I chose my words carefully. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable with you taking less than two grand a week. I want to pay you what you deserve.” That much was true. Caelyn was an amazing cook. In the summers, the line for her sandwiches could be out the door. And from the bits and pieces I’d gathered about the woman, she gave and gave and was rarely fully appreciated for all she did.

Caelyn was silent for a moment before answering. “Okay. When do you want me to start?”

I grinned. “As soon as possible.”

She pulled out a pad of paper and a pen from a drawer in the kitchen. “All right. I can probably make the first delivery on Sunday. I’m thinking Sunday will be the big haul and then I can stop by Wednesday or Thursday with a smaller delivery. But we can troubleshoot as we go.”

“Sounds good to me.” I pulled my wallet out of my pocket and slid out a credit card, handing it to Caelyn.

“What’s this?”

“A credit card for expenses.”

She studied the piece of plastic. “It has my name on it.”

I shrugged. “I was optimistic you’d say yes.”

Caelyn laughed, shaking her head. “Well, you are pretty dang convincing.”

“I do my best. Make sure you track your mileage for gas. Or you can just fill up once a week and put it on the card. It’s up to you.”

Caelyn’s eyes glistened, the restrained tears making the green seem to sparkle. “This is too much.”

“No. It’s fair.”

She took a long breath. “Thank you. This is going to make a huge difference for us.” She studied me. “But you already know that, don’t you?”

I did my best to soften my expression, the feeling just a bit foreign. “Good things should happen to good people.”

“You have a kind heart, Griffin Lockwood. Even if you’d rather people didn’t see it.”

Her words burned as if they’d been seared into my skin with a branding iron. When was the last time someone had said something like that to me? Probably before my parents had passed. They were always telling Beth and me how worthy and loved we were. But that had disappeared along with my family. Caelyn’s words were a physical pain, similar to when frozen fingers first begin to regain feeling.

My family would’ve been so disappointed in how I’d hidden away from the world. How I’d turned away from those in need around me, too afraid to let anyone in. But maybe I was finding some pieces of myself again. The good parts that I’d left abandoned for far too long.

6

Caelyn