“Did you do anything fun today?”
Avery simply nodded as she took a small bite out of a crispy chicken leg. There was a smile on her face and a warm light in her eyes.
“Did you meet new people?” Again, he tried, but received the same response, which was nothing other than a nod.
It was obvious that Avery’s answers were not satisfactory to him at all. Worry seemed to etch itself into his face. There was sadness in his eyes, too, and Tresia’s heart went out to him. She sympathized with the situation as she’d had the same with her father after he’d had his stroke, which had taken his ability to speak.
She wanted to tell him to stop asking Avery questions but was afraid of overstepping. There were some parents who did not appreciate advice coming from anyone in regard to their children. She’d run into that at the store, where some parents let their children do whatever they pleased, ruining her displays or running around and making a nuisance of themselves. She’d asked more than one mother to leave over the years, despite losing a sale.
“Is the chicken good?”
Once again, his daughter just nodded and he gave up—finally—but then he turned his attention to her. “Tell me about yourself, Mrs. Morgan.”
She swallowed her mouthful of food then wiped her lips with the napkin. “There isn’t much to tell, Marshal?—”
He interrupted her. “You should call me Devlin. After all, we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”
She gave a short nod even as a little thrill whispered through her. “All right. Devlin. And you should call me Tresia.”
He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. His gaze kept going to his daughter, watching her, waiting for her to speak, which she didn’t. “You were saying, Tresia?”
Oh, she liked the way he said her name. It flowed from his lips without effort in his deep, gravelly voice that seemed to send fairies dancing in her belly. She paused, looking for the words, looking for a reason as to why that should be. She’d been married, for goodness sake! She wasn’t some young miss mooning over a handsome man. “As I said, there isn’t much to tell. I was born here in Serenity. I love this town. It’s a good place and it’s getting better all the time. The Ladies’ Society?—”
He interrupted her again. “The Ladies’ Society? What is that?”
“It’s just a group of ladies Lucy Hart gathered together. We try to do good things for the community. Two years ago, weraised funds to beautify the town square. The benches you see are new, each one donated by someone. There’s a little brass plaque that shows who provided the funds for it. And the flowers lining the paths are from Mrs. Dameron. She has the greenest thumb of anyone I know, but we all help with weeding and such.”
She watched him as she spoke, liking the fact that she had his undivided attention.
“Tell me more. What else does the Ladies’ Society do?”
“Lucy thinks—and we all agree—there should be a lending library. The town hall has two rooms on the second floor that aren’t being used. We could put up shelves and fill them with books that would be available to anyone. For free. We just need the books.”
“And how will you get those books?”
“We’ll have to have another fund raiser, but we haven’t decided what yet. It’ll have to be something good. We did put together a recipe book and that was popular, but we don’t want to do that again.”
He didn’t eat much, she noticed. He’d only taken two bites out of his chicken leg and pushed the potatoes around on his plate, while Avery ate every bit, including the corn and the cookie Elsie had slipped into the bag. She had a good appetite, which was good to see.
“All right, Miss Avery, I think it’s time for bed.” Tresia rose from her chair and took the dirty dishes to the counter beside the sink. “You’ve had a busy day.”
“I’ll do that,” Devlin said as he laid his napkin beside his plate and rose from his seat. “We have a routine, Avery and I, don’t we?”
Tresia looked at the girl who still hadn’t spoken a word, though she smiled a lot, especially when she looked at her father with such love in her eyes. “Of course.”
She watched them leave the kitchen, happy with the knowledge that Devlin Goodrich seemed like an attentive father, much as her own had been.
After she’d finished drying the last plate and put it away, the marshal came downstairs. He stood in the doorway for a moment then glanced at the clock on the wall, his expression one of surprise. “I thought you’d gone home.”
She spread the dish towel over the back of a chair to dry. “I was just finishing up.”
“Thank you for taking care of Avery and for picking up dinner.” He reached into his pocket and withdrew his billfold. “How much do I owe you?”
“Nothing. I was pleased to do it.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am.”
