“Evening, Clara.”
“I see Ellie talked you into staying for cobbler and ice cream.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“It didn’t take much convincing.” Ellie flashed a grin at Jack on her way to the kitchen. After cutting the cobbler and spooning the ice cream into bowls, she handed one to Jack, then led him out onto the porch. “It’s a nice night, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.” Jack took in the moon and stars. “Thanks again for asking me to stay. Clara’s cobbler is hard to resist.”
“My pleasure. Say, Jack, do you think it would be all right if I came to see you during the day, and maybe joined you for a tour or two? I promise not to get in the way.”
He appeared thrown by her question. “I don’t see why not. But why the sudden interest?”
“I don’t know. It gets awfully lonely up here in this big house, and I figured it would give us a chance to spend more time together.”
“Fine with me.” He took a bite of cobbler. “Hey, do you hear that?”
Ellie listened quietly asThe Tennessee Waltzplayed on the radio.
“That’s one of my favorite tunes.”
“Maybe we should dance.”
“I would.” Jack’s face turned red. “But I don’t know how.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll show you.” She took him by the hand and led him to the center of the porch. “Put your hands here,” she said, placing them on her hips. “Yeah, like that. Now, eyes on me.”
Jack raised his eyes and met her gaze.
When she’d circled her arms around his neck, she said, “Just do what I do, okay.”
Jack followed her lead, moving as she moved, letting the music direct him where to go. It took a moment, but eventually he found the rhythm.
“See, nothing to it.”
As they swayed to the gentle melody, Ellie realized for the first time that Jack was different from anyone she had ever met. He was wild, untamed. A little rough around the edges, but she figured these would smooth with time. In Jack she saw an equal, a partner, someone with whom she could share her most private thoughts without fear of judgment.
When the song ended, and they’d finished their desserts, Ellie walked Jack to the door. “I had fun tonight,” she said, stopping on the porch.
“So did I.” He gave a deeply contented sigh. “I wish every night could be like this.”
She offered a sweet smile. “Maybe it can,” she said, then kissed him goodnight.
CHAPTERNINE
Lightning in a Bottle
The next evening, Jack and Ellie sat on Clara’s swing, taking in the sunset.
“So what do you want to do when you get older?”
Jack considered that as he stared off toward the mountains. “I want to be a writer.”
“Really? I would never have guessed.”
“Why’s that?”
“I don’t know. I guess I picture writers as always so sad and serious.”
