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Ruby gazed up at him. “Do you need help, Mr. Chip?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. I could use someone to make sure I have all my tools lined up just right.” He swept a hand to where he’d laid out his knives, chisels, gouges and the mallet. “All the handles need to be facing the edge of the table so I can grab them quickly. Could you tell me if any of them are backward?”
The adorable girl bobbed her head and started down the row, lifting her doll so she could see, too. He leaned against the bench, blocking Ruby’s view of the final tools, reached behind his back and spun the wooden mallet around. She approached, and he stepped out of the way.
“Oh! This one’s upside down.”
“Why, look at that! You’re right. Would you turn it around for me? It’s not too heavy.” And it wasn’t sharp, as the other tools were.
Ruby righted the mallet and looked to him for approval.
He squatted, smoothed a strand of her blond hair behind her ear and cupped the side of her soft face in his work-roughened hand. “You did a great job, princess.”
Callie sighed. He looked her way, and his breath caught. Minutes before she’d been irritated with him, but now her entire countenance shone with admiration. And it was directed at him. He wasn’t sure what he’d done to bring about such a transformation. He hadn’t changed his position on the need for safeguarding the children, but he would enjoy being in her good graces while it lasted.
She caught him staring at her and smiled. “You’ll make a fine father one day, Chip.”
So that was it, was it? She was pleased with the way he’d handled Ruby’s offer of help. He hadn’t done anything special, but Callie’s approval meant a great deal to him.
Four rings of the dinner bell, the signal for a special event, brought the brief encounter to a close. She swept in to pick up Ruby and stood in one of the open corner areas between the benches. “We’ll have a good view from here, sweetheart. I’m looking forward to watching Mr. Chip work, aren’t you?”
Callie’s enthusiasm eased the tension in Chip’s shoulders.
A young boy about seven years old bounded in ahead of everyone else and plopped down in the middle of one the front row benches, facing Chip.
“You were fast.”
“I ran,” the boy said, breathless. “I wanted to get the best seat so I can see everything you do.”
“You should be able to. What’s your name, son?”
“Freddie. I got one of those animals you made. I wanna see how you do it.”
“Ah, yes. You’re the one who asked Mama Tess what I’ll be making.”
Callie walked down the row behind the lad and leaned close. “If you like working with wood, we can ask her to let you come help us one day. You’ll learn a lot from Mr. Chip. He’s very good.”
Admiration and compliments? Was Callie sincere, or was she teasing him?
He had no time to ponder the question because the other children entered the large room and took their seats on the benches. Jasper squeezed in next to Luke. A group leader had to settle a minor scuffle as two young fellows vied for the same spot, but as soon as Tess stepped into the center and clapped, everyone quieted.
The tall woman smiled. “Thank you all for seeing to the after-dinner chores so quickly. Now you’ll get to watch Mr. Chip make something special. He won’t be able to finish it tonight, but he’ll get as far as he can. I’m sure you’ll have lots of questions, but he’ll need to concentrate, so you’ll have to save them until the end.”
Freddie’s eagerness to learn had overcome Chip’s concerns about keeping the children quiet. “I remember having a hard time holding questions inside when I was a boy, so, if you’re agreeable, they can ask their questions while I’m working.”
“Very well.” Tess turned her attention back to the children. “You may raise your hand to ask a question just as you will when you make a guess about what Mr. Chip’s making, but wait for me to call on you before speaking.”
Freddie’s hand shot into the air.
Tess chuckled. “He hasn’t even begun yet, Freddie. What do you want to know?”
“That chunk of wood on your table is really big, Mr. Chip. How can you make a little animal out of it?”
“This—” he patted the large round of white pine “—is for the statue I’ll be carving. I use small pieces of wood and different tools when I whittle a toy.”
Callie spoke up. “Would you be willing to show us, if it wouldn’t take too long?”
“Sure. I could whip out a small figure in no time.” And he knew just the one he’d make. He grabbed a scrap of white pine and his knife and set to work, sending chips flying.
“I have another request.”
He paused and looked at Callie. “Yes?”
“If you could talk as you work, we’d all understand what you’re doing.”
Talk and carve at the same time? He’d never done that, but he could give it a try. “I’ll do my best.” He kept his hands moving as he explained the process. “I’m using a knife to remove all the wood that isn’t part of the figure. That sounds simple, but that’s really what it’s about. I keep the image in mind and shave off everything that doesn’t belong.”
He continued, describing and demonstrating the four basic cuts as he worked. The children sat quietly with not a single hand going into the air. He was finished in no time. “Since Miss Callie asked me to make this little fellow, I’ll give it to her, but I’m sure she’ll pass it around so you can all see it.” He handed her the creature.
She laughed. “Why, thank you, Mr. Chip. I’ll think of you every time I look at this bullfrog.”
One of the boys who’d been involved in the scuffle piped up. “Why’d ya make a frog for her? Ladies don’t like ’em.”
Jasper rushed to her defense. “Miss Callie does. She even picks them up.”
Chip hurried to take the focus off Callie. She was likely to bend his ear about his choice later. If he was correct, she’d had absolutely no intention of touching a frog that day and had mistaken it for a stone. He looked from Jasper to the other boy, who’d also spoken out of turn, and attempted a scowl, but he couldn’t stifle his smile. “Gentlemen, I didn’t see any hands go up, did I? I hope to soon, though, because I’m ready to start on the wood carving, and I look forward to hearing your guesses.”
He began by tracing faint lines that wouldn’t be visible to those on the benches and explained how they would be his guides. With his mallet in one hand, he tapped the handle of the chisel he held in the other. As before, he kept up a running dialogue.
A scant three minutes had passed when the first hand went up and Tess called for the guess. All he’d done so far was round off the top corners. “Is it a mountain?” a girl about Jasper’s age asked.
“I’m afraid not.”
He worked steadily but couldn’t help stealing glances at Callie. Her interest rivaled Freddie’s. She’d taken a seat on the end of a bench, with Ruby beside her, and was leaning forward, just as the curious boy was.
With Callie’s lips parted like that, Chip thoughts wandered into dangerous territory, which wouldn’t do. All it would take was one slip of the blade, and he could do irreparable damage. He dragged his gaze from her and returned his attention to the creation taking shape.
The guesses continued, none of them close. He’d been hard at work for a good thirty minutes when another hand shot up, this one belonging to Luke’s oldest sister. “It’s going to be a cowboy sitting on a fence, isn’t it?”
“You’ve come the closest so far, Lila. I’m impressed.” Both Tess and her daughter beamed at his praise.
Another five minutes passed with not a single guess. He stopped and scanned the benches. With the children, their group leaders and a curious ranch hand or two, some sixty-five pairs of eyes were trained on him. The room was so quiet he could almost hear the children thinking.
He reached for a smaller gouge on the table behind him and turned back to his creation, stealing another look at Callie as he did. She smiled her encouragement and mouthed the words keep going. Her eagerness spurred him on.
As he began the telltale cuts that would reveal a key part of the sculpture, he anticipated more guesses coming soon. Sure enough, Freddie’s wildly waving hand caught his eye. And was that Jasper with a hand raised, too?
Tess chuckled. “It appears we have a tie. I’d like you both to come up and tell me what you think it is.” They joined her, taking turns whispering in her ear. She straightened and smiled. “We have two winners. I’ll count to three, and you boys can say what it is together. One. Two. Three.”
“Humpty Dumpty,” they shouted in unison.
Callie began clapping, and the others joined in. Pride radiated from her, reminding him of Tess’s response when he’d complimented her daughter earlier. He and Callie had only been caring for the children for several hours, and yet it was clear they’d already come to mean a great deal to her. She’d make a fine mother one day.
The Plan didn’t call for him to find a wife to fill that role for three years yet, a fact he must keep in mind. But no harm could come from enjoying the company of his lovely assistant over the next few weeks, could it?
Chapter Four (#u8eeb3008-5f38-5bb8-8c39-86b6e9c97bd8)
Ruby sneezed.
“God bless you, sweetheart! Here. You can use my handkerchief, if you need to.” Callie pulled the lace-edged square from her sleeve.
“I’m all wight. My nose just tickled.” The little girl rubbed it with the back of her hand.
“Sawdust can do that, and there’s plenty of it in here. Mr. Chip has been working very hard.”
Callie looked around the large woodshop. Stacks of boards rested in neat piles. Some were waiting to be cut, others had been planed and a fair number were sanded and ready to be oiled before being assembled into bed frames.
Her gaze lingered on the handsome carpenter as he kept his saw busy—and his muscular biceps flexing. The steady rasp as he sliced through the pine planks kept time with the rapid beating of her heart. At the rate Chip was going, he’d have the first order of furniture for the new dormitory built in no time. She wasn’t in any hurry. He was fun to be around, and he was so good with the children. She dragged her attention from him.
Jasper raced up to her on a stick horse. He’d whooped and hollered when Tess had dropped by with it the day before. He stroked the horse’s cinnamon-colored yarn mane. “I know what I’m gonna name him. Gingersnap, ’cause he’s the same color as one of them cookies we had after lunch. Do you like it?”
Callie smiled. “It’s a fine name.”
Chip paused, saw in hand. “I like it, too. You could call him Snap for short.”
Jasper tilted his head. “Like a nickname?”
“That’s right. Miss Callie has one. Her full name is Caroline.”
Callie seized the opportunity to learn what his name was. “What is Chip short for? Christopher, Charles or something else?”
Chip shook his head. “None of those. My name is really Sebastian. The first carpenter I worked for when I was a boy of ten, a Scotsman, said it was too much of a mouthful for a laddie like me since I was no bigger than a wood chip. He called me Chip, and the name stuck.”
“It suits you. Thanks for telling me. We’re keeping you from your work, though.” She held out a hand to Ruby. “We should find something else to do while Mr. Chip gets the next batch of boards cut. Let’s see if Mr. Isaac has time to lead you around on the pony, shall we?”
The thumping of Jasper’s stick horse on the wooden floorboards as he rode around the room came to an abrupt halt. “Mr. Chip don’t need my help now. Can I go, too?”
“He doesn’t need your help or ours just now, so I suppose you could join us.” She leaned toward him, smiled and adopted a playful tone. “If you’re interested in a riding lesson, that is.”
“Yee-haw!” Jasper galloped over to them, one hand holding the rope reins and the other swinging an imaginary lasso over his head. Ever since Jasper had seen the cattle on the day Chip and Callie brought him to the Double T, he’d been telling anyone willing to listen that he was going to be a cowboy when he grew up.
The room quieted. Chip stood with the saw hanging at his side and an exaggerated pout on his handsome face. “Are all my helpers going to abandon me?”
“Just for a short time. The children have spent the better part of three days in here with us. I understand why, but I thought some time outdoors would be good for them. Isaac mentioned that he would be free this afternoon and hinted rather strongly that he’d like to meet Jasper and Ruby.”
“I see.” Chip crossed the room in a few strides, wearing a smile. “And you’re going to take your brother up on his offer and leave me here to slave away on my own, are you?” He heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Good help is so hard to come by.”
Callie chuckled. “Since we really can’t do much to help at this point, I figured you might appreciate having some time to yourself. Without distractions.”
“Ah, but these are the best kind of distractions.” He ruffled the children’s blond heads. And winked at her.
Chip’s impulsive gesture didn’t mean anything. He was just being his usual engaging self, but even so, a shiver of delight raced up her spine.
His brow furrowed. “Are you cold?”
“Not at all.” With him standing so close, she could smell the masculine mix of wood, linseed oil and sunshine that was Chip. Even better, she had a good excuse to look into his intriguing eyes, a far deeper blue than her own, with golden circles around the centers. Those eyes widened, and she realized she was staring. “You’ll be fine without us for an hour or so, won’t you?”
“No. I’ll miss you something fierce, but I’ll manage somehow.”
She laughed and gave his arm a playful swat. “Oh, you.”
Jasper gazed up at her, his brow furrowed. “Why did you hit him, Miss Callie?”
She’d momentarily forgotten about their young chaperones. “I didn’t hit him. I just swatted him. Mr. Chip was teasing me, and I was teasing him back. That’s all. But you’re right. Hitting isn’t a good thing. We should get on over to the corral. We’ll see you when we return, Chip.”
“You might see me sooner than that. I could use a break myself.”
“We’d like that.” She certainly would, more than he knew.
“Then I’ll definitely join you.” He flashed her a smile that held the promise of an enjoyable time to come. She had to force herself not to skip down the path.
Minutes later Callie stood outside the corral fence watching Isaac lead Ruby around on a pony. Callie’s brother didn’t let his war injury hold him back, but he still had trouble with loud noises or altercations of any kind between adults. He was fine with children, though, because, as he said, they posed no threat. He’d certainly overcome Ruby’s hesitation in a hurry. The little girl was actually smiling.
Jasper waited beside Callie, his feet on the middle rung of the slat fence and his hands gripping the top one. “How long do I gotta wait for my turn?”
“Until Ruby’s done. It won’t be long now.” Footfalls from behind caught her attention.
Tess approached them, with her hands behind her back and a smile on her face. “Since you want to be a cowboy one day, Jasper, you’ll be needing one of these.” She held out a small cowboy hat.
Jasper’s eyes grew as round as wagon wheels. He took the hat and plopped it on his head.
Callie leaned close. “What do you say?”
He beamed at Tess. “Thank you.”
“I’m glad you like it. The Double T is a good place for boys like you. Papa Spencer and his ranch hands can teach you everything there is to know about raising cattle.”
Isaac led the pony up to the fence beside them. “This little lady had a nice ride. It’s her brother’s turn now.”
“Yee-haw!” Jasper cringed and clamped a hand over his mouth.
Tess’s forehead furrowed. “What’s wrong?”
Callie rested a hand on the remorseful boy’s shoulder. “He remembered that we’re not supposed to make loud noises around horses. Isn’t that right, Jasper?”
He bobbed his head.
Isaac passed Ruby to Callie and smiled at Jasper. “Sounds like you’re well on your way to being a good cowboy then, but you need to learn how to ride a horse. Let’s get you on the back of that pony, shall we?”
