His grin was self conscious. "It probably seems like it to you. I've done nothing but stagger around since we met."
Now she wasn't being fair. Not much of the blundering was his fault. "I don't know…you're life is so…normal. Sometimes I feel like I…don't fit in."
He sobered and met her gaze. "You're the real deal. I'm a box kit."
She stared at him. She was certain he was trying to deliver a compliment, but he sure took the long obscure way of doing it. "What do you mean?"
"I was born to a wealthy family. I never lacked anything I needed. I had every opportunity you never had. Everything was laid out for me, like a model airplane with all the parts."
Apparently he thought she was made from scratch. Whether that was better or worse probably depended on how she turned out. Maybe his point was that there was no better or worse…only different.
She shrugged. "Well, it sounds like you didn't like the kit the way it was and decided to improve on it."
He studied her a moment and then smiled. "I guess I never thought of it that way before."
Ma was standing in the kitchen, looking out the window when Mr. Monroe and Mary Jo fell. She gasped and ran to the door with the intent of helping them, but stopped. Mary Jo was capable of helping him and whether they knew it or not, they both needed time alone to work out their differences. The two were back on their feet by the time she looked out the window again. After a few minutes they were both laughing.
She turned away from the window and smiled. Mary Jo hadn't had much cause to trust men. It was no surprise that she found her instinct to trust Mr. Monroe confusing. He was exactly what she needed right now. In fact, he was what they all needed right now. Life had become mundane since Jim Bob died. Pa was gone most of the time and they were floating around with no real purpose but their chores - no hope or direction, until Mr. Monroe showed up on their doorstep.
She decided right then and there. That land was hers as much as it was Pa's. She didn't have any way to get a hold of him, and that wasn't her doing. She'd sell those trees to Monroe before he changed his mind.