Page 31 of The Strawberry Patch Pancake House

‘I don’t know!’ Iris had goosebumps up and down her arms. Something about the dark house and Olive’s unseeing eyes were really freaking her out.

‘It’s fine,’ Archer whispered, his voice firm and steady. It was a comforting sound in the dark. ‘Come on, sweetie, back to bed,’ he coaxed, gently moving Olive back to her room, and thankfully, she let her sleepy shuffle take her back to her bedroom. Archer went with her, tucking her into bed while Iris waited in the hall. Just in case.

‘Is she okay?’ she asked when he emerged, closing the door softly behind him.

‘I think so. Scared the crap out of me, though.’ He slouched against the wall behind him.

‘Me too. That was creepy.’

He smirked. ‘Creepy?’

‘She looked like a horror-movie kid!’

‘I’m really starting to question the media you’re consuming. Murder podcasts and horror movies?’

Was he teasing her?

‘I was ready to call a young priest and an old priest.’

Archer laughed. The sound was low and rich in the silent house. Iris leaned against the wall behind her and slid down to the floor. Archer looked at her like he might return to the kitchen and leave her there alone, but instead he slid down his wall as well, mirroring her position.

‘I don't know how I’m going to sleep now, wondering if she’s going to get out of the house.’ The teasing smirk was gone and now he just looked tired and worried. Again, it struck Iris how much he’d given up to be here, how much he’d sacrificed already for his daughter.

‘You put those locks on. I don’t think she can get out.’

He nodded but still looked doubtful, like he knew intellectually that she couldn’t get hurt, but some part of him would always worry that she would.

Parenthood, man, what a mindfuck.

‘I guess this is what it’s gonna be like,’ he said quietly, as though he wasn’t talking to her anymore. His foot brushed against hers seeking the comfort of contact. ‘One thing after another. We just figured out the eating thing, and now she tries to escape in her sleep.’

It was a serious moment. He was worried about his kid, but something about the insanity of the whole thing struck Iris as funny.

Giggles escaped from her and she clapped a hand over her mouth. Archer’s head snapped up in surprise.

‘Are you laughing?’

Her shoulders shook with the effort to hold it in. ‘Yes?’ she squeaked. ‘I’m sorry, but it’s kinda funny. She had us both totally freaked out.’

Archer shook his head, but that smile was creeping back on his face.

‘I think this is an “if you don’t laugh you’ll cry” moment,’ she said between giggles. ‘We are both in way over our heads here.’ Probably not something she should admit to her boss, but it felt better this way, that they were in this together, that they were going to figure out how to deal with Olive together.

For now.

They would be in it together until Iris was sure Archer could handle things on his own and then she would leave because this … this level of worry and exhaustion and … and total helplessness was not something she planned to sign on for the long term.

Parenthood was not for her.

‘So, you really didn’t know about her?’ Iris asked the question she’d been dying to ask since she took the job.

‘I had no idea.’

‘You and her mom weren’t…’

‘We worked at the same restaurant, slept together a few times, and then I left for Europe. I didn’t hear from her after that.’

‘Wow.’