“Ma! We gots company.”
“Eddie! You can see Jace in the morning. Now, please obey me.”
The boy pressed his lips together and looked ready to argue. Then, with an almighty sigh, he nodded. “Can Jace tuck me in?”
The request dropped into the pit of Jace’s stomach with alarming weight. How often had his little sisters made this request?
“Eddie, you can’t?—”
Jace held up a hand. “It would be my honor if you have no objections.”
She closed her mouth with a click. “Are you sure?”
“I am.”
“Very well. I’ll let you know when he’s ready.”
Jace had been about to follow. At her words, he sank back on his heels. He’d wait. Of course, he’d wait. But he hovered at the bottom of the stairs. Something as smooth as velvet wrapped his being as he listened to their murmurs. He hadn’t tucked in a child in six years since his sisters died.
“Jace, he’s ready.” Her voice jarred him from his musing.
He stayed in the doorway until she descended. Then he took the steps two at a time, forgetting a person should be quiet when children were settling down for the night.
Eddie sat up waiting for his appearance. “You comed.”
“I said I would, didn’t I?”
“Yup.”
“A man should always do what he says he’ll do.” A lesson drilled in by his father’s words and even more so by his actions. Chet had lived by the same motto. “Did you say your prayers?”
“With Mama.”
“Then lie down and go to sleep.” He waited until Eddie’s head was on the pillow, then leaned over, and kissed the boy on the forehead. “Good night.”
“I likes you.” Eddie’s whispered words followed Jace from the room. Words of promise but, even more, words that tied Jace to this pair with invisible cords.
Did he object? No. Though it left him balancing on a narrow ledge of uncertainty. Could he live here with the guilt of what he’d done hanging over his head? He didn’t have an answer and didn’t want to find one right now.
Instead, he joined Dianne in the kitchen where she poured water from the kettle to the teapot.
She studied him, her eyes full of dark mystery. He waited for her to say what was on her mind.
“I worried it might be hard putting a little one to bed. Reminding you of your sisters.”
Leaning his hip against the cupboard close enough she bumped into him when she moved, he smiled. “I enjoyed it. Eddie’s an eager young fella.” He touched her cheek. She shifted her attention to him, her eyes wide and aglow with the same longing he’d seen in Eddie. “Dianne.” Her name ached from his lips.
She drew in a sharp breath. “It’s been a long hard year. The trip here taxed my strength. Now, to finally hope we have a home—” The words choked off.
He secured her in his arms. “This is now your home.” Her breath warmed his neck. He wanted to promise to stay, but the words wouldn’t leave his heart.
“Thank you.” She eased back. “I’ve made tea.” She slid cups from the cupboard and filled them.
“Let’s sit in the sitting room.” He chuckled. “I love saying that.”
She acknowledged his bit of humor with a smile, then picked up one cup, and nodded to the other. He took it, and they went to the cozy room and sat in the comfortable stuffed armchairs facing each other.
Content to watch her, he didn’t speak. But she squirmed under his intensity, so he pretended to be interested in the books on the nearby shelves. “Feel free to help yourself to any of the books. Wait. I guess they’re as much yours as mine.”
