Chapter 37

The door creaked open again, and Hank expected Addison to come out in her nightgown, rubbing her eyes, glaring at him, and giving him the same grief about smoking that Ollie had.

But it was not. It was Rose, another of Ollie’s “new hires.” The young girl was as shy as they came. Hank was surprised to see her get her nerve up enough to join them on the porch. Even now she stood before them looking as though she wanted to disappear into the aluminum siding behind her, shrink into it if there were any way she could.

But Rose had come with good credentials and a lot of need, which was why both Hank and Ollie had been happy to find her. She had just finished a training course in cooking and early childhood education at a vocational school in White Center that spring, and she solved the problem of one more hand for cooking as well as childcare for Addison when Hank and Ollie were off doing meal set-up and delivery.