When he came back in a few moments later, Abigail was up and putting the kettle on, shaking her head at him as he entered.
“You didn’t warn me,” she said.
“I didn’t realize I woke so early,” Roan said. “Apparently Beastie really needed to go this morning.”
Abigail shook her head at the dog. “You’re trouble,” she said, but she gave Beastie an affectionate pat on the head as she added, “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.”
“Hopefully feed us,” Roan said with a grin.
“I’m sure you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Abigail laughed, pointing to the bowl of millet on the counter. “Don’t worry, I’m making breakfast. It will be ready soon.”
“Could I get your help with the budget today?” Roan asked. “I know yesterday got away from us.”
The garden project had taken much longer than he’d expected, but he wouldn’t complain, since he’d gotten to hear more of Abigail’s history.
And dancing in the kitchen had been worth every second of distraction.
“Of course,” she said. “I’ll come to your office as soon as breakfast is ready.”
“That sounds like a plan,” Roan said as he closed the door and left the kitchen with Beastie in tow.
---
Roan was staring down at the numbers in consternation when Abigail arrived with two bowls, two mugs, and two teacups on a tray.
“I thought it might make this easier if we were enjoying breakfast while we did it,” she said. “But if you’d rather, we can wait.”
“No, let’s get this over with,” Roan said with a sigh. “I don’t know what to do with this.”
Abigail pulled up the chair next to him and handed him the bowl of millet. “You eat,” she said, taking the paper infront of him and studying it. “These are all the expenses, correct?”
Roan spooned some into his mouth. She had mixed it with applesauce and some spices, and it tasted delicious.
“Thank you for breakfast,” he said before shoving another big spoonful into his mouth.
“You’re welcome, you heathen,” Abigail said, wrinkling her nose at him as he chewed, his mouth barely able to close around the food. “You don’t need to put that much in your mouth at a time.”
“Too good to wait any longer,” Roan pointed out before diving into the next bite.
“Well, I already see a couple of things we can cut back on in the kitchen,” she said, crossing them out. “And I think we can probably save some money if we paid up front for some of these, if there are enough funds to do that right now. We pay later with the grocer, and I do believe he charges extra for that. He also charges extra for delivery, and it wouldn’t be hard to pick things up on our way in when we are coming to work. At least, it wouldn’t be far out of my way. I’m not sure which way you come from.”
Roan glanced over at her. “I forgot—you don’t know where I live.” He suddenly had an itch to bring her to his home. “My grandfather built that house, too.”
“I’m sure it’s lovely,” Abigail said. She wasn’t really paying much attention to him, all her focus on the sheets of paper in front of her. Her nose scrunched as she concentrated. “We can definitely cut back on treats for Beastie.”
Hearing her name, Beastie perked up and looked at Abigail, who smiled at the dog.
“I’m just kidding. We don’t really buy treats for you. You just get food from all those people in the tavern who think they can feed you when we’re not looking.” Her tone was affectionate even as she added, “Lousy customers.”
Roan and Abigail shared a grin.
“Conrad is so bad about that,” Roan said.
“Every time,” Abigail agreed with a laugh. “It’s ridiculous.”
“She sure does love it, though,” Roan said with a laugh.
“What’s not to love?” said Abigail. “She gets to get fat.”
