Page 35 of When Morning Comes Around

“What do you think?” Dominic asked. “Should we take my SUV? Or are you better off in the minivan?”

Sadie slapped her dad’s arm when he laughed and said, “That minivan might be easier to get into, but it’d be too hard to live down if anyone saw me in it.”

“Dad!” She swung to look at Dominic when she heard him laugh. “What’s wrong with my minivan?” she asked.

Her dad rolled his eyes. “You know damn well what’s wrong with it. No self-respecting person, who doesn’t have a whole passel of kids to ferry around, would ever drive one of those.”

She blew out a sigh. He was right. She’d never loved the minivan; it had been useful. It served double duty – it was her personal vehicle, but with the side door, she’d also been able to load parts and equipment in it so that she could help out whenever Dale needed her to. She’d used it more like a scaled down cargo van than anything else.

Her dad reached out and touched her arm. “Look on the bright side, honey bun. You can buy yourself whatever you like now.”

“Yeah.” She wasn’t about to disagree with him in front of Dominic, but there was the slight issue of her finances – or lack of them.

Her dad held her gaze for a long moment before turning to Dominic. “Want to give me a hand into that big old Sequoia of yours?”

“Be happy to.”

Her dad chuckled. “You could learn a thing or two from this man, Sadie. He chose a vehicle that suits him. You know that the Sequoia is the tallest tree in the woods, right? Some say that it’s the biggest in the world.”

Dominic laughed with him. “I need to introduce you to some of my friends, that’ll set you straight – they’re bigger than I am.”

He winked at Sadie, and she smiled as she remembered the first time she’d seen him in the grocery store. His friends might be slightly larger than him, but they couldn’t hold a candle to him, as far as she was concerned.

Chapter Nine

When they arrived at the diner, Dominic hurried around to the passenger seat to help Harvey down. Sadie had tried to help him to get in, but he’d been short with her. Dominic understood it; he didn’t like to depend on anyone. He was frustrated by his physical limitations.

The way Sadie shot him a grateful smile as he opened the passenger door told him that she understood.

“What can I do to help?” he asked.

“Just let me lean on you, would you, son?”

Harvey grasped his shoulder and swung his legs around so that his feet were on the door sill. He looked down and then gave Dominic a wry smile. “It’s a long way down from the tallest tree in the woods.”

Dominic chuckled. “Yeah, it works for me, but normal-sized people sometimes need a hand, even when they’re not banged up.”

“I know you’re only trying to make me feel better, but yeah, I could use some help.”

“Tell me what’s going to work best for you. I don’t know how bruised you are – I don’t want to make things worse.”

Harvey chuckled. “My pride says we should work this like a piggyback. My achy old bones vote that you lift me down like you’re carrying a bride across the threshold.”

“I’m not going to hurt your back if I do it that way?”

“Nope. Let’s do it.”

He gently slid one arm under Harvey’s legs and the other around his back. “Ready? On three?”

Harvey nodded. “One, two, three. Let’s get it over with.”

Dominic lifted him down as gently as he could and kept an arm around his waist until he was sure that Harvey had his balance. Sadie stepped forward with his cane.

“Thanks,” Harvey said gruffly and started making his way toward the entrance to the diner.

Sadie shot Dominic a grateful smile as he fell in stride beside Harvey. She rushed ahead of them to get the door.

Once they were inside, he scanned the diner and wasn’t surprised to see Jake sitting in a booth, with Savannah standing beside him. She had a notebook in her hand and a pencil at the ready, but whatever they were talking about, it didn’t look as though she was taking his food order.

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