Page 18 of Home Changes
“The doc will call when she gets the rest of them in.” His voice dropped, steady but subdued. “She thinks it’s dementia. I keep wanting it to be mild, but everything the doctor said points to it being beyond that point.” He exhaled slowly. “I’m trying to figure it all out as I go. That includes relearning when everything is open around here. I talked to your mom. She said it was no problem for Dad to sit out front and whittle as long as he wasn’t being mean.”
Allison smiled. “Chester whittled me a robin once. I still have it in my jewelry box. He told me my hair was as red as a robin’s breast.” She chuckled andtouched the ends of her dark auburn hair. “Thank goodness it’s gotten darker.”
She paused and glanced at Seth, sympathy in her gaze. “He’s a good man, Seth. I’m so sorry you’re going through this. When he started getting mean, we knew someone needed to reach out to you or Sarah. He’s always been curt, but it got worse there for a while.”
“I heard,” Seth said quietly, glancing toward the storefront. Then he turned back. “Do you think it’d be okay if I bought some bread for our dinner tonight?”
“Sure.” She nodded. “Tell you what. Go around to the back. I’ll grab something fresh for you. What do you need? Something for sandwiches or a baguette?”
“I’m making soup tonight. I was hoping for something Dad can slather with butter and dunk in it.”
Allison laughed. “So, not a cracker kind of guy?”
“Never has been. Mom used to bake bread every week, right up until she passed. Dad loves his bread and butter.”
Her expression softened. “I’m so sorry about your mom. I was out of town at my cousin’s wedding in Colorado when the funeral happened. Did you come home for it?”
“Yeah. Me, Sarah, and her family. I couldn’t stay long, though. Most of my emergency leave was used up traveling. First, getting back to the States, then out here with her.”
“Where were you stationed?”
“I was working the MAJCOM program at Ramstein Air Force Base.”
Allison’s eyebrows lifted. “That sounds important. High-ranking or something?”
“Nope. Just pushing paper, not dogs. Hated every minute of it.” He gave her a half-smile. “We’ll go around back and meet you there.”
As Seth and Gomer turned toward the side of the building, the dog stuck close to his leg, moving in perfect sync. There wasn’t more than an inch of space between them.
Allison walked through the bakery, unlocked the back door, and called out, “You can come in. This is the mudroom. Past that is my break room. You both can wait there.”
Seth glanced down at Gomer, then back at her. “Won’t the county shut you down for letting a dog into the business?”
Allison laughed over her shoulder. “Not if she still wants her baguettes and strawberry rhubarb pies.”
She disappeared into the front of the store and put together a small bag of dinner rolls he could warm up. After a moment’s hesitation, she boxed up a blueberry pie and carried it back to the break room.
“Here you go,” she said, handing him the bag.
Seth looked at it, eyebrows raised. “That’s more than just bread.”
She smiled. “You can call it a welcome home gift.”
Their eyes met and lingered. Seth’s expression shifted and softened. He smiled, one corner of his mouth tugging up before saying, “I’d better go grab Chester.”
He stepped toward the door but paused, hand on the knob. “I’m glad you and Ken never got together.”
Allison blinked, caught off guard. “Yeah? Why’s that?”
He looked back at her with a slow, certain smile. “Because now I have a chance with the prettiest girl in school.”
He opened the door and stepped outside. Allison stood frozen in place. Then she blinked again and reached up to touch her face. Totally felt it. Yep, not a dream. She shook her head and shut the door. Why did she all of the sudden feel like Alice spiraling down to Wonderland?
CHAPTER 7
Later that evening, Seth reheated some chicken and rice soup he bought from the diner and brought it to the recliner on a tray. “Dinner,” he said simply, setting the tray on the small table in front of Chester.
Chester blinked awake, eyes foggy with sleep. He took the tray without comment, then stared at the spoon as if it were something foreign in his hand.
