She put the lid on the little can of tar and tapped it with the end of the putty knife to seal it.
"My name is really Rosemary Joann.
He mentally counted syllables and decided Mary Jo was shorter. "Why didn't they just call you Rose?"
She rolled her eyes. "I don't know. Why do they call you Barrett?"
He shrugged. "Because that's my name."
She nodded in a way that indicated it was no more than she expected from him. "And you're too stuffy to have a nickname."
"My friends call me Barr."
Her face came alive with triumph. He was instantly angry with himself - not because he had divulged his nickname, but because he had fallen for her clever ploy.
She lifted her brows. "Then I will call you Bear."
He started to protest, but on second thought, he liked the idea that she considered him a friend. He shrugged again. "I don't care."
Her eyes sparkled with amusement. "Oh, so you're not a Care Bear."
He couldn't resist a smile at her quick wit. "No, nor am I a Teddy Bear."
She wrinkled her nose. "Probably not." She turned and he followed her into the house. "Would you like a cup of coffee?"
"That would be nice."
She nodded at a chair. "Sit down and I'll pour you some."
He sat in the chair and she brought him a mug of hot coffee. It smelled good. He looked up at her. "Thanks. So, do you all address each other with two names?"
She frowned. "I reckon. Does it matter?"
"I guess not. I was just curious."
She sat in a chair at the end of the table and sipped her coffee. She sat the cup down. "Ma just calls Pa Chester."
With her accent, he wasn't certain of the name. "What?" He took a sip of his coffee.
She looked annoyed. "Ch-e-s-t-e-r," she said slowly with exaggerated enunciation. "Like a chester drawers."
He choked on the coffee. When he finally coughed it out of his windpipe, he frowned at her. "Let me guess. The school bus doesn't get back this far, so you've never been to school."
The look on her face made his stomach twist into a knot. His sarcasm had hurt her feelings. She was a country hick, but he could at least act civilized.
The shocked look faded from her face. Her eyes flashed a warning and her lips thinned. "I'll have you know I graduated high school and I had all A's."