Page 58 of There I Find Hope

Chi finished speaking as she finally stopped in front of them, giving Sunday a quick hug.

Which Sunday returned.

Chi greeted Noah, and then she turned back to Sunday.

“Rodney wanted you guys to know that he’d been keeping a slot open for you because he’d heard that you guys wanted to take a ride on his Percherons.” She looked around the diner and then lowered her voice. “I cannot believe how popular this has been. That sand buggy, with those wide wheels, that Cord Stryker designed for us, is a dream. And those horses are amazing on the beach. People come down just to take pictures of whoever he’s driving around. Total strangers. It’s crazy.”

“It’s beautiful. I sat and watched it several times myself and took a picture or two of total strangers myself,” Sunday said with a little smile.

“I’m so happy to see you smiling. We were concerned about you. What a hard thing.”

Sunday nodded. “It was a hard thing, and I’m not quite ready to say that it was a good thing, but I think someday I will be able to say that.” She gave a look of peace to Chi, who gave her another hug.

“All right. Four o’clock is the time he said. I hope you guys can make it.”

“I’d love to do it.” Sunday looked at Noah.

“Me too. It was awfully nice of him to make time in his schedule. I’m surprised.”

“You guys have been around together a good bit, and I think he fancies himself a matchmaker. Don’t tell him I told you.” Chi gave them a knowing look, and then she waved around the diner. “Sit any place there is room. I’ll be right over to take your orders.” She started to turn and then stopped. “You can probably smell the onion soup bread. It is divine. People are raving about it, especially because Griff has developed a cheesy butter to go with it. It is amazing. Plus, you probably saw our specials on the door, strawberry lemonade cake and strawberry banana smoothies. They have been going like crazy too.”

She waved a hand as she turned and hurried away.

“I am dying of starvation. Her talking about the onion soup bread and the cheesy butter? That sounds like a meal in itself.”

“To you and me both. I wonder how big a loaf is?” Noah said as he indicated for her to lead the way to whatever seat she wanted.

“I don’t know, but if they sell it by the loaf, that’s probably the way to go. I think between the two of us, we could eat a whole one ourselves.”

“I think she says I eat a lot,” Noah said as he slid into the opposite side of the booth. Still holding her hand, their clasped fingers resting on top of the table between them.

He wanted to ask what it meant. She had been the one to take his hand. She had been the one to hold tight when she walked in. But maybe it was better to just let it go. To not probe too deeply. After all, he just said he wanted to buy Hope for her, and surely she knew that meant he cared for her.

Not that gifts showed affection, but it was less about the gift and more about something that soothed her heart and soul after the loss of her son. It was about him wanting her to smile.

They kept their conversation light the whole way through their meal, which consisted of an entire loaf, fresh out of the oven, of onion soup bread along with the special cheese butter that Griff had come up with to go on it. It was soft and warm and oozing butter, and perfect.

They topped it off with a strawberry banana smoothie and decided that they might come back for a piece of strawberry lemonade cake later.

They left the diner, and Noah was so full he felt like he could roll down the sidewalk.

Somewhere during their meal, he lost her hand, and he wasn’t sure how she felt about him taking it back.

“That’s nice that Rodney kept a time for us. Have we been in the diner that much?”

“Maybe he sees us going down the sidewalk to feed Hope. I just think it’s sweet that he fancies himself a matchmaker.”

She thought it was sweet. He wondered what she actually thought of them being a couple.

Regardless, he decided he wasn’t going to worry about it, that they’d just enjoy the beautiful Michigan summer day, the light breeze, and the relaxing ride with the beautiful Percherons along the lakeshore.

He couldn’t think of too many things that he’d rather be doing. Especially since he had to leave on his trip and wouldn’t be back for a couple of weeks. Maybe he was hoping for too much, because Sunday seemed sad about it when he told her he had to be away for a while, but he thought she had as good of a time as he did.

He could have a million more days like the one they shared and he wouldn’t tire of them. Not ever.

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