“About eight. I have to be at her living facility at ten.” She calculated the time. “I don’t know if I can leave Libby and the kids alone that long.”

“I can have my foreman check on them. He’s been asking about Libby and the puppies. Turns out he was feeding her before you found her.”

“I wondered why she didn’t look underfed.”

“He just lost his dog last year, and my guess is he’ll fall in love with at least one or two of the puppies.”

“Why didn’t he come by before?”

He held up his hands. “I keep telling him to come by. But I can only lead a horse to water.”

She laughed. “See you in the morning.”

“Count on it.”

She watched him hurry down the steps and cross to the work site. Ever since she’d arrived, he’d been helping her all along the way. As she closed the door, she lingered, watching him. He had the stride of a man in his element. Her cheeks warmed.

Her phone rang, jolting her thoughts away from Dalton. The display read: Matthew. She groaned. She had been avoiding him.

Rolling back her shoulders, she raised the phone. “Matthew.”

“I hear you’ve been working hard on the house,” he said easily.

“There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”

“You’re a superwoman to get it done so fast.”

“No superpowers.”

He cleared his throat. “Given any more thought to my offer?”

She might not clearly see her future, but backtracking wasn’t the answer. “I don’t think so, Matthew.”

“Why not?” Annoyance mingled with surprise. In his mind, this was a no-fail idea.

“I don’t know what my next step is, Matthew. But I don’t want to work for anyone again.” As she said the words, she realized how true they were. “It’s not personal. I want my own thing, whatever that is.”

“Is it the money? I can forfeit any investment.”

“It’s not all about money.”

“You’re opening your own place.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“Trust me when I tell you you’re going to open your own restaurant. I know you better than you do yourself.”

Maybe that had been true once. “You do not.”

“You’re not so different than when you left twelve years ago. Smarter, savvier, a better chef, but still independent Ivy.”

“You make that sound like it’s a bad thing.”

“I thought it was once. No more. Especially now that I have a daughter.”

“Progress.”

“Not as much as you think. I’m going to take this as a maybe. We’ll talk again.”

“I’m not changing my mind.”