Afraid of coming off as creepy, he distracted her by showing her how to refill the coffee machine. “When this light turns red, the machine needs to be cleaned.” After showing her under the counter where the cleaning supplies were for the machine, he then made a new pot before pouring the coffee he had made for her down the drain.

“I didn’t mean for it to go to waste,” she said, noticing what he was doing. “I thought you would drink it.”

“I don’t take creamer and sugar.” Washing the thermos out, he dried it before putting it back in the cabinet.

“How did you know how I used to drink my coffee?”

“Don’t most women drink it with sugar and creamer?” Opening the freezer drawer, he hid his expression as he took out two packs of frozen hamburger meat, which had already been cooked in a large batch then separated out into one-pound serving sizes.

“Silas usually leaves the house at six. The main chore you will be responsible for is to unload the dishwasher, make sure there is enough coffee made for whoever comes over, and start dinner for Silas. If anyone comes here before you, the dishwasher will already be unloaded. It’s a habit we’ve had since we were kids. Each of us takes turns loading the dishwasher the night before, depending who comes by to eat with Silas.”

“The dishwasher was already unloaded. Someone has already been here?”

“I was. We all get a pretty early start. We all come by to get coffee and make sure Fynn hasn’t missed the school bus.”

Alanna nodded. “I’ll make sure I get here early, then.”

“You can set your own schedule. Ginny does. We’ll let you start the meal. We hate that chore. The only difference would be whether to set it on low or high, depending what time you get here.”

Matthew pointed at a white plastic maker board hanging on the pantry door. Days of the week had been written out with the meals underneath.

“Tonight is chili. All you have to do is”—Matthew opened a drawer under the Crock-Pot to take out a three-ring notebook—“flip to chili and follow the directions.”

Matthew expected her to come closer to look at the notebook. When she didn’t, he stepped away to give her space.

“The seasoning packets and can ingredients are in the pantry.” Taking two steps to the side, he opened the large pantry, which held a deep freezer. When she didn’t come inside, he gathered the ingredients himself and carried them to the counter, making sure to give her enough space. He then put the ingredients into the crockpot. Hitting the button, he turned to see she was standing by the doorway. Disposing of the trash and recycling the cans, he turned toward her.

“We’re done here… We’ll go on to Isaac’s trailer.”