Her smile broadened. She hadn’t been this excited in a long time. She didn’t know how she’d be able to concentrate on her knitting now. She couldn’t wait for Ethan and Hannah to arrive.

Chapter Eleven

And Peaches made three.

Ethan navigated his pickup through Boston and then into the suburbs. Peaches sat next to him with Hannah in the passenger seat. On this bright and sunny day, they were on their way to see Aunt Birdie. The trip was extra special because he’d finally talked Sunny Day’s administrator into letting him bring Peaches for a visit. Both dog and human missed each other so much that it was almost painful to watch at times.

Every time he talked to Peaches about Birdie, her tail would thump the ground. Other times, though, Peaches was sullen and her appetite was iffy. When he’d told Peaches where they were going today, he could have sworn the dog understood because she was so excited he had a hard time getting her to stand still long enough to put on her harness.

But now it was his other companion that had him struggling for what to say. The problem was he’d said too much earlier at the bakery. He’d caught himself before he’d told her about the fire—about the nightmares that troubled him.

He halted his thoughts. He didn’t want to dwell on the incident. It was in the past and soon the nightmares would stop. He recalled what he’d been told in the hospital about how talking about the incident would help him. He just wasn’t ready yet to put words to his nightmare—to admit how it rattled him to the core.

However, the silence as they neared Sunny Days wasn’t good. It gave him too much time to think about things that were better left alone—things like potentially leaving his job—ending the Walker tradition of firefighting. He halted his thoughts. He needed to focus on something else.

Ethan cleared his throat as they waited at a red light. “I talked to some suppliers this morning. I was able to call in some favors and get a discount.”

“Really?” Excitement rang out in her voice. “Thank you so much. That will definitely help my tight budget. But…”

“But what?” He chanced a glance at her, taking in her worried expression. All too soon the light changed, and he had to turn his attention back to the road as traffic surged forward.

“I feel bad that you had to call in favors because of me.”

“Oh, that’s no big deal. I’m happy to help.” If she liked that, he wondered how she’d feel about his next cost-saving suggestion. “What would you think about using some end lots, you know”—he struggled for the right word—“discontinued items?”

“What sort of items?”

“Floor tiles for one.”

“I was planning to put in wood floors. I already bought them.” She paused. “But most of the boxes got ruined in the flood.”

“I looked into wood and I’ll be honest, it’s expensive. I know tiles aren’t what you planned but it could be used to add a pop of color to the place.”