Jingle Bell Blessings. Bonnie K. Winn

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      Transfixed by the difference in Evan when he smiled, Chloe didn’t pay attention to the quarry until Jimmy poked her arm, pointing out the large slabs of stone literally everywhere.

      Chloe tried to think of something intelligent to say; she reverted to the familiar. “Do you sell stone from this office?”

      “Small jobs like home remodels. All the commercial orders come through the main office.” He pulled the truck up close to the small building.

      “Is the quarry nearby?” Chloe asked, as curious as Jimmy.

      “We’ll grab a buggy to get over there.” Evan got out of the truck and disappeared.

      Chloe wriggled her eyebrows at Jimmy. “Sounds cool.”

      He loosened up slightly. “Evan doesn’t even sound mad at me.”

      Chloe’s heart pinged and she impulsively wrapped her arms around him. “He isn’t mad at you, honey. If anything, he’s mad at himself.”

      “How come?”

      Yes. Why? “Because he’s the sort of man who’s used to being in control, in charge, like at his company. And, when Evan’s in unfamiliar territory…he’s confused. And that makes him mad. Let’s get out of the truck and be ready when he brings the buggy around, okay?”

      Evan appeared shortly in what resembled a golf cart. “Hop in.”

      When Jimmy hesitated, Chloe climbed in, taking a spot in the back so Jimmy could ride up front next to Evan.

      When Jimmy continued to hesitate, Evan’s impatient expression relented a fraction; he shrugged his head to one side. “Come on. You ride shotgun.”

      Once Jimmy was onboard, Evan didn’t speed off as Chloe imagined he wanted to. Instead, he drove slowly, pointing out various formations.

      “This quarry is limestone.” Evan pointed to a newly excavated vein. “See the different colors? The clay and the iron oxide cause that.” He drove past the open pit to a second pit.

      “Now, this limestone’s been weathered a long time, about a hundred and forty years. That’s why the color’s different than the new vein. Subtle change, though. Takes stone thousands of years to form, sometimes more to change.”

      Jimmy’s big brown eyes grew even larger. “How do you grow more, then?”

      Evan’s mouth curved as though about to smile. As quickly, he pulled his eyebrows together in a serious expression. “We can’t. Have you heard about taking care of the environment?”

      Solemnly, Jimmy nodded. “Daddy and Mommy said we have to take care of the earth. That it’s our job, so that’s why we have to use green things.” He looked up at Evan. “That doesn’t mean the color green.”

      “So I’ve heard. Which is why we use every part of the stone we dig up. After the big slabs are cut, we use the small pieces for all kinds of things—cement, mortar, it even goes in toothpaste.”

      “We brush our teeth with rocks?” Jimmy asked, forgetting his fear, completely intrigued.

      Evan’s lips definitely twitched. “Helps that they flavor it with mint. Oh, and bubble gum for kids.”

      Bubble-gum flavored toothpaste? Funny thing for a single man to know about. Mr. Wainwright had told her that Evan was an only child. So no nieces or nephews. Of course he could have seen the product in a commercial.

      Chloe had wondered if Evan’s stubborn refusal to even consider taking Jimmy in was because of being an only child. Never having to share. Maybe he hadn’t left the trait behind with his childhood. Maybe he didn’t want to share his life, either.

      She found that terribly sad. Even though Chloe had felt the impact of financial problems for years, she wouldn’t trade caring for her mother. Not for a zillion dollars. But the money Holden Wainwright had promised her if she succeeded in placing Jimmy with the Mitchells would change their lives. There would be no more angst-ridden moments of worrying whether she would be able to pay the rising costs of the care facility.

      “Are most of the rocks for toothpaste?” Jimmy was asking Evan.

      “Nope. Most of it’s used in architecture. Have you heard of the Great Pyramids? They’re in Egypt where your grandparents are. Anyway, they’re made of limestone.”

      “I didn’t know that,” Chloe blurted out, belatedly realizing she had verbalized her thought.

      “Castles in medieval times were made from it, too.” Evan replied, unperturbed by her question.

      “With dragons?” Jimmy asked with the first note of genuine, full-out excitement she had heard in his voice.

      Evan scratched his head. “Hard to say. We don’t carry dragons at our quarries.”

      Chloe nearly giggled aloud, not something she would have ever anticipated doing with Evan.

      The thought had barely formed when he turned around. “I have to get back to the office soon. Where did you leave your car?”

      “The house,” she admitted, belatedly realizing that hadn’t been a well-thought-out plan.

      Evan glanced at his watch, then scowled. “Have to head back now, then.”

      By the time they returned the cart and switched back to the truck, Evan was impatient to get to his meeting. He pulled into the driveway at the house, leaving the engine running. Jimmy hopped out immediately. Chloe started to follow, but Evan caught her arm.

      “We have to talk. Soon.” He met her eyes, his own making her shiver unexpectedly. “When we’re alone.”

      Chapter Four

      Alone. Evan waited through dinner, then coffee and cake in the parlor. Chloe had managed to keep someone within a foot of her the entire time. He wouldn’t be surprised if she super-glued Jimmy to one of her hands.

      And his head was throbbing. The meeting with the bank president had gone so poorly he didn’t expect a follow-up visit would change a thing. Evan, like the rest of his family before him, had kept his business with the local bank. No connections to any of the large multinational banks. He couldn’t blame his local banker. Loans, especially big commercial loans, still weren’t the flavor of the day. And Mitchell Stone had been operating in the red for the last three years.

      It hadn’t helped that during the meeting, he couldn’t forget his other immediate problem. Sending Chloe and Jimmy back to Milwaukee. The boy resembled Spencer too much, making him remember too much…about too many things.

      A sudden image of Sean seared his thoughts. His son would be seven now, too. Sean should have been the one sitting in the cart beside him as they toured the quarry, learning as Evan had, from a young age to appreciate both the family business and the blessings of the earth, what it gave up to us.

      Sean had wanted to learn—every waking moment of every day. What kind of bird nested in the tall oak out front? Why did Grandpa’s hair turn gray? How did the dew form on the grass? A million questions, he had thought at СКАЧАТЬ