Jayce took a deep breath, only half hearing as Rose rattled on. He found some fresh herbs, and despite Lizzie’s warning, hedoctored the eggs a bit more.
Half an hour later everyone was seated in the dining room. Esther and Lizzie were still sleeping. Jayce took a seat in the large room with the others. He would have preferred to eat with Lizzie and Esther in the kitchen, but he was glad they were getting some much-needed rest.
Rose served the meal, and everyone raved. When she nodded to Jayce and opened her mouth to say something, Jayce interjected.“Yes, Rose did an excellent job.” He quickly turned to his father, who smirked. At least he didn’t humiliate Rose in frontof everyone.
Jayce ate as quickly as he could and excused himself. He’d be with his father and the crew most of the day, minus his timealone on the banks of the river cavern. He didn’t want to spend a minute longer with the man than he had to.
Rose was sitting at the kitchen table eating eggs and bacon when he walked into the room.
“These eggs are very gut.”
He found a tablet of paper and a pen in the kitchen and scribbled down a recipe for chicken salad. “Follow this exactly, andyou’ll wow Lizzie and Esther at lunch. The rest of us will be gone, but I bet they’ll like this recipe, if they have all theingredients.”
“Danki, Jayce. I want to cook better. I really do. It’s something I’m working on, but it just doesn’t come easily to me.” She lookedover the recipe. “But I can do this.”
“I know you can.” He pointed upstairs. “I gotta go finish getting ready. You okay?”
Smiling, she nodded. “Ya.”
It was the briefest conversation he’d had with the woman. Thankfully.
After Jayce brushed his teeth and ran a comb through his hair, he rushed downstairs since he’d seen the others gathering outside already. It was barely daylight, but his father had been insistent they get an early start to film before Bluespring Caverns opened for business. Jayce liked the idea. Maybe he would be able to spend some time with Evelyn, depending on her work schedule. He’d been thinking about her way too much. They could never be more than friends, but her kiss, awkward as it was, consumed his thoughts.
He raced across the living room toward the front door. Rose stood in front of it, a broad smile on her face.
He waited for her to move, but she just smiled. “Hey. Everything okay?” Please let it be okay. He didn’t have time for one of her lengthy conversations.
“Ya, I just wanted to thank you for helping me in the kitchen, and also for leaving me that recipe to try. I’m eager to makethe chicken salad.” Smiling more broadly, she touched his arm. “Maybe we can spend some time in the kitchen together so Ican learn more from you.”
“Uh, yeah . . . sure.” His eyes shifted to her hand still on his arm. “But right now I have to go. Everyone is getting readyto leave.”
“Ya, of course.” She slowly lowered her arm, winked at him, and stepped aside.
Fifteen
Jayce ran alongside Gus’s truck as he was backing out of the driveway with both windows open. “Hey, you gonna let me in?”
Gus ground the gears and stopped. “Oh, that’s right. I get the pleasure of your company again.”
Jayce hurriedly climbed inside and didn’t even have his seatbelt pulled across his lap when Gus started moving again. Thetruck was so old there wasn’t a shoulder strap, but Gus’s driving warranted the lap strap.
They were quiet for the first few minutes, but Jayce was bothered by Rose’s actions. “Okay, so I need to ask your opinionabout something.” He shook his head. “I’ve known a lot of women back home, but I don’t think it matters how many you know,they are just hard to understand.”
“Oh, good grief. Please tell me you’re not about to ask me advice about a woman.” The old man scowled.
Jayce scratched his forehead. “Yeah, it’s shocking even to me. But right now you’re the only person I’ve got to ask.” He told Gus about Rose touching his arm and winking at him. “I’m making too much of it, right?”
Gus laughed as the buttons of his red-and-white-checkered shirt threatened to pop. “Let me get this straight, kid.” He chuckledagain. “You’re playing all kissy-kissy with the Schrock girl, and now you’ve got Esther’s new help hitting on you too? Howmany hearts you planning to break before you leave here?”
“I don’t want to break anyone’s heart.” He paused, his thoughts leaning heavily in Evelyn’s direction. “Maybe I mistook Rose’sappreciation for flirting. She’s real bouncy and outspoken.” Jayce grimaced as he looked at Gus. “Actually, she’s more thanoutspoken. She talks all the time.”
“Based on your expression, I’m guessing you don’t like to talk. Which would be a surprise to me since you always seem to havea lot to say.”
“Not like her,” Jayce was quick to say. “She’s a beautiful woman, but no way she’d ever be my type.”
“Well, you’d best keep in mind the Schrock girl ain’t your type either. She’s Amish.”
“Really? I hadn’t noticed.” He grimaced as he rolled his eyes. “Amish or not, I want someone who can have meaningful conversations about things that matter. I have that with Evelyn, even though we haven’t known each other very long. She’s soft-spoken, but that’s only because she thinks things through before she speaks. She gets this look, like a twinkle in her eyes, when she’s deep in thought. I love to watch her. It’s like you can almost see the wheels spinning in her mind. She’s gorgeous, but that’s not the only thing I look for in a woman.” He paused, knowing he’d said way too much. “Anyway, we’re just friends. Gotta be that
