Jessie (21 page)

And as for Heather! She had no clue. Jeanette watched her as well, thinking that the way he lingered in her company whenever he had a chance or the kind way he spoke to her would have to get her attention, but so far it hadn't worked.

“You're not opening today, are you, Jeanette?” Rylan asked, finding her outside the shop.

“No, I just came to get some papers,” Jeanette answered in a distracted way, her gaze flicking down the street.

Rylan glanced behind him and then back at Jeanette. He took a moment to study her before saying, “I think you're watching someone.”

“Just Nate Kaderly,” Jeanette admitted.

“You haven't lost your heart, have you, Jeanette?” Rylan asked, his voice turning serious.

“Of course not!” Jeanette said, an incredulous laugh escaping her.

“That's good since Nate has already lost his.”

Jeanette gripped his arm, her face hopeful. “Is it Heather?”

“Of course,” Rylan said with a kind smile. “Who else?”

“I knew it!” Jeanette said too loudly, looking triumphant as she worked to keep her voice down. “If he feels that way, why hasn't he said anything?”

“Because the lady herself shows not the least bit of interest.”

Jeanette sighed. “I tried to talk to her about this some months ago, and she basically told me I was imagining things.”

“You're not, but I know he would not appreciate your being involved.”

“No, I don't suppose he would.”

She looked so saddened by this that Rylan smiled, but he still had to be getting home.

Jeanette said goodbye, not realizing until he was too far away that she had one last question. Jeanette turned for home herself, almost glad she hadn't had a chance to ask. It would be much too hard if he had said no.

“Is this going to work?” Bri asked Rylan while she worked on dinner Tuesday afternoon. “I mean, I don't really know how they're getting along.”

Rylan nodded thoughtfully before saying, “I don't think it can be too bad, or Jessie wouldn't have him working there.”

“Oh, that's true.”

Danny, who had found his father's ear, continued to poke at it, but Rylan's eyes were on his wife.

“Are you worried?”

“A little. I mean, I know them both in such different capacities. I don't know Seth well, but even if he'd been living here longer, I have no past with him. Jessie and I have a good friendship, but it doesn't include Seth at all.”

Rylan found himself thankful that he'd been able to come home early. He worked part-time at the livery for Pete Stillwell. He should have worked until closing, but Pete had shown up and said he could leave anytime. He'd stopped and talked to Jeanette, but that had taken less than ten minutes. Once home he'd cleaned up and gone to the kitchen to take Danny off Bri's hands and found his wife looking tense.

“When I asked Jessie and the girls to join us tonight, we even spoke about the fact that Seth would also be here to eat. She was fine with it, but now I'm suddenly afraid of making them both uncomfortable.”

“I can understand your hesitancy, but this is still a good idea. Jessie and the girls have been coming and going since we got married, and Seth would not expect us to change our habits on hospitality because he was staying here.”

“That's true,” Bri agreed with a nod, her shoulders relaxing.

“Gently, Danny,” Rylan said to his son when he pulled a little too hard on the big man's lobe. “And we'll just take our cue from them,” Rylan continued. “If it seems uncomfortable, we'll know what not to do in the future.”

Bri's eyes met his and she nodded. Rylan winked at her and went to the living room. Danny had taken all the books off one of the shelves. Rylan was sure Bri hadn't noticed, and that suited him just fine. It gave him a chance to teach his little son to put the shelf to rights before their guests arrived.

Seth ended up walking with Jessie and the girls to the Jarvik home. He hadn't planned one way or the other, but he was done, and they were ready to go. Clancy skipped along beside him, talking all the while, but Hannah was a little quieter.

“Are you all right, Hannah?” Seth asked when they were almost there. She had been silent the entire walk.

“Yes.”

Seth didn't press her further, but he felt Jessie's eyes on him. Maybe it was normal for Hannah to fall quiet, but he didn't know her well enough to gauge if all was well. Before he could think of a way to ask, they were at the house.

“How did you two meet?” Bri asked quietly after dinner. The adults were still at the kitchen table, but the girls had taken Danny into the living room to play.

“This is where I found myself out of money,” Seth said.

“Where had you been?” Bri asked.

“I had been living in Kingdon, but I was on my way to Texas. I was planning to pass through Token Creek, but someone lifted my money when I fell asleep on the train, and I was broke.”

“I wondered for a long time if that story was true,” Jessie said, her mind going back.

“What story?” Rylan asked, not sure.

“The one about your money being stolen. I thought it was a line for sympathy.”

Seth smiled a little but didn't comment. Bri had another question.

“How did you find out about it, Jessie?”

“He came in looking for a job.”

“Why the mercantile?”

“I was well and truly without a cent to my name, but I was also a man, and when I saw a beautiful blonde in a purple dress sweeping the boardwalk in front of the mercantile, I went that way.”

Even Jessie had to smile over this.

“Why were you headed to Texas?” Rylan asked.

“My brother lives there, and he had been asking me to come. I had just lost my home in Kingdon and saw no reason to stick around any longer.”

The questions might have continued, but Danny and the girls suddenly joined them. Danny made a beeline for Seth, handing him his favorite wooden block.

“Thank you, Danny,” Seth said, lifting the baby onto his lap and kissing his small brow. Clancy had come very close, and Seth, without thinking, reached and stroked down her soft, blonde curls.

No one at the table thought anything of this, save Jessie. She watched Seth's hands and his tenderness with Danny, as well as with their daughter, and felt such an ache inside she didn't know what to do. She managed to keep her feelings well hidden, but only until the evening wrapped up. Even before Seth had a chance to offer, she had quietly asked him to walk them back to the store.

Can you walk us home?
Seth agreed without hesitation, but there was no comfort in the act. It was clear that Jessie was bothered about something, and it was with a good deal of dread that he walked his family to the rear door of the store.

“Go on up now, girls,” Jessie directed when she'd unlocked the door. “Get ready for bed. I'll be right up.”

The girls wanted to know what she was going to do, but she stopped them with a stern voice. “That's enough! Now tell Seth goodnight and go get ready for bed. And I'd better not find you sitting at the top of the stairs.”

The girls obeyed, but not without a lot of eye rolling and complaining. Jessie ignored them, waiting only until they were out of earshot to speak to Seth.

“Was all of what you told me true? Did you really work for a man and hurt people?”

“Yes,” Seth said quietly, wondering where this had come from. “What made you think of that?”

“It's just not who you ever were, Seth. I can't think why you would make such a thing up, but I can't imagine it.”

Seth could hear the anger in her voice and understood why she would feel that way. How did he explain what a different person he had been while he was away?

“And then tonight!” Jessie went on. “You held Danny so gently, but you never even saw Clancy at that age. I can't stand the thought right now. It just makes me so angry with you!”

Seth didn't know what to say. It was all true, but it was also in the past. And he didn't know how to fix that.

“I need some time to think,” Jessie said. “Don't come in tomorrow. I need to think.”

“All right,” Seth agreed, his heart constricting with pain.

He watched Jessie move toward the door and thought she looked tired and discouraged. Her shoulders were bent a little and she looked beaten down, not a look that was usual for her.

“Wait, Jessie.” Seth stopped her. “Why don't you take the day off tomorrow. That way you'll really have time to think. I'll watch the store, even the girls if you want, and you can have the day to yourself.”

Jessie's first thought was to refuse, but something stopped her. She couldn't say that Seth was not experienced enough because he was. In the two days he'd worked, he'd asked her only one question, and it was so insignificant that it hadn't really mattered.

“You can think about it,” Seth offered, not sure why he didn't just wait for her to answer. “I can check with you in the morning.”

“All right,” Jessie agreed, slipping inside without another word.

Seth stood for a while at the door, the sky growing dark fast. When he did turn for Rylan and Bri's, he made the walk back very slowly.