The church ladies, most likely.
“I wholeheartedly agree.” Francis sipped his tea, then decided to get to business, so to speak. “So yes, I am looking for a job. I’m in Acker to stay, and Padraig said I can stay with him and Kaos for as long as I need or want to, but you know how that gets. So a job where I could have a room and stay if needed would definitely make things easier for me and for their privacy, too, even though they’d never admit that.”
“They’re still at that newlywed stage, I bet,” Henrietta said with a wicked little smirk.
Mark cleared his throat awkwardly. “Francis, did you bring your folder with you?” he asked to take the attention off the gay thing, Francis guessed.
“Yes, but I forgot it in the cruiser,” Francis admitted. He looked at the Grahams. “I have my résumé with me to give you a copy before you decide anything”
“I’ll go get it for you,” Mark said and excused himself after putting his cup down on the tray.
“He’s a skittish one, our Mark,” Henrietta said quietly after the front door closed again.
Charles chuckled wryly. “I have a feeling he has a good reason to be that way.”
Francis nodded. “From what I gather, yes, he really does have his reasons.”
“Give him time. He’s a good man underneath it all,” Henrietta said just as the door opened again.
Francis went through his résumé with the Grahams and told them to not make any decisions until they had talked with their daughter.
“I know I have the sheriff’s department’s support and you know my best friend who is practically my family, but this thing, your safety, it’s important to me,” he explained to them.
Henrietta looked at him and smiled. “That means more us me than we can express.”
“Francis is right,” Mark said from where he was lighting the fire in the fireplace. “You need take your safety seriously. And you might consider the additional safety of having someone able-bodied in the house overnight, too.”
“Yes, that has been a worry of mine ever since I got more ill,” Charles admitted, then coughed a couple of times, his breath rattling in his chest.
“Do you have an inhaler nearby?” Francis asked when he couldn’t seem to catch his breath.
“In the bedroom, left side of the bed,” Henrietta said and pointed him in the right direction.
The room Francis found clearly wasn’t an actual master bedroom. It was too small to be one, barely fitting an old, ornate bed and bedside tables. There was an open bathroom door next to the room, and enough space to use the wheeled walker around the bed, so those were definite pluses in Francis’s book.
He located the two different inhalers and picked the one he thought would fit the situation better, then hurried back to give it to Charles. Then he forced himself not to hover, and be professional about it.
“Okay, now, do you need help with anything else?” Mark asked, getting to his feet. He made double sure the screen was securely in front of the fireplace.
“I think we’re fine,” Henrietta said, smiling slightly. She was beginning to tire, and Francis wondered if it was obvious to Mark, too.
“We’ll call Moira today and let you know what she says tomorrow evening at the latest,” Charles said, wheezing a little less.
“All right. There’s no huge rush with any of this, so take your time making the decision. I don’t need a job immediately, so if you need time to think, take it.”
Francis and Mark shook their hands and left quietly.
* * * *
The next day, Francis texted Mark and asked him about his evening plans. When it turned out Mark had none, Francis informed him that he’d come by with some food. When Mark didn’t object, Francis decided that it was a good sign.
He made honey garlic chicken with green beans and rice at Padraig’s house, packed it all up, and drove with the food and an overnight bag to Mark’s place.
Maybe he was trying too hard to make it into a date, but Mark seemed surprised and even happy when he saw what Francis had prepared for them.
“Hey, it doesn’t have to be a date if you don’t want it to be,” Francis told him as they set up the small kitchen table for two.
Mark flushed a little, then ducked his head and peered at Francis. “I’m not going to find candles or anything, but… this is real nice, Francis.”
