“I apologize, Miss Tucker,” Judah, said, sliding his light blue shirt back over his head. It clung to his wet torso, and he wiggled his shoulders to loosen it as he refastened the top three buttons. “It is intolerably hot up there.”
With the heat rolling through her own flesh, she imagined she knew the feeling. She felt like her cheeks were aflame, and there was a tightness in her stomach like she’d never experienced before. He was fully dressed now, his shirt tucked in, and his hat, which had been resting atop the pump, was back on his head, but Hope thought it might take the rest of her life to get the image of Judah’s bare chest out of her mind.
“Hope? Are you all right?” His expression was a mixture of true concern and that amusement she often saw play across his face whenever they interacted.
“Water.” Her tongue had finally loosened enough for her to speak. She looked down by her boots and saw the two upset buckets, their ladles in and out, but mostly out, and gathered them up. “I was meant to fetch water.”
“Well, bring them on over, and I’ll help you,” he said, priming the pump.
Hope did as instructed, still trying to gather her wits. She placed the first bucket under the spigot, and Judah filled it with cool water from the well. “You know, you walked right past another pump?”
She had been studying the liquid as it filled the metal bucket but glanced up now and caught his eyes. “No, I looked over there.” She turned and gestured back the way she’d come, praying that she’d find a way to speak coherently again soon.
“It’s hidden in Melissa’s rose bushes,” he explained, switching out the full bucket for the other one. She meant to move it out of the way, and their fingers grazed each other sending a wave of sparks up Hope’s arm.
“I guess I walked right past it then.” She realized as soon as the sentence was out of her mouth that was precisely what he’d just said and felt silly again.
Judah laughed, and she was suddenly jarred back to the moment. If it had been anyone else, she might’ve playfully smacked him on the arm, but she couldn’t do that. Touching him was dangerous for more reasons than she was willing to admit.
“You havin’ a good time?” he asked, topping off the last bucket.
“Yes, everyone is so nice.” She thought back to her conversation with Anna and decided to omit it. “Melissa is lovely. So is Evelynn.”
“These are some fine folks,” he agreed, and she thought she heard a tinge of sadness in his voice, perhaps because not everyone had been so kind.
“How’d you learn to do that?” she asked, nodding in the direction of the barn. “You sure you’re not a carpenter?”
“I’m sure,” he said, leaning on the pump casually. She imagined she might have more difficulty talking to someone who’d just seen her half-naked, but it didn’t seem to bother him nearly as much as it did her.
“You just raised a lot of barns?” He didn’t seem particularly forthcoming with information. She felt like she had to ask five questions to get one answer.
Snickering, he said. “Something like that.”
“Fine. Don’t tell me anything.” Hope bent to pick up the buckets, trying on the pouty look she’d seen some of her friends try when they wanted something from a man.
He let out a sigh, and she knew she’d won. “I was an architect, Hope. Still am, I guess. Here, I’ll take them back with me.”
She handed him one bucket but kept the other, glad to have his help since they were heavier than she’d expected. “An architect? Really?”
“Yep. Though I haven’t used my skills for much more than barns since we finished Caroline’s house. You gonna give me that bucket?”
“Nope,” she replied, beginning to walk toward the barn. “I can’t hardly keep talking to you if I hand you the bucket and leave.”
His eyebrows arched, but then he smiled. “You ain’t worried about that?”
She ignored the question. “What type of buildings did you erect?”
“Mostly the ones made outta wood.” He was teasing her again, and she fought the urge to strike him in the arm while her eyes narrowed. “All sorts. Mostly town squares. A few standalone structures. Post offices. Courthouses.”
“Like the massive one on the square?”
“Nothin’ that elaborate.”
“Why did you stop?” They were nearly halfway there now and she slowed her steps even though she knew the men were likely anxious for the water they carried.
“Not too much goin’ on here, and this is where Paul and Caroline wanted to settle. I came with ‘im to build Caroline’s house. Then, I guess I got a little caught up with the children and decided to stay. For now.”
There was more information in those few sentences than she could discern at the moment, so she decided to think on it later and ask another question. “Y’all came from Kansas? Where abouts did y’all live before that? New York City?”
The sound of his laughter reminded her of music, the way it had the first time she’d heard it. “You been listen to the town folk, Miss Tucker?”
“Nah, just Brady Howard.”
“Well, he is not a fan of mine if you haven’t heard.”
“I heard him bellowin’ earlier. I think he’s more of a rooster than a fox.”
“That’s true. The idea that we used to live in New York is yet another mixed up notion strung together from pieces of misinformation as a result of too much alcohol on the part of my dear brother-in-law.” He pointed up to one of the higher beams where a man who looked like an older version of George was hammering a nail into a supporting truss.
Hope knew that must be Paul, and while she’d hoped to meet him, at least she had an idea of who he was now. “So not New York City?”
“No. Manhattan. Kansas.”
A peal of laughter rang out of Hope’s mouth which caught Brady’s attention. He was on the ground, and now that he saw she had water, his tree-trunk legs were carrying him in her direction quickly. “Thank you for your help, Mr. Lawless.”
Judah nodded and handed his bucket over to a waiting man who looked to be a little older than both of them but didn’t say anything else as Brady bounded over and grabbed her bucket, splashing cold water upon her dress. He took the ladle out and gulped it down, repeating the process twice before Hope decided to just back away.