Page 124 of The Strawberry Patch Pancake House

The diner, or pancake house, was stuffed to the brim. The waitstaff hustled between tables as customers called out orders bearing their own names in delight. Archer led Jim, Cathi, Iris and Olive to a booth with a reserved sign sitting in the center of it.

‘I’ll assume this is your best table,’ his dad joked, patting Archer on the back.

‘Of course. Only the best for my family,’ Archer said, and Iris let the word seep into her bones. His family. She was a part of it now and he was a part of hers.

He planted a kiss on her cheek as she waited for Olive to scramble into the booth.

‘Let me just check on the kitchen and I’ll be right back,’ he said, leaving Iris with Olive and his parents. She’d spoken to them before (she’d thought Cathi might try to crawl through the screen to hug her when they’d announced their pregnancy) but this was the first time they were all together in person.

‘So, Iris,’ Cathi said now, ‘how are you feeling?’

‘Really good, at the moment.’

‘Archer mentioned it was tough in the beginning.’

Iris winced. It had been tough for several reasons, some of which were very much her own fault.

Archer’s dad reached across the table and patted her hand. ‘You two are going to be just fine. You have each other.’ He gave her hand a squeeze and Iris felt tears spring to her eyes. Apparently, she just cried all the damn time now.

He gave her one more smile and then turned to his granddaughter. ‘Now, Livie, what’s good here?’ he asked, opening the menu and Iris was thankful for the moment to pull herself back together again.

Cathi gave her a kind smile and opened her menu as well. ‘The Noah,’ she read. ‘A stack of blueberry pancakes with whipped cream.’

‘The Jeanie: pumpkin-spice pancakes with real maple syrup. That one sounds good,’ Jim said.

‘Oh, listen to this one!’ Cathi said, continuing to read down the list. ‘The Andy: lemon poppy-seed pancakes served with creme fraiche.’

Archer was back at their table and slid into the booth beside Iris.

‘These all sound delicious,’ she said as his parents continued to ooh and ah over the selections. Olive scribbled on the children’s menu on her other side.

Archer smirked, that dimple popping in his cheek. ‘Of course they do. I’ve been trying to tell everyone, I’m a very good chef.’

Iris rolled her eyes, but the laugh was already escaping her lips.

‘Don’t you need to help feed all those people?’ Iris asked, glancing around the packed dining room.

‘Uh … yes, eventually. But the kitchen is a well-oiled machine. They’ll be okay without me for a few minutes.’

‘What do you recommend, Arch?’ Jim asked, putting down the menu.

‘How about I bring you some of my favorites?’

‘The chef’s favorites? Sounds perfect!’ Cathi said. ‘We are just so proud of you, Arch.’

And Iris had to bite down on a smile. These people adored this man, and she really couldn’t blame them. She did, too.

‘Thanks, Cathi. I’ll be right back.’

While they waited, Cathi and Jim picked Iris’s brain on all the best things to do in Dream Harbor during their visit. For Jim, Iris suggested a fishing tour with Noah, since the man loved to fish; a massage at the spa for Cathi, and a trip into town to shop and eat at all of Iris’s favorite places. Olive chimed in that they had to get cookies from Annie and that she wanted to take them to the bookstore.

‘Of course, Livie. Anything you want,’ Jim told her with a laugh, and Iris decided not to warn him that that was a very dangerous statement.

Archer appeared back at their table with a tray of food.

‘The Jeanie, for Dad,’ he said.

‘How did you know I was eyeing that one?’