Page 56 of Fairest of Heart

Angus snorted awake, though his eyelids still drooped heavily. “Who you callin’ old? I’m eight months younger’n you, ya grump.”

Jeb scooted back his chair and hefted Angus to his feet. “Yeah, well, at least I can keep my eyes open longer’n five minutes after the sun goes down.”

“Doc says sleep is good for a man,” Angus grumbled as Jeb steered him out to the hall.

“Says the same thing ’bout exercise, but I don’t see you puttin’ that one into practice.” A grunt followed Jeb’s retort. “Keep movin’, old man. I ain’t draggin’ your sorry hide all the way up these stairs.”

“Quit callin’ me old.”

“Quit walkin’ like a thirty-year-old plow horse on his way to the glue factory.”

The walls and floorboards absorbed the rest of the verbal sparring as the pair progressed to the second story. The other hands shuffled around the kitchen, making their own preparations to retire, showing no signs that they’d heard the comical exchange. Probably too used to Angus and Jeb’s bickering to notice. Then again, it was equally likely they hadn’t actually heard anything after Jeb and Angus left the kitchen. Their senses weren’t exactly the keenest. Penelope, on the other hand, looked as if she were holding in a chuckle. Her eyes danced with humor. Titus caught her gaze from across the table and let his own amusement show over the rim of his coffee cup. The smile that blossomed across her face in response would have rivaled the finest Texas sunset. Left him feeling a mite awestruck.

“Night, son,” Doc said as he moseyed past, laying a hand on Titus’s shoulder.

When Titus glanced up to wish his grandpa a good night, the gleam in the older man’s eye brought a flush of heat to the back of Titus’s neck. It seemed his grandpa had his own source of entertainment. One that had nothing to do with a pair of cantankerous cowboys and everything to do with his grandson flirtin’ with the pretty gal at the other end of the table.

“Night, Doc.” Annoyance colored his tone, making the farewell sound more like he was shooing a cat from underfoot. Which, of course, made his grandpa’s knowing look gleam even brighter.

Interfering rascal.

Rowdy rose from the table, drawing Titus’s attention and orienting his mind back on work. The small man kept his head down and tried to hide among the others as they trickled out of the kitchen, but Titus wasn’t ready to let him heigh-ho off to bed just yet.

“Hold up there a minute, Rowdy.”

Rowdy slowed, but he didn’t meet Titus’s gaze. In fact, the fellow looked like he might bolt at any moment. Grabbing the man’s arm was bound to escalate the tension, but Titus wasn’t sure how else to detain him.

Before Titus could rise from his seat, however, Penelope came to his rescue. Setting down the pair of coffee mugs she had hooked over her index finger, she hurried over to Rowdy’s side and slid her hand through his elbow.

“Come sit by me,” she urged, that sweet smile of hers working its magic.

Helpless to resist, Rowdy let her guide him back to the table. They sat opposite Titus, Penelope keeping a friendly hand on Rowdy’s arm.

Titus was about to start his questioning when Penelope gave him a tiny shake of her head, then leaned in close to Rowdy. “Thank you for the beautiful buttons you left on my dresser this morning.”

Rowdy’s ears reddened slightly.

“You have a gift for finding pretty things,” she continued. “In fact, I’m hoping you found some others last night when you came to my room. I think the lady I used to work for sewed some fancy baubles inside her corset. Such a strange thing to do, don’t you think? I never would have thought to look for them there. In fact, I didn’t even realize I had them with me until Titus found one on the floor this morning.”

Her light, unthreatening tone reeled Rowdy in, drawing his attention from the tabletop to her face. The way she praised his cleverness and invited him to help her find what was lost was a cunning backdoor tactic. Only it wasn’t a tactic. Not with Penelope. Yes, she hoped to elicit information from Rowdy, but that wasn’t her main goal. Above all, she wanted to protect his feelings and ensure he didn’t run off again.

The irritation Titus had initially felt when she waved him off vanished. He preferred brusque and to-the-point questioning, a fact Penelope knew all too well. Yet intimidation and interrogation wouldn’t work with Rowdy. Titus had recognized that truth and planned to be gentle, but gentle didn’t come naturally to him. Not like it did to Penelope. No, in this case, he’d be better off buttoning his lip and letting her take the lead. For now.

“Did you find any shiny rocks when you were in my room, Rowdy?”

The man shrugged.

Had he forgotten already? Or was he trying to skirt the truth?

“It’s all right if you did,” Penelope assured him. “In fact, it would really help if you knew where they were.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice to a volume reserved for secrets. “Titus has been on a treasure hunt, you see.” She tipped her head toward Titus, and Rowdy’s gaze flickered over to him before settling again on Penelope. “A hunt for stolen treasure. We need to find those jewels so we can return them to their rightful owners.” She paused, then finally asked the question Titus had been waiting for. “Do you know where those pretty rocks are, Rowdy?”

For a long moment the old man didn’t move. Finally, he lifted a gnarled hand and rubbed it over his head. His gaze dropped to the table once again, but his chin dipped in a nod.

Yes! Now they were getting somewhere.

Titus leaned across the table. “Where are they?” He took pains to keep his voice as bland as possible, but Rowdy still recoiled.

Penelope frowned at Titus, which stirred his ire. He hadn’t attacked the man, for Pete’s sake. He’d just asked a simple question. In a perfectly reasonable tone, too.