rushed to her defense. “Miss Callie does. She even picks them up.”
Chip hurried to take the focus off Callie. She was likely to bend his ear about his choice later. If he was correct, she’d had absolutely no intention of touching a frog that day and had mistaken it for a stone. He looked from Jasper to the other boy, who’d also spoken out of turn, and attempted a scowl, but he couldn’t stifle his smile. “Gentlemen, I didn’t see any hands go up, did I? I hope to soon, though, because I’m ready to start on the wood carving, and I look forward to hearing your guesses.”
He began by tracing faint lines that wouldn’t be visible to those on the benches and explained how they would be his guides. With his mallet in one hand, he tapped the handle of the chisel he held in the other. As before, he kept up a running dialogue.
A scant three minutes had passed when the first hand went up and Tess called for the guess. All he’d done so far was round off the top corners. “Is it a mountain?” a girl about Jasper’s age asked.
“I’m afraid not.”
He worked steadily but couldn’t help stealing glances at Callie. Her interest rivaled Freddie’s. She’d taken a seat on the end of a bench, with Ruby beside her, and was leaning forward, just as the curious boy was.
With Callie’s lips parted like that, Chip thoughts wandered into dangerous territory, which wouldn’t do. All it would take was one slip of the blade, and he could do irreparable damage. He dragged his gaze from her and returned his attention to the creation taking shape.
The guesses continued, none of them close. He’d been hard at work for a good thirty minutes when another hand shot up, this one belonging to Luke’s oldest sister. “It’s going to be a cowboy sitting on a fence, isn’t it?”
“You’ve come the closest so far, Lila. I’m impressed.” Both Tess and her daughter beamed at his praise.
Another five minutes passed with not a single guess. He stopped and scanned the benches. With the children, their group leaders and a curious ranch hand or two, some sixty-five pairs of eyes were trained on him. The room was so quiet he could almost hear the children thinking.
He reached for a smaller gouge on the table behind him and turned back to his creation, stealing another look at Callie as he did. She smiled her encouragement and mouthed the words keep going. Her eagerness spurred him on.
As he began the telltale cuts that would reveal a key part of the sculpture, he anticipated more guesses coming soon. Sure enough, Freddie’s wildly waving hand caught his eye. And was that Jasper with a hand raised, too?
Tess chuckled. “It appears we have a tie. I’d like you both to come up and tell me what you think it is.” They joined her, taking turns whispering in her ear. She straightened and smiled. “We have two winners. I’ll count to three, and you boys can say what it is together. One. Two. Three.”
“Humpty Dumpty,” they shouted in unison.
Callie began clapping, and the others joined in. Pride radiated from her, reminding him of Tess’s response when he’d complimented her daughter earlier. He and Callie had only been caring for the children for several hours, and yet it was clear they’d already come to mean a great deal to her. She’d make a fine mother one day.
The Plan didn’t call for him to find a wife to fill that role for three years yet, a fact he must keep in mind. But no harm could come from enjoying the company of his lovely assistant over the next few weeks, could it?
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