Jeremiah had made his living on being observant of people and he was someone who was typically rather charismatic and personable, even if he'd been keeping to himself around here, and in this particular moment, he could see that the boy in front of him seemed to be a bit frightened of his presence. Or at the very least, wary of it. Jeremiah reached out to pat Heart's ears, and he nodded offering a warm smile, despite himself. He didn't want the boy to be ill at ease, even if he didn't know exactly why he was out here.
"I'm... Jeremiah," there was a pause as he introduced himself, a pause that was brushed away quickly enough with his next words. "This is Heart," the lab looked up and then pressed forward again as if given permission to go back to the young man in the dirt. "She likes you I think, but if she bothers you, let me know."
So, worms, didn't actually help Jeremiah figure out what the young boy wanted. A city boy himself, he couldn't think of what you would use worms for, or why you would spend your morning looking for them. "I guess it would be cold," he offered instead. "Particularly this hour of the day."
For a moment he hesitated, thinking of how his father, and Jeremiah had to make a decision. The ground might be cold, but his house wouldn't be, but did he want to open his house to a total stranger - another one besides the ones he'd had there before? "Would you like something warm to drink? I usually make some coffee after my walk," he offered. Coffee didn't require entering the house. He could make it and bring it out to the porch which got the morning sun, and would likely be warm enough.