Page 24 of Shelter from the Storm

“You’ve only known her a few days,” Theo pointed out.

“Are you saying I’m not a good judge of character, Theodore Storm?”

Theo gave Edith a quick kiss on the cheek by way of apology. “You’re the best judge of character I know.”

Edith preened. “Which is why I can tell there’s something hidden behind those sad eyes of hers. I think it’s safe to say something has driven her here, and I’m afraid it was bad.”

The woman had noticed the same things he had.

“I agree. But it’s not like we can force her to tell us about it. We’re strangers to her.”

Edith took a sip of her wine, considering that. While Theo had resigned himself to simply building a friendship with Gretchen—aware asking her out, given their work relationship, would be a mistake—Edith didn’t work that way.

Instead, she approached everything like a bulldozer, plowing in headlong, relentlessly, and without hitting the brakes. He’d called her on that habit once, gently insisting she should ease back every now and again. Edith had, in no uncertain terms, informed him that at her age, she didn’t have the luxury of taking her time. If she wanted something done, she needed it done immediately. And when she put it that way, Theo had been hard-pressed to argue with her.

“I think she’ll be a great addition to the staff at the farm,” Theo said. “And you know the girls will absorb her into their crazy tribe of girlfriends.” By girls, he meant Nora, Mila, and Remi. He was looking forward to introducing Gretchen to his cousins, curious to see if she lost some of her reticence when she was around females, if she was simply uncomfortable around men. While at the brewery, Gretchen had been friendlier to the female patrons he’d introduced her to than the men.

“The two of you spent some time together Thursday,” Edith said.

“I took her to the brewery to sample a flight of our beer.”

“And you talked about the job?”

“We did.” Theo was starting to feel like Edith was fishing, and he was the trout she was trying to land.

“Did she say anything about herself at all?”

So Gretchen had been elusive with Edith as well. Theo wished the young woman well with her endeavors, even though he knew which horse he was backing in this particular race. Edith would get her answers. It seemed Gretchen hadn’t become fascinating just to him.

“She has a brother who’s a Navy SEAL. Other than that, I got nothing,” he admitted.

Undeterred, Edith grinned. “I suspect between the two of us, we can divide and conquer.”

Theo snorted. “I’m not trying to conquer her.”

“Mm-hmm,” Edith hummed, in a way that let him know she wasn’t buying what he was selling.

Before he could reiterate his point, Gretchen returned. She was wearing a pretty pale pink blouse with a lightweight cardigan over top and a pair of dark blue jeans. And God help him, she’d opted to wear her hair down, the long blonde tresses hanging in loose waves over her shoulders.

She looked fucking gorgeous, and he forced his gaze elsewhere so that Edith wouldn’t catch him staring—and drooling.

The back door to the kitchen opened as Manny walked in. “Hello, all! Oooo. Cheeseboard.” Within seconds, Manny had piled up a small plate with chunks of cheddar, slices of salami, half a dozen crackers, and three small gherkins.

“Leave some for the rest of us,” Edith admonished good-naturedly.

Theo rose, pouring Manny a glass of wine, and the four of them chatted in the kitchen as they sampled the variety of cheeses and meats.

Most of the conversation was carried by him and Edith, Manny too busy stuffing his face, and Gretchen seemingly content to merely listen.

They talked briefly about the harvest, as well as Levi’s plans for the farmland his family was leasing from Kasi’s. Edith asked about Sam’s campaign, promising to do her own bit of canvasing—determined, like Theo, to see Scottie lose. When Gretchen asked what was wrong with the current mayor, Theo told her about Lucy’s run-in with Scottie, how he’d come on way too strong.

“He actually grabbed her?” Gretchen asked.

Theo nodded. “Mercifully, Levi showed up before he could take it too far, but any kind of manhandling is too damn much. No man ever has the right to lay his hands on a woman like that.”

Gretchen bit her lower lip, her face losing some of its color.

He glanced in Edith’s direction and noticed the older woman’s gaze was locked on Gretchen, but she didn’t appear to be looking at her face.

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