Red.”
He held out his hand to Katie. “Jake Cameron, and mighty glad to meet you. We feel like we know you from your mom’s letters.”
“I don’t suppose...”
“Of course we saved them. I reckon you’ll be happy to have them, just losing her so recent. She sounded like a special lady.”
“She was,” Katie said. “We were more like best friends, especially after my dad died.”
Missy set the table with great concentration while Shelby pulled a pan of biscuits from the oven. Lucy took an enameled pot of beef stew from the stove to put on a trivet made of horseshoes. They all took their seats around the big oak table.
Shelby waited until everyone was settled before bowing her head. “Lord,” she said, “our family’s been through some rough times, but we’ve always come through together. We thank You for Your help and for bringing Katie to join us tonight. Amen.”
“Can I have a biscuit with honey?” JJ said.
“May I have a biscuit,” Lucy said.
“Sure,” JJ said with a giggle, “you can have one, too.”
Missy gave an exasperated big-sister sigh.
Luke ladled stew into JJ’s bowl and cut the meat into smaller pieces. He loved both his brother’s kids, but he felt a special bond with his nephew. He saw a lot of himself in JJ and wished his brother and sister-in-law luck when JJ hit his teens—they would need it.
He kept mostly silent during dinner, speaking only enough not to seem surly, listening to Katie’s account of her solo trip across country. He liked the way she laughed at herself for mistaking a state road number for an interstate in Missouri, driving ten miles behind a manure spreader, and silently applauded her quick thinking in following the snowplow over Wolf Creek Pass. Pretty dang good for a green Eastern driver.
“So where do you go from here?” Jake asked Katie while Shelby served the peach pie à la mode, with chocolate cake for Missy and JJ. “Once we let you go, that is.”
“I really hadn’t thought beyond bringing you the letters,” she said. “I’m kind of at loose ends right now.”
“Back to Connecticut?” Lucy asked.
“No, not there. I’ll have to return eventually to take care of some business, but not soon.” She massaged the faint ridges on her ring finger. “Right now I’m looking for a job.”
“What kind of job?” Shelby asked, cutting a second sliver of cake for JJ.
“I know a little about bookkeeping—I worked for a construction firm for a while.” She flushed. “And I love to cook. I don’t have any formal training, but I did some catering while I was in college.”
Lucy sat straighter. “Did you really?”
Luke could read his sister’s mind.
“Hold on, Luce,” Jake said. “The poor girl just landed—don’t try to draft her before she has time to take a deep breath.”
Lucy closed her mouth, but Luke knew she wouldn’t be able to hold her tongue for long.
Jake looked at his watch. “You’d better head to town if you’re going to open the Queen for the breakfast crowd.” He stood. “I’ll bring Katie’s bag in.”
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