Page 22 of Shelter from the Storm

Theo rolled it down when he found Edith standing next to his truck. “Hey, Edith.”

“I see you met our girl,” she said by way of greeting.

“Yep. She walked to the farm.”

Edith’s brows lifted nearly to her hairline, and Gretchen felt instantly guilty. Because there was no way Edith would have let her walk to Stormy Weather Farm if she’d known that was the plan.

“How on earth?” Edith mused, as her gaze slid to Gretchen. “I wondered what was taking you so long. I thought you were going to walk around town today and save the farm visit until tomorrow.”

That was what Gretchen had told her this morning, since Edith knew she didn’t have a car. “It was a whim.”

Theo pierced her with a look that said he knew that was a lie.

“Well, I’m glad you brought her home. I want to invite you to dinner on Saturday night. I’m making a huge pan of lasagna for Gretchen’s Welcome to Gracemont dinner. And while I know Manny will give it the college try, even he won’t be able to put a dent in it, so you have to come and help us eat it all.”

Theo grinned, because Edith clearly wasn’t the type of person to ask for what she wanted, which meant her invitation was one that couldn’t be refused. Not that it looked like he was going to.

“Thanks for the invitation,” Theo said. “I’ll be here. Of course, now I’m wishing I’d thought of having my own welcome dinner for Gretchen.”

“Oh no,” she hastened to say. “Neither one of you needs to make a fuss.”

Theo brushed her off. “Even so, I’m going to talk to Mom and get her help pulling something together for next Friday. I doubt you’ll have the chance to meet everyone by then, so it’ll be easier to introduce you to the whole family in one fell swoop. You’re invited too, Edith.”

Edith clapped her hands. “That’s sounds wonderful! Two parties is always better than one. Now, come by at five on Saturday, Theo, and we’ll start with drinks and apps.”

Theo chuckled as he glanced in Gretchen’s direction, winking about Edith’s use of the word apps. She was reminded of his Urban Dictionary comment and couldn’t help grinning herself.

“Wait there,” Theo said to Gretchen as he opened his truck door.

Edith stepped away, giving him an approving look as he circled the truck to open her door for her.

“You don’t have to—” Gretchen started.

“When you’re with me, I open the door for you,” he said, interrupting her.

Gretchen didn’t know how to reply to that, since she wasn’t used to people doing nice things for her.

Theo placed a gentle hand on Gretchen’s back, escorting her around the truck. Edith was waiting at the path that led to the front porch, so he offered her his other arm, the three of them climbing the stairs together.

Gretchen had never experienced anything so charming and old school and peaceful. By the time they reached the front door, she was smiling, overwhelmed with…God…happiness.

Gracemont was her new beginning.

The place where Gretchen Banks, the real Gretchen, was going to come to life.

She couldn’t wait to meet her.

Chapter Five

Theo grinned when Gretchen opened the front door of Millholland House on Saturday. He’d put on a pair of khaki slacks and a dark green polo, feeling as if he should put in more effort than the faded blue jeans he usually wore around the farm. He’d also stopped by Gladys Jenkins’ flower stand on the way here and grabbed two bouquets of yellow roses.

He pulled one out from behind his back, handing it to Gretchen.

“What’s this?” She took a small step back, obviously hesitant to take the flowers. Unlike most women he knew, Gretchen didn’t seem happy about his gift. In fact, she looked uneasy.

“Flowers,” he joked, hoping it would make her relax.

“I know, but did I…I mean…is something wrong?”

---