A Maverick's Heart

“I know you’re a gem hunter. I saw Myra’s wedding band. She told us you found the stones, had them cut and set with diamonds. The colored stones are pretty. Blue at times. Purple at others.”

“Tanzanite. They’re only found in Tanzania and are becoming quite rare.”

“Do they just lie around on the ground?” Lila shifted the coffeepots.

Seth laughed. “Most quality gems are dug out of pockets in mountainsides. Rough-cut stones look very different from the finished product you see set in rings or necklaces.”

“Oh.” The bell announcing an order up dinged a couple of times, causing Lila to turn her head. “Your salad’s ready. Would you like a roll and butter with that?”

“No, thanks. I’m probably going to lose the race to Rory. He’s been shoveling his in while we’ve been talking.”

Lila shifted her gaze to her son’s side of the table and her eyebrows rose in surprise. “He is. Shocking. It’s always a battle to get him to eat vegetables, especially green ones. How’d you get him to listen to you?”

Rory answered. “Seth said I need to eat vegetables if I want to hit a home run. And he knows, ’cause don’t you remember me telling you Mr. Zeke said Seth got trophies for playing baseball?”

Lila bobbed her head, but before the conversation advanced further she was called away to replenish coffee at another table. She soon scurried back with Seth’s salad and was off again.

Seth had decided to let Rory win their eating contest if need be—to help his ego, and so that maybe he’d be happier to eat vegetables in the future. But then wondered if letting a kid win was like throwing a game?

Had his folks ever held back and let him or Zeke come out victorious? He didn’t want to think they had. He wanted to think he and his twin had been good enough to win on their own. But he’d definitely ask his dad the next time they spoke. He and Zeke had always had their father as a role model. Who did Rory Jenkins have? It must be hard when a boy only had one parent and she worked two jobs. And Rory seemed as if he understood that his mom was doing her best to make a living.

Rory waved his empty bowl in front of Seth who, himself, was slightly half done.

“I get chocolate pudding before you,” the boy crowed.

“So you do. And well deserved. Your mom’s swamped. Maybe you should take your bowl and show your grandmother. Isn’t she the keeper of the pudding?”

“Yeah.” So saying, he slid out of the booth and headed off with his bowl.

Seth had taken another few bites when Zeke walked up. “We’re going home,” he said. “One of the things that came up during our meeting was that a couple of the larger ranches haven’t finished branding their calves yet. Generally they hire extra help, but it seems with our long, harsh winter, not as many cowboys needing part-time work came this far north.”

“You’re telling me...why? You think I should sign on to brand calves?” Seth’s laugh rolled up from his belly.

Zeke laughed, too. “It’s not that I don’t think you could learn like I did. But late as it is for them to drive their cattle to summer grass pastures, there’s no time to train anyone. I’m telling you this because I volunteered to give them a hand the next few days. Which means a delay in roofing my barn. I didn’t figure you’d be too bent out of shape. This way you’ll get more time to fish. I hear the steelhead are running. Oh, and Lila’s mom will buy your catch.”

Seth blotted his mouth with his napkin. “I’m not sure I’m keen to fish these swift rivers alone. But Gavin brought up something that snagged my interest. He said before coming here he read up on the area, and some articles said gem hunters have found sapphires near here. Have you heard that?”

“Yep. In fact I told Myra if I mentioned it to you, you’d be sure to visit. Then you phoned to say you’d decided to come and our wedding coincided... Frankly the sapphires slipped my mind.” He glanced around the room. “You might want to ask some of the older guys for specifics.”

“Cool. I’m no stranger to going online to ferret out information. And a county courthouse will have the facts on what kind of permits are needed and such.”

“That’d be in Wolf Point. Not hard to find. It’s where Myra and I went for our wedding license. So it sounds as if you’re okay having a few days to yourself?”

“I am.” Looking past Zeke, Seth saw Rory coming back, carrying a bowl of pudding and wearing a big smile.

“In fact, this morning Lila said her horses needed to be ridden more. I may carve out time to go take a look at the hills beyond here now that I know they may yield some nice gems. Say...how long has Lila lived in Snowy Owl Crossing? Maybe she’ll know where sapphires were found. They’re probably in defunct mines.”

Zeke lowered his voice. “Ixnay on asking Lila, dude,” he murmured as Rory approached the booth. “Her husband died in a mining accident.” The last bit he imparted half under his breath since the boy noisily plopped down his bowl and spoon and reclaimed his seat.

As Seth tried to digest what Zeke had said, he crushed the napkin he held. Startled by the information about Lila’s husband, he quickly decided he’d get particulars on sapphires from another source. He wouldn’t want to cause Lila any anxiety.

Myra broke off talking to the couple at another table and signaled Zeke that it was time to go.

“Call or text me after you finish helping your neighbors,” Seth said. “In addition to what I said I may do, I may play catch with my little buddy here after he gets out of school.”

“Really?” Rory stopped licking pudding off his spoon and his eyes widened. “Really?” he repeated, exhibiting more excitement. “I wanted to ask you, but my mom said no. Oh, but I need a bat. And a mitt that fits,” the boy added glumly. “She never has time to shop, ’cause she works so much.”

“Equipment isn’t a huge deal,” Seth told him.

“Gotta take off, bro.” Zeke squeezed his twin’s shoulder. “Cost for new stuff could turn out to be a big deal. Perhaps you should’ve spoken with Rory’s mom first,” he said, a vague warning in his tone. “Pride, you know,” Zeke added.

“I will. Go on, get outta here and let me finish my supper or I won’t have time to order any of that chocolate pudding before they close the café.”

“It was good,” Zeke called back with a grin as he moved off and slipped his arm around his wife.

“Will you talk to my mom? She’s thinking about signing me up to play on Kemper’s Little League team. But she can’t seem to decide. Maybe we can’t afford it.”

Seth registered Rory’s downcast demeanor. The poor kid felt let down a lot. But there could be legitimate reasons his mom held back on signing him up to play ball. “How do you do in school?” Seth asked.

Sitting straighter Rory pulled his spoon out of the pudding and stuck it in again. “In school how?”

“In your classes. How are your grades?”

The kid hiked both skinny shoulders and dolefully eyed Seth, who continued to work on finishing his salad.

“I dunno. Mom’s not happy if I don’t get As on my report card. But Memaw says she got some Bs. Memaw says only Ds and Fs are bad. I never get those.”

“Who’s Memaw?”

“You know... Memaw.” Rory stabbed his finger toward the kitchen just as Lila whipped back to their table carrying the coffeepot.

She gestured with it after topping off Seth’s mug. “In Kentucky where my mother grew up, grandparents were called memaw and papaw. I asked her preference when Rory was born. Here people go by grandma and grandpa. But she chose memaw.”

Seth grinned. “Whatever makes her happy?”

“Right. I don’t know about your mother, but when it comes to guilt trips, mine is the biggest travel agent in the world.”

Tipping his head back, Seth laughed long and loud. “Sorry, that description could fit my mother, too.”

Lila wagged a finger at her son. “Don’t you dare tell Memaw what I said. It’s a joke, honey, okay?” Returning her attention to Seth, she grew serious. “It looks as if you’re finished. Do you want anything else or just your check? We close in half an hour.”

“If that gives me time for chocolate pudding I’ll have some. Otherwise I’m good to go. Oh, but something I wanted to discuss with you before I take off... How would you feel about me playing catch with Rory after school? I used to play a lot. I’ve taught kids in underdeveloped countries. Maybe if you agree, I could give Rory a few batting tips, too.”

Rory’s eyes widened. “I didn’t ask him, Mama. Honestly!”

“No, he didn’t ask. Zeke suggested it. And since my brother is going to help some ranchers and is delaying the roofing, I’ll have some free time.”

Lila fidgeted. “Rory comes here to do his homework after school. But...it is staying lighter longer. If we get home before dark and you’re around, I’m sure he’d love some tips. But I don’t want him bugging you,” she quickly added when her son did two fist pumps and squealed “Yeesss!” with an ear-to-ear grin.