God In The Kitchen by Brooke Williams Read Free Book Online

doing the same,” she said.
                As I ran the last few pieces of the conversation through my mind, I hoped I wasn’t giving Chloe the wrong idea. She was a pretty woman and she seemed very nice, but I was starting something really special with Abigail and I didn’t want her to think I was pursuing her.
                “How’s Ian?” I asked.
                “Good,” she said, her eyes brightening at the mere mention of her son’s name. “He’s had more energy the last few days. He was excited to be invited to a birthday party this weekend.”
                “So that’s where he is today?” I asked.
                Chloe laughed. “Well, not right now,” she said, gesturing to the still semi-dark sky. “He’s over at the neighbor’s apartment and she’s going to drop him off at the party this afternoon. I’ll get him when I’m done here.”
                “Sounds like the best day any boy could have,” I said, remembering my own childhood and how fun those birthday parties were.
                “I hope all of his days are good,” Chloe said, the sad look returning to her face.
                I was just trying to decide how I could turn the conversation to Ian’s father to get some more details about his whereabouts when Jim threw open the front door with his leg.
                “Thanks for the help, Jones,” he muttered in my direction as he stumbled into the diner with two boxes.
                “Not a problem,” I said, raising my hand to tip my non-existent hat as Chloe quickly caught the door and held it open. “Guess I better get to it,” I said.
                I side stepped around Jim and went through the open door, back out to the ambulance. Though I was putting one foot in front of the other with every intention of getting the equipment from the ambulance into the diner, my mind was elsewhere.
                What had Chloe meant when she said she had been thinking about me? When I said the same to her, I had not intended for it to sound romantic. It wasn’t so much Chloe that haunted me, but more so her son.
                I hadn’t even gotten a chance to speak with him, but I could tell he was a sweet kid. And to find out that he had a horrible condition at such a young age, it was simply more than I could fathom.
                I couldn’t imagine going through heart surgery as an adult, being someone who understood what was happening, much less a small child. At least the first time around he was too young to know what was going on. Now, he would definitely know and he would be scared out of his mind.
                But Chloe had said he wasn’t going to have another surgery. Why was that? I just didn’t understand.
                As I hefted the promotional box off the ambulance floor I realized that it wasn’t my place to understand. At the same time, I wasn’t going to let it go. Not until I knew the whole story.
                I just had to figure out how I was going to ask those difficult questions.
                I walked slowly back to the front door, which Chloe had propped open with a brick. Jim elbowed his way past just as I reached the opening.
                “Excuse me, sir,” he said with dripping sarcasm, “someone around here has to get the work done.”
                I looked down at the promotions box I was carrying and opened my mouth to protest that I was, in fact, working. Instead, I just shook my head.
                I slid the promotions box under the counter and headed straight for the front door to carry in another load. Chloe was no longer in sight.
                “Top of the morning to ya!” I heard a booming voice say from behind the counter.
                “Cal! How’s it going, man?” I said as I approached the robust