills matter. Speaking of which, what are we having for dinner?"
All eyes turned to me.
"I was thinking spaghetti," I said, the first simple meal that came to mind. "With salad and garlic bread."
"Insta-worthy comfort food!" Bitsy tapped on her phone. "I'm watching my carbs, but I'll totally cheat for pasta. #CheatDay #WorthIt"
"I'll help," Heath offered, following me into the kitchen.
As we worked side by side preparing dinner, I set up two pots for the sauce.
"I'll make mine without meat," I explained, separating a portion before Heath added the ground beef to the main batch. "Not everyone likes meat in their pasta sauce."
"You're the only vegetarian here," Heath pointed out, his voice noticeably cooler than it had been this morning.
"Then I'll be the only one enjoying cruelty-free pasta tonight." I chopped extra vegetables for my version, adding mushrooms and bell peppers for substance while he browned the meat for the others.
I couldn't help noticing Heath's increasingly distant demeanor. He worked methodically, responding to my questions with one-word answers as he stirred the meat sauce and checked on the garlic bread.
"Are you okay?" I finally asked, keeping my voice low.
"Fine," he said, not meeting my eyes.
"You don't seem fine. You've barely spoken since Knox arrived."
He shrugged. "Nothing to say."
I put down the knife I'd been using to chop tomatoes. "Is this about what happened this morning? Because if you're regretting it—"
"It's not that," he cut me off. "It's..." He glanced toward the living room where Knox's laughter rang out. "Forget it."
Realization dawned like a slow sunrise. "Wait, you think I still have feelings for Knox? Is that what this is about?"
