He squirmed, liking the idea of spending more time with her, but hating the reason. Arthur let out a sigh, breathing away the residual bitterness.
While he didn’t want help, he was beginning to think he might actually need it.
***
By the time Gretchen picked Jordan up from Cody’s place, she was ready for a long soak in the shower, followed by a glass of wine. Unfortunately she had dinner to prepare before Jordan reverted into the Hunger Grouch, a transformation that wasn’t pleasant to witness.
She handed him a biscuit to tide him over. “Have you got any homework?”
“I did it at Cody’s.”
“Great.” Another thing she owed Holly. It couldn’t be easy to get the two boys to sit down and concentrate on homework when they wanted to play. “Put your school bag away and have a shower while I make dinner.”
“Can’t I watch TV?”
“Not until you’re in your PJs.” They had this argument every night. She waited until he huffed out his dissatisfaction and headed for his room.
Someone knocked on the front door, and Gretchen frowned, going to answer it. A small lean woman stood there, her short, pale blue hair a little mussed from the day. “Hey, Georgie.”
“I need all the dirt, and I need it now,” Georgie Stokes demanded with a smile, moving inside.
“What dirt?” Georgie must have come straight from work as she still wore her khaki Parks and Wildlife uniform.
“On Arthur. Wasn’t he on the boat today? Penelope said he was, but she didn’t see him when he arrived yesterday, so she couldn’t tell me anything.”
Right. “I didn’t speak to him much.” Gretchen poured them both a glass of wine and pushed one across the kitchen bench to her friend.
“Why not? Is he a complete arse? He must be, right? He abandoned Ames.”
While Gretchen appreciated Georgie’s instant defence of their friend, she wasn’t ready to climb on the hate Arthur train just yet. “He’s… quiet.”
“Serial killer quiet, or shy quiet?” Georgie sipped the wine and settled onto a stool.
“Shy quiet.” She considered her words as she got the vegetables she needed for dinner out of the fridge. “I’d say he’s still coming to terms with what’s happened to him and lashing out at anything he sees as pity. He doesn’t want to need help.”
Georgie sighed. “Don’t say things like that. It makes him empathetic, and I really want to hate him for being so awful to Amy.”
Georgie never hated anyone. “There are two sides to every story.”
“I know. Matt said that too.”
Gretchen smiled as she cut the green beans. “When are you meeting Arthur?”
“Sam says we have to give him a week to settle. For some reason he thinks meeting the whole family at once might be too much.”
The Stokes family was a lot to take in, particularly if you were dealing with your own personal demons. “If he grows horns and wings before then, I’ll let you know.”
Georgie laughed. “Thanks.” She got a vegetable peeler out of the drawer and started peeling carrots, perching herself back on the stool. “How’re things with you? Where’s Jordan?”
Gretchen admired her ability to be comfortable wherever she went. “Jordan’s in the shower. He’s resentful he has to go to school so early at the moment.”
“I wish I could help you, but I’ve got to start early too.”
“I know. There’s only a couple of weeks until the season ends and then I’ll be home in the mornings.”
“What are you going to do then?”
“I’ve got my last practicum in Karratha next month.”
