Page 67

Well, mostly.

He had given me back the books I’d bought for Wesley. I had yet to find a good time to give them to Alessandra. I wanted it to be a quiet moment where she might be honest about whether or not I’d made good choices. Dickens said he’d exchange them if I’d missed the mark.

Demetrius backed out of the minivan carrying…

A plant?

And a cooler bag.

He grinned.

I strode over to meet him.

“Oh great. You can take the plant.”

I obeyed.

He continued to smile. “Are you okay if I grab my overnight bag?”

I nodded.

“Perfect.” He opened the hatch, grabbed a gym bag, and shut the door. Then he locked the minivan “Probably not needed. That being said, did you see the video of the bear opening a car door? I mean, I don’t keep food in there, but I still don’t want a bear hunkering down in my baby.”

“Uh…” I frowned. “I don’t think I’ve seen that video.”

“Oh? I think there are a couple. Alaina insisted on showing them to Keegan before he came to camp. Her way of ensuring he took food-storage safety seriously.”

At that, I chuckled. “She sounds like quite the sister.”

“She takes good care of us. Keegan’s willing to let her lead a lot of the time. I wouldn’t say he’s a follower…”

“But he’s happier when someone else makes the tough decisions.” I opened the front door to my cabin and held it for Demetrius.

He stepped into the main room. “Well, sort of. He’sdecidedhe’s not going back to his old school. He and Alaina have been at me pretty continuously about moving to Mission City.”

Cody had mentioned Keegan’s near-obsession about moving.

Knowing all about fresh starts, I couldn’t blame the young man for wanting to make one. But he wasn’t the only person in the family.

“I understand Alaina’s best friend lives in Abbotsford?”

“Yep. Where should I put this?” He held up his gym bag.

I swallowed. “Bedroom is fine.” He was the guest and would have the bedroom. Whether I stayed in there with him or slept on my pullout couch was a discussion for later.

“Cheers.” He laid the cooler bag on the kitchen table and headed toward the bedroom.

I put the plant on the center of the table. “Uh, a plant?”

He was grinning when he returned from the bedroom. “Alessandra’s recommendation. I thought flowers were classic, but they die. Allie, as she likes me to call her, suggested this.” He gestured with a flourish.

“It kind of looks like a flower.” All purple blooms and green leaves.

“It’s an African Violet. Now, it’s not a real violet, but we won’t tell her that.”

“Her?”

“Work with me.”