Page 15 of Gideon’s Gratitude (Love in Mission City #5)

“Chelsea is thirty and single. Thank God. The woman is a force of nature. A whirlwind. An environmental activist who was last spotted chaining herself to railway ties to prevent the building of a pipeline. That broke probation earned from the time she chained herself to an old-growth tree. Not to be confused with the time she snuck into a dam construction site and put sugar in the gas tanks of several construction vehicles. Although the prosecution couldn’t definitively put her there—grainy video footage.

Needless to say, the contractor upgraded their equipment.

She’s currently on house arrest with an ankle monitor and living with my parents. ”

“Good Lord.”

“You could say that again.” I rubbed my chin.

I need a shave . “Charmaine is twenty-seven. She and Robert have one daughter. Adrienne. She’s four.

A very precocious four.” Damn child had tried to flush my cell phone down the toilet.

I wasn’t admitting that to anyone, however.

And I was never let anything out of my sight again around all the little monsters.

“Channing is the baby at eighteen, and Chad is thirty-two. He and his wife Pia have no plans for children.” They had their reasons, and I wouldn’t divulge them.

To anyone. Even to this man who made it so easy to open up.

“That must have been a very loud household growing up. My parents didn’t even watch television. They just listened to sermons on the radio. I can’t imagine that level of chaos.”

“Organized chaos, I assure you. My mother stayed home to raise the family, while my father worked as a lawyer. Long hours. I think in part to stay away from the noise. We were well-to-do, so we never lacked for anything.” I’d always gotten most things I asked for.

Continued on to do as I pleased. “The only sore spot, if you will, is that my father wanted me to join his law firm.”

“You didn’t?”

“I would’ve been at the bottom of the ladder.

With twenty or so associates above me and a half-dozen partners.

With my father at the top. I foresaw people resenting me and judging me based on what they believed were my family connections, not my actual achievements.

Also, they do corporate law.” I wrinkled my nose.

“I wanted more hands-on work. I think Chelsea had an influence on me even back then. Accused my father all the time of union busting.”

“How old was she?”

“Twelve. A very precocious twelve.” God help us if she ever had children. It’d be chaos. An unmitigated disaster.

Or she’d be the most amazing, loving mother who wanted the earth to be as habitable as possible for her children. No, wait. She’d said she wasn’t going to have children because the world was already overpopulated. Keeping up with her was a daunting task. Sometimes I didn’t even try.

“I always wanted to have siblings. Leo was my best friend growing up. And I’m sure it seemed weird to some people that we fell in love and wound up in a relationship, but it worked for us, you know? Something we slid into easily. Everything just…worked.”

Gideon’s eyes were shadowed. His expression was haunted.

I fought the ridiculous idea of pulling the man into my arms and holding him. Promising everything would be all right. Offering solace when I had no right to give it.

My phone rang. I swiped to accept the call. “Archer.”

“Sir, we’re pulling into the parking lot.”

I glanced over my shoulder and two sets of headlights pulled in from the highway. “Perfect. We’ll be out in a moment.”

Gideon was already putting his coat on.

The call disconnected, and I scanned the restaurant for Sarabeth.

“You can pay at the front counter.”

“Great.” I rose and waited for Gideon to do the same. We made our way to the cash register. I yanked out my wallet.

Gideon attempted to do the same.

I glared.

He relented. “I have to go to the washroom. I’ll meet you out front.”

“Very well.”

A tall, rangy teenager rang in my order. “Card or cash?”

“Card.”

I was handed the terminal. I entered the tip amount manually—making it equal to the food price, then tapped my card.

“You want a receipt?”

“Of course.” I always took receipts. Most dinners could be billed as work expenses. Had this one been? We’d discussed divorces so, yes, probably I could get away with it. I’d consult my accountant. The woman had scruples .

The young man handed over the receipt, but not before glancing at it. His eyebrows shot up. “Uh, yeah, Sarabeth’ll thank you for that.”

“She was superb. I should tell the owner, but I’m in a hurry.”

The kid waved him off. “I’ll tell the boss. She isn’t here today anyway.”

“Well, I hope to return. The food was exceptional.”

Another eyebrow raise.

I waved the young man off and exited the diner.

The pink-halogen lamps cast an eerie glow on the parking lot.

I would’ve preferred to be doing this during the day, when I could properly inspect the vehicle, but allowances had to be made. I was getting a duplicate of the SUV I’d taken months to select. A perfect replica.

A man and a woman stood off to the side. The woman held a clipboard while the man held a flashlight.

“We’ll take you through an inspection,” the man began.

I waved him off. “I expect everything is in order.”

The woman nodded. “We’ve uploaded all the data from your old vehicle. This should be just like getting into that one.”

I certainly hoped so. I’d customized the display and various other things to suit me. Repeating that process would be both laborious and irritating.

The woman passed me the clipboard and, as the man held the flashlight, I signed all the paperwork.

She handed me a copy. “Your insurance has been transferred over. Everything is done. Is there anything else we can do for you?”

“Truly, I appreciate all you’ve done. You heading back to the island tonight?”

“No,” the man replied. “We’ve secured another car we’re picking up tomorrow morning. That way we don’t have to deadhead. ”

“Well, glad that worked out.” I pointed over my shoulder. “Some of the best food I’ve had in a long time.”

The two employees exchanged glances, and the woman nodded. “Thank you. We’ll check it out.”

I extracted my wallet.

Empty.

Damn it.

I’d given all my cash to Gideon this morning. And had refused to take it back when the stubborn man had shoved it at me.

The woman held up her hand. “We’re paid very well. But thank you.” She nudged her co-worker, who gave me one final nod, and they headed into the diner.

Gideon stepped forward from the shadows. “Sorry you gave me all your money?”

“No. Now get in, it’s bloody cold out here.”

“Says you. You’re the idiot only wearing just a suit coat.” He gestured to his thick ski jacket. “I’m good to go.”

Go where?

And do what?

Finally, why did that get me thinking of interesting propositions? Or was it interesting positions?

I slipped into the SUV.

Gideon rounded the front and did the same thing.

“Home?”

He gave me a once-over. “You need suitable clothes. At least a pair of jeans, a wool shirt, and a winter coat.” He rubbed his forehead.

“And boots, a scarf, gloves, a hat, and pajamas wouldn’t be out of the question either.

If you’re not going back to Vancouver, can’t you get someone to bring that stuff out to you?

Don’t you have people who work for you? Or people you can hire? ”

“Yes, to the clothes, no, to the help.” I turned the key, and the engine purred to life. I’d almost bought an electric car, but opted for a hybrid.

Chelsea was going to have a shitfit.

Of course, if she had her way, we’d all walk or bicycle.

“Do you want to go shopping with me?”

“Would you even know where to go?”

“Well, no. But I’m certain if I put the instructions into the navigation—”

“I wasn’t talking about directions. I can point you to the row of big-box stores. I’m asking if you know how to buy clothes at a retail store that doesn’t offer personal service.”

I should’ve been affronted. Of course I knew how to buy clothes. One went to the store, selected them, and purchased them. I might be upper class these days, but I wasn’t a snob.

Except Jean-Michel had been buying my leisure wear for years, while Thea took care of the suits and tuxedos. I worked. I earned money. Lots of money. The rest had always just taken care of itself.

“Do you even know what size jeans you wear?”

I hesitated. “No.”

“Great. Well, let’s go. Turn left out of the parking lot and stick to the left lane.

In about six blocks, you’re going to hang another left.

We’ll go to the big blue store and buy you clothes that regular guys wear.

” Then, under his breath, he muttered something about me being the size of his ex. An auspicious beginning to our outing.

This plan sounded simple, but I was dubious. A store that didn’t specialize in men’s wear? Still, he was right. I also required underwear and socks.

Perhaps asking Jean-Michel to run out some clothes out here for me…

No, truly more hassle than it was worth.

Plus, I had a sneaking suspicion the man had a soft spot for Chelsea.

If she started in on him ab out my whereabouts, a slip-up was likely.

Or, more likely, inevitable. Everyone gave in to my sister’s charms.

Once Gideon secured his seat belt, I drove out of the parking lot, careful when making the left turn. Traffic was heavier than I expected, given the later hour. Eight thirty-six according to the GPS system. “Will they still be open?”

“Until ten.”