Page 14

W ho would ever guess that meeting so many people would be exhausting? And there were a lot of people to meet. Merrill made sure of that.

Devlin stepped up to the back porch and paused before letting himself into the house.

His feet were a little sore from walking around the town, not once or twice, but four times in total, as Merrill wanted him to meet as many people as possible, and while he should have been used to it, he admitted to himself he was a little out of practice.

Serenity wasn’t nearly as big as Albuquerque, but it had been a long time since he himself had walked a town like he had today. That job had been done by his deputies.

His throat was a little sore, too—from talking so much. It seemed like everyone wanted to meet him and shake his hand. He wouldn’t be surprised if he had calluses, his hand was pumped so much.

That thought brought a slight smile to his face and he remembered that tomorrow and the following day, Rafael would take him out to the ranches and farms in the area to meet the owners. Not only was it part of his job to know everyone he was responsible for, he actually enjoyed meeting them.

The aroma of something savory assailed his nose and he inhaled deeply.

He shouldn’t be hungry. Not at all, since the owner of the green grocery, Winston Goldwater and his lovely wife, Gemma, insisted he take an apple.

Polly, Merrill’s sweetheart at Sweet Somethings, charmed him into trying one of her apple tarts, and a woman named Elsie at the Wagon Wheel twisted his arm to sit and have a piece of pie and a cup of coffee, though she didn’t have to try so hard.

There were others, too. So many people…and all of them friendly, welcoming him to Serenity, apparently glad he was here.

He let himself into the kitchen and stopped.

Avery sat at the table, the doll Tresia had given her clutched in her arms and looking a little worse-for-wear, a big smile on her face as she rocked and crooned softly to the miniature version of herself.

“Daddy!” The smile on her face grew bigger as she scrambled off the chair and flung herself into his open arms. He picked her up and hugged her, drawing squeals of delight from her, then, with her still in his arms, he walked over to Tresia at the stove, taking a peek into the skillet and various pots. “Smells good.”

“I hope you’re hungry.” She smiled at him as she stirred the gravy. “We’re having pork chops smothered in gravy, mashed potatoes and green beans. Avery and I stopped at Mr. Crandall’s. He’s the butcher. And Goldwater’s.”

Devlin returned her smile. “I met him today and liked him immediately. He’s very funny. Winston Goldwater, too. Nice people.”

“Why don’t you wash up. Dinner will be on the table shortly.”

He lowered Avery to the floor then headed out of the kitchen toward his room. He noticed the trunks in the hallway at the top of the stairs and lifted a lid. Empty, as he knew it would be. The corners of his mouth raised just a bit. Tresia was as good as her word.

Strange how many people he’d spoken to today, who once they knew Tresia was taking care of Avery, immediately offered their own experiences with her kindness.

According to most of the townspeople, she was a paragon among women.

The only person who didn’t have anything nice to say was Arnold Sullivan.

According to him, Tresia Morgan was the worst person in the world, probably because she had quit working for him to take care of his daughter.

He headed toward the bathroom and washed his hands and face, then walked into his bedroom, unfastened his gun belt and placed it on top of the armoire, far enough away from Avery’s curiosity though she knew the importance of not touching his guns.

It was the first lesson he taught her as soon as she was old enough to understand, even though Hannah hadn’t wanted him to.

Still, a child’s curiosity could get the better of them, but even if Avery pushed a chair to the armoire and climbed atop that chair, she was far too short to reach them.

For right now, this was a workable solution.

He’d have to invest in a gun safe sooner rather than later.

He turned away from the armoire and stopped, his gaze falling on the photograph of Hannah and him sitting on the bedside table.

It had been taken the day they’d married at the county courthouse.

He picked it up, the pain in his chest making it hard to draw breath, even after all this time.

He traced his finger on the glass over her face, wishing he could touch her again, then put the picture back where it belonged.

“Ah, Hannah,” he whispered after taking one more glance.

He headed downstairs. The table was now set and a platter of pork chops smothered in a mushroom gravy sat in the center. Avery had positioned her doll on the empty chair beside hers. Apparently, Cecily was joining them for dinner. Whatever made Avery happy at this point made him happy, too.

“Thank you for putting our things away.”

“You’re welcome.” Tresia smiled at him before she turned back to the stove but continued speaking over her shoulder as she scooped green beans from the pot into a bowl and added some butter.

“I didn’t know where you wanted to store the trunks.

There’s an attic with access through your bedroom, but I think the bigger trunks are too big to fit through the opening.

” She faced him once again as she made her way to the table.

“There’s also storage space under the back porch.

” She set the bowl of green beans beside his plate.

“There might be room in the shed, too. Or you could sell them.”

“I’ll figure it out tomorrow.” He rested his hands on the back of his chair. “Do you need any help?”

“No, thank you. Why don’t you start?” She removed dishes of food from the warming box drawer and set them on the table, then sat down.

Devlin turned toward Avery. “How was your day, sweet pea?”

“I saw a caterpillar.” Avery announced proudly and smiled at him, her mouth spreading wide like the Cheshire cat.

Flabbergasted she just didn’t nod at him, he returned her smile. “You did?”

She did nod at him then, but the smile on her face showed she was happy, happier than she’d been in a long time. It was the best thing he could have asked for and it had all to do with Tresia and the way she cared for his daughter, which seemed to have been instantaneous.

“Where did you see it?” He took one of the pork chops from the platter and placed it on her plate before pulling the plate closer to him. He cut up her meat then dished up some mashed potatoes and green beans for her.

“At Miss Lucy’s.”

“And what did you do with it?”

“Nothin’. Me and Savannah just watched it crawl.” She took a sip of her milk and ate a piece of meat.

One could have knocked him over with a feather. Avery had said more words at one time than he’d heard her say in months. He glanced at Tresia as she ate, staring at her with wonder that Avery had spoken so much.

“Savannah is Lucy’s niece. Avery and I stopped by Lucy’s house for a visit today, didn’t we?”

“An’ we had Apfelku?chle !” his daughter responded around the food in her mouth though she’d been told that wasn’t polite. At this moment, he didn’t care about manners. He was simply thrilled she was talking.

“ Apfelku?chle ?” he asked, though he wasn’t sure he was saying the word correctly. He wasn’t sure Avery was saying it correctly either. “What is that?”

She finally shrugged, her mouth full and the conversation apparently over, but it was more than he’d hoped for.

Actually, after only two days with Tresia, it was a miracle.

He looked at the woman he’d hired to take care of his daughter.

She was smiling, her deep pansy-colored eyes bright, apparently pleased with the conversation.

Though he’d been told of her reputation for being kind, he couldn’t help being impressed by her…

and what she’d managed to accomplish with Avery in just a short time.

He returned Tresia’s smile. “So what is Apfelku?chle ?”

“It’s a traditional German dessert. Sliced apples dipped in batter, then fried to a golden brown and sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon.”

“Sounds delicious.”

“They are. Lucy insisted we bring some home. We’re having them for dessert.”

She lapsed into silence as she shaped her mashed potatoes into a well and dumped gravy in the middle.

He grew silent, too, and concentrated on his dinner, though he hadn’t been hungry when he walked in the door.

The food was simple and tasty and as she’d told him, filling.

Before he knew it, everything on his plate was gone…

even the green beans, which he really wasn’t fond of, but somehow the way she made them was delicious.

Avery, he noticed, ate everything on her plate as well, which made him happy. She was much tinier than other children her age, which made him worry. That, and those months of silence after Hannah’s passing.

Tresia rose, her plate in her hand. “Avery, would you like to help me clear the dishes so we can have dessert?”

Devlin sat forward in his chair, his hands folded in front of his face, and watched, with something close to amazement, as Avery picked up her plate and brought it to the counter just like Tresia had done.

She returned to the table for her silverware then moved closer to him, excitement clearly showing on her little face.

“Are you done, Daddy?”

“I am.” He pushed the plate toward her then glanced up to see Tresia watching both of them, her smile warm and gentle as she scraped the scraps into a bucket, and filled the sink with hot water and soap so the dishes could soak.

She pulled a plate out of the warming drawer and brought it to the table then brought the coffeepot as well.