Page 77 of Peach Tree Family

Chapter 19

Theo prided himself on taking his job seriously and not getting sidetracked the way Dustin and Helen did sometimes. And what was he doing now? Looking in the direction of the tearoom constantly and hoping for a glimpse of Seth through the French doors.

A little earlier a great looking guy checked in. He had a guitar case with him, so Theo had to restrain Dustin from pestering him. But the guy was also exactly Theo's type – kind of skinny, with a quirky, eclectic style and a nerdy vibe.

So why didn't Theo have to restrain himself or remind himself to stay professional where this guy was concerned? No, he only had to keep himself in check when it came to Seth.

It didn't work. Theo kept wondering when he would see him outside of work, and thinking of ways to get him to come over and keep him around.

It turned out that Theo didn't have to try very hard. After work and picking up Ace, they all went to Peach Tree for some grocery shopping and to see Seth's room.

The room was above Beatty's Hardware Store, and when they all went inside it there was hardly any space left. There was a decent window with an old curtain. The few pieces of furniture were old and cheap but serviceable. Overall the place was dingy and lonely, but clean. The bed was neatly made, and Theo caught himself staring at it too long.

"Is it comfortable?"

"It's alright," Seth said.

"The house is better," Ace told him with a pout.

"OK, we had a tour. Let's go shopping," Theo said.

At the store, while he was picking up a healthy cereal, Theo saw that Ace and Seth had stopped in front of the boxes of Lucky Charms.

"Lucky Charms is Mom cereal," Ace was telling Seth.

Seth was surprised to hear that. "It is?"

"Mom said it was. That it was only for grown-up moms. Not for us kids. But it's a kids' cereal. Everybody knows that," Ace said like he couldn't believe the whopper Mom told him.

Theo laughed then told Seth, "Mom had a weakness for any kind of sugary, multicolored cereal, but she didn't want us to eat like that. I usually caught her eating it late at night. If she had it while we were up, Ace would pout at her until she gave him some."

"Can we get it?" Ace asked and since it reminded them both of their mom, Theo couldn't refuse him.

"OK, but it's not for breakfast. It's only for dessert."

"Can we put it on ice cream?" Ace asked. That was something else their mom did.

"Maybe."

They moved off to canned foods where Seth loaded up.

"I have the microwave, so I'm getting a bunch of canned soups. But I wanted to buy some chicken and vegetables and make a real soup at your place. Can I come by?" Seth asked while staring at a can of soup like he wanted to memorize the label.

Theo was surprised that he was asking to come over. Didn't he want to keep his distance? "Tempting me with soup? All right," Theo told him, but he also wondered if Seth thought he still owed them for letting him stay at the house. He hoped that wasn't it.

"Wish the oven worked to make you roast chicken. That was my grandpa's favorite," Seth said as they headed to the produce section.

"Maybe I'll get the oven fixed one of these days. Getting that furniture from Julian and Rob was a big help, plus Mitch gave me a huge break on all the work he did, especially since you helped out."

"That was nothing," Seth said modestly.

"It was a major favor and I appreciate it," Theo told him. He wanted to remind Seth that he did plenty for them already, but it only made him frown.

At the house, Seth and Theo started cutting up the chicken and the vegetables. Working in close quarters with Seth, Theo did notice that he seemed ill at ease sometimes, but didn't try very hard to keep his distance. It was like he was embarrassed but still wanted to stick close. Theo didn't know what to think of his attitude.

When the dinner dishes were cleared, Seth sat at the table again and showed them a brand new deck of cards. Theo recognized the watercolor of Stone Creek Inn on the backs of the cards. "I bought this deck of cards from the inn gift shop to celebrate my new job. Thought we could play."

"Strip poker," Theo whispered to shake him up.

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