Page 31 of Shelter from the Storm

“Are you saying the candy has feelings?” Theo asked, even as Nora nodded, agreeing with Gretchen.

“I do the same thing,” Nora said. “After I count the candy.”

“Because God forbid she eat an even number of M&Ms,” Theo added sarcastically.

Nora snorted. “I never hear you complaining when I give you the extra one.”

“Yeah, one M&M. Super generous,” he teased.

Gretchen shrugged. “I think everyone has little quirks. It doesn’t make us crazy. Just interesting.”

“I’ve always called my issues compulsions, but I like the word quirks better. See, Theo, Gretchen gets me.” Nora flourished a hand in her direction. “She thinks I’m interesting.”

Theo rolled his eyes as Nora rose. “And since we have a good handle on this list of options, I need to head back to the winery to finish a couple things before the cookout. See y’all later.”

Nora walked to the door but paused in the threshold. Tilting her head toward Gretchen, she looked at Theo. “You were right.”

And with those parting words, she left.

“You were right?” Gretchen was slightly worried, since it was obvious Nora’s comment had been about her.

Theo, meanwhile, was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. “About hiring you.”

While Gretchen liked hearing that, she felt a little nervous. “Nora didn’t want to hire me?”

Theo leaned back and crossed his legs. This meeting was being held in Gretchen’s office, so she was sitting behind the desk while her bosses had claimed the two chairs in front of her. With any other boss, maybe that would have felt weird, but not with Theo and Nora. That was one of the other parts of this job she loved. Neither Nora nor Theo was on a power trip. From day one, they simply pulled her into the flock, treating her like an equal member of the team.

“We interviewed other candidates with more experience,” he confessed.

“Oh.” Gretchen grimaced, then admitted something she’d been thinking since being hired. “I figured I got the job because no one else applied.”

Theo leaned forward and tapped his finger on her desk twice. “Hey, don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Sell yourself short,” he replied.

This wasn’t the first time Theo had addressed her bad habit of putting herself down or lacking confidence. Not that he did it in a bad way, just in a way that made her feel like he saw way more in her than she saw in herself. And she liked it.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Gretchen forced herself to ask, “why did you hire me if there were better candidates?”

“Because it wasn’t about experience to me.” Theo leaned forward as he spoke. “Your answers to our questions lined up with my vision of how I wanted us to proceed with not only the barn but our other events as well.”

She nodded, grateful Theo had gone to bat for her, giving her a chance. She’d never be able to express how much his offer of a job had meant to her, because he hadn’t just given her a fresh start; he’d provided her an escape route.

Given the way Briggs’s violence had begun to escalate over the past several months, she wasn’t entirely certain Theo hadn’t saved her life, as well.

“But I think more than the answers,” Theo continued, “I admired your drive and determination.”

She almost scoffed but managed to hold it in. Because what he viewed as drive and determination had been desperation and anxiousness. “Thank you,” she said, aware how painfully short that sentiment fell, but unable to say more without choking up.

Theo stood. “It’s four-thirty. Let’s close shop early and head over to the farmhouse. I have a few things to do to set up for your welcome cookout tonight.”

“You really didn’t need to go to so much trouble,” Gretchen said, not for the first, second, or tenth time this week.

“I get the feeling you don’t like being the center of attention, so what do you say we share this celebration. Because Nora handed me the opportunity to say ‘I told you so’ for the rest of our lives. This is a big day, worthy of a party. Don’t take that away from me.”

Gretchen grinned. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

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