Page 66 of Gideon's Gratitude

She looked just fine to me, but I didn’t dare speak.

Rainbow also handed a container to Archer as she handed the plastic bag of rolls to me. “Sugar cookies. Made fresh.” She tossed a glance at Kennedy. “I cook when I’m annoyed.”

Kennedy held up her hands. “Not my fault our sister pissed you off.”

Oursister? Oh, Kennedy and Rainbow were sisters. They didn’t look anything alike.

Kennedy snagged a cookie off the plate on the island. “I never mind when you have your sisterly tiffs.” She nodded to Archer and waved to me. “See you next week.”

A little dazedly, I waved in return.

Surreal. It all felt surreal.

“Well, you fellas’ll need to head out soon. Not that I’m pushing you, mind, but you don’t want to get stuck if a road washes out.” Rainbow gestured to the window with her chin.

Archer leapt from his seat.

She held up her hand. “Nothing to worry about between here and the main road, but I’m not sure where you’re headed. Be on the lookout for standing water.”

“We will, thank you.” He placed a hand to my back, as if sensing I needed prompting.

“Yeah, thanks.” I held up the dinner rolls. “This was generous of you.”

She placed her hands on her hips, much as Kennedy had. “I do plenty of work to keep in shape, but I can’t indulge too often. And I’ll call my sister, Spring, and make her apologize. All will be right in the world.”

If only I could do that with Leo.

“Lucky.”

The dog popped up.

“Say goodbye.”

The dog nuzzled Tiffany.

“Your dog knows the commandsay goodbye?” Archer nodded approvingly.

I warmed.

He again placed a hand to the small of my back and led me to the entranceway with the coat rack. Rainbow held our treats while we donned our coats. Coats that were still damp. Putting them on was uncomfortable.

Finally we pulled up our hoods.

Archer palmed his keys, so she handed the cookies and rolls to me.

I suppressed the urge to hug the woman. I didn’t know her. Didn’t know Kennedy either. Yet the sense of welcome in this place staggered me. Not just the baking, although that helped. No, healing took place in this building. Maybe, if I was really lucky, some of that would rub off on me.

Chapter Ten

Archer

The drive from the counseling center back to Gideon’s home was made in silence. I focused on the road, while I suspected my companion was focused inward. He’d been wan when returning with Kennedy, but his color had improved when Rainbow handed him the dinner rolls.

I’d tasted one of the sugar cookies. To die for. Dinner would be a treat tonight. As long as I’d followed the instructions correctly on the crock pot. I’d never operated one in my life. Yet I was proud of the effort I was putting forth. New adventures. New people. New spaces.

My phone burned a hole in my pocket. Another flurry of missed messages and texts with a few emails thrown in. I hadn’t retrieved the third message my doctor had left for me, either. I had time. Or at least I hoped I did.

I hit a puddle of standing water and the spray from the tires shot as high as the grill.

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