With an efficiency that wouldn’t have been possible eighteen months ago, Richard lifted the chairs out of a storage area and placed them beside the others. Peter tried not to look as though he was evaluating Richard, but it was hard not to focus on the response of his leg in relation to the movement of the rest of his body.
After he’d finished, Richard turned to Peter and smiled. “Did I pass the Peter Bennett real world test?”
“With flying colors. Have you had any issues with your leg?”
“None that I can recall. I downloaded the latest software like you asked me to. Did it help your staff in New York?”
“It was great. The data we collect will help us refine the program even more than the last time.”
Pastor John walked into the room pushing a cart. When he saw Peter, he smiled. “I thought you’d be arriving soon. Did Richard tell you he’s now the foreman of one of our construction teams?”
Peter’s eyebrows rose. Richard had been working at the old steamboat museum for months, creating tiny homes for communities across Montana. “You didn’t tell me you’re one of the bosses.”
The big man with a bushy beard and shoulders as wide as a doorway, blushed. “I’m still getting used to it.”
“We couldn’t have taken on another contract without you.” John looked around the meeting room. “Thanks for organizing the room while you waited for Peter.”
“It was no problem.”
John smiled and looked at Jack. “How about having afternoon tea with me while your dad talks to Mr. Bennett?”
“Can we make chocolate milkshakes?”
“We can definitely make milkshakes.” John lifted his gaze to Richard and Peter. “After you’ve finished, if we’re not in the kitchen, we’ll be with the other children in the after school program.”
Richard ruffled his son’s red hair. “Be good.”
“I will.” And with a happy smile, he left the meeting room with John.
Peter picked up his laptop and the box he’d brought inside. “How does it feel to be doing our last evaluation?”
“A little overwhelming. I’m incredibly grateful I was even on the trial team. The prosthetic leg has changed my life.”
“I’m glad you were part of the team. Are we working from the same room we usually do?”
With a nod, Richard held open the door. “After we’ve finished, I’ll introduce you to Nathaniel. He moved to Sapphire Bay a few weeks ago.”
Peter didn’t have to ask if he was an amputee. Richard was on a mission to get as many people as possible using the prosthetics. But with phase one at an end, no one would be receiving new limbs if Peter couldn’t find any funders. And that, beyond anything else, would be heartbreaking.
CHAPTER3
Katie stood back from the Christmas tree and frowned. “It needs something else, but I’m not sure what.”
Penny tilted her head to the side. “We couldn’t hang more tinsel from the branches, even if we wanted to.”
Diana rescued a pink, glittery ball from Charlie’s paws.
Their Golden Lab loved decorating the tree. Since they’d started, he’d hovered beside the boxes of decorations, waiting for something to fall on the floor as they’d opened them. So far, they’d only had to rescue six-feet of tinsel and three sparkly balls from his clutches.
After Diana attached the pink ball to the tree, she studied the branches. “Before we decide what it needs, let’s turn on the fairy lights.”
“Good idea.” Katie picked up the plug. They’d spent so much time working out the best place to put the tree that they’d forgotten about needing a power outlet. Thankfully, there was a socket not too far from the tree. Dropping to the floor, she wiggled toward the wall.
“Watch your head,” Penny warned as she crawled out from under the tree.
Dipping her head lower, she managed to steer clear of the lower branches. “What does it look like?”
Penny’s sigh said it all. “It’s gorgeous.”
