Chapter 20
“I think he’s doing pretty well,” Chi said to Griff as she dried her hands on a towel and then carefully hung it on a hook. Things had slowed down since it was just before closing time. The two weeks since Rodney’s parents’ funeral had gone by quickly.
Rodney was out sitting at the table with Becky, taking their half an hour talk like they’d done since Becky had come to see him more than a week ago.
“I agree,” Griff said. He hung the frying pan that he’d just cleaned on the hook above the counter and turned and leaned against it, crossing his arms over his chest.
Chi wasn’t sure exactly where their relationship was. It was almost as though he was waiting for her to make some kind of move, but she wasn’t sure what that was.
She also thought that maybe he was waiting to give her time to get over whatever issues she might have with James’s death, or maybe their breakup, or whatever. But, she realized that her feelings for him weren’t really that deep.
Not the way her feelings for Griff felt.
“It’s pretty amazing the way he’s taken to you. And you’ve done such a good job with him.” She wanted to say more. But she didn’t know how to word it. To tell him how she admired how he’d stepped into the role model position, how he’d gently guided Rodney without forcing him, how he had understood his grief and given Rodney room to be sad, while gently guiding him in the direction he should go.
Griff shrugged a shoulder.
“And he’s talking to Pastor because of you, too.”
“That’s just the Lord using this to get a hold of Rodney’s heart. I think maybe he was going in the wrong direction, but this all seemed to turn him around.”
“I’ll not argue with you. It probably is the Lord, but you allowed God to use you.”
“You too.” His eyes met hers, and she didn’t flinch from it.
She supposed he was right in a way. Rodney knew she’d had no idea that his dad was married. And she’d taken every opportunity she could to let Rodney know Griff was a good man.
“You know Rodney and I have been looking at draft horses online.”
Chi nodded her head. It is something they’d all been doing anytime there was time at the diner that they had a little bit of downtime.
“Rodney seems quite taken with them.”
“Strawberry Sands seems to be a horse friendly beach, and I thought maybe I should jump into it too.”
Chi’s eyes widened. “You’re thinking about getting horses?”