I woke up the next morning, and Jack was already out of bed. I jumped up a bit blearily, and walked out of my room. What if they decided to leave? They could have just upped and left in the middle of the night. I almost ran out the front door when I saw them in the kitchen. They were making breakfast.
"Morrow," I said, a little confused.
"Good morrow, Henry!" Emelia said, giving me a little smile. I looked at Jack. He was smiling a bit shyly.
"Morrow," He said. "Sorry, it's sort of a habit to make breakfast for our patrons." Jack said. I laughed at that I bit.
"No, no." I said. "Don't be sorry at all. You just frightened me, is all."
"Alright then," Emelia said. "Henry, could you help us? We are not really sure where everything is."
"Oh, of course." I said. "This could be a surprise for my father," I said chuckling a little as I handed them some pots and utensils. "I'll get some eggs from the chickens." I said.
"I'll help you." Jack said. "Emelia, don't turn anything on, okay?"
"Yes, Jackson. I know. I am not a child." She said. It was completely contradictory, seeing as she was actually a child, but I didn't say anything. Jack just gave her a look, and followed me outside.
"Henry?" He asked me. "How long does your father plan to keep us under your roof? It's mighty considerate of him, but…"
"I do not know, to be honest." I replied. "But I do know that when he does something, he simply does not do it half-assed." Jack laughed at that bit as we collected the eggs from the chickens. "I do not think he will be this kind to anyone and then kick them out of our house." I said.
"It is mighty kind of both of you," Jack said quietly, giving me a quick glance before returning to the task at hand.
This was the first time I really looked at Jack. The morning light illuminated his frame perfectly. He was skinny, his arms and legs looking bony and long. His chin and jaw was well-defined, and his feet looked like they've seen more days without shoes than with. But he looked strong, well-built, filled out. His long fingers looked as if they could play the lute, swing a sword, bake bread, birth a calf, or do just about anything. His hair looked disheveled on top of his head, and his teeth were unnaturally white and healthy.
I do not think I was staring for long, because I found myself picking eggs here and there as well. In absolutely no time at all, we found ourselves walking back inside the house. Emelia was sitting on a stool, swinging her legs about and humming quietly to herself as she did so. She hopped off of it as soon as she saw us, and almost immediately starting cracking eggs into two separate bowls.
"You have flour, don't you Henry?" She asked, looking up at me and batting her eyes slowly.
"Yes, of course," I said, gesturing to a burlap sack near the back door. "Why do you ask?"
"Jack and I make the best bread," She said, a smile forming on her lips. I looked at Jack quizzically. He came over, and put his right hand on my left shoulder, then he bent down a bit and whispered in my ear, the smile on his face audible in his voice.
"Our grandmother taught me the recipe," He said. "She was too young to remember, but I guess it sort of stuck."
I smiled as he moved away, secretly wishing he was closer to me again. But that was wrong, wasn't it? I brushed it off, dismissing the shivers that ran down my spine to be from how cold it was this morning.
The smell of freshly-baked bread wafted through the air in no time, and I guess the glorious smell roused my father to get out of bed. He walked into the kitchen blearily just in time to see Emelia and Jack take out the second loaf of bread, and I was tending to the first one. I saw him blink a couple times, shocked at first, but then his face broke out into a huge grin and he laughed a little sleepily. Jack and Emelia just smiled at him, and I waved.
"Morrow, Father," I said.
"Morrow everybody!" He said, laughing a bit louder. "Making bread, I see?"
"Yes, sir," Emelia said.
"We wanted to thank you for the kindness you have shown us," Jack said, "and this was the only way I could think of." The bread cooled down enough, and I cut my father a slice and passed it to him. He sunk his teeth into it, and his eyes nearly fell out of his head.
"God Almighty," He swore lightly, and Emelia giggled. "Delicious, that is." Jack laughed, and we caught each other's eye. Pride shone clearly in his blue eyes, and my smile became wider.
Breakfast was eaten, and my father was right, their bread was spectacular. After, I excused myself from the table; I was already behind on my chores because of yesterday and a late start today simply was not getting me anywhere. I slipped through the back door and silently made my way to the barn. I had to tend to the horses first.
"Henry!" Jack yelled, and I turned around abruptly. Jack was running towards me, barefoot. He stopped and caught his breath for a bit.
"What are you doing?" I asked him.
"Helping with your chores, of course," Jack chirped, his white smile flashing across his face. My lips turned upwards slightly, and the burning sensation in my cheeks told me that I was blushing like mad.
"Look, Jack, you really do not have to-" I tried to argued but he held his hand up.
"I am helping you with your chores, and there is nothing you can do or say that will ever stop me." He said with finality. I gave in, rather reluctantly, because I always did my chores single-handedly and teamwork was not always my expertise.
Doing the chores with Jack… was like playing a huge game. While I usually did my work silently, he laughed and talked and sang to himself as he did his. I got sucked into his banter, and soon I was laughing and singing along with him. One of the horses whinnied at me loudly and I made a snarky face to it. After that, I tended to the crops outside. It was the usual chores that must be done, weeding and watering and picking if necessary. Jack helped me with that, too.
Chores with Jack felt different somehow. Before, it felt like a burden, like this heavy weight was on my shoulders. But now… there was this light and bubbly sensation running through me, even though I was exhausted and covered with sweat at the end of the day.
As we were getting ready to go inside, I saw Jack petting one of the horses fondly. I smiled, and looked on for a little while. Then, I spoke up.
"Do you like horses?" I asked, curious. Jack jumped, and the horse whickered at him, as if laughing. He laughed too, more at himself than anything, and he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Yeah, they are just… so…" He said, at a loss for words. I chuckled under my breath.
"Majestic? Beautiful? Strong? Graceful?" I supplied.
"All of them, really." He said. "There's just something about them that gets me every time… But that doesn't matter."
"Yes, it does," I said with a little smile and putting a hand on his shoulder. "If it means that much to you, I could take you riding tomorrow." His face lit up like a torch, his eyes alight with wonder and joy, his smile genuine and sincere.
"I would like that… a lot, actually." He said. He pulled me into a quick hug, and electricity bolted up and down my spine. I hugged him back briefly before he let go, laughing. "Let's get inside before Emelia insists we all play tea party with her." I laughed along with him.
"Does she really do that?" I asked, hearing a couple stories from the boys in my class about how their sisters would make them drink pretend tea with their dolls. Jack just laughed and nodded, racing me back to the house.