Indivisible Read Online Free PDF

floorboards, tables, chairs.”
    “Hmm.” Tia closed her sketch pad. “Stress cleaning?”
    “I guess I was worried.” She let the hair hang between her fingers.
    “Sarge is a tough old bird.”
    “He didn’t look tough curled up on the floor.” She could still see him writhing. “He made me go out front, but I didn’t know how bad the pain was or I wouldn’t have left him alone.”
    “Sarge doesn’t allow insubordination.”
    “But I should have realized …”
    “You really couldn’t have. Sarge would rather die than admit he needs help.”
    Piper sighed. “I still don’t know if I did the right thing. He was spitting nails.”
    “I saw.”
    Piper raised her brows.
    “You were out front.”
    “At least it’s over.”
    She had fumbled her way through the morning rush, baked frantically, and made it through the substantial lunch crowd. Sarge had not told her what to do with the money, and she didn’t know the combination to the safe, so she’d stuck the zippered transfer bag in the lower oven and locked the shop. Yeah, it was over. “Until tomorrow.” She groaned.
    “Shh.”
    She felt Tia’s hand come over her eyes.
    “Keep them closed.”
    The snick of a match left an acrid smell. The air moved when Tia brushed the smoke away and another scent took over.
    After a few moments, she said, “Now, breathe.”
    Piper drew a slow breath in through her nose. The new aroma smelled soft and mysterious, like a dream she could not quite recall.
    “That’s nice.”
    “It’s called Peace.” Tia’s cool fingertips pressed into her temples and rubbed, her fingers spreading out, making small circles over the sides of her head.
    Piper surrendered her scalp into their care, murmuring, “Peace.”
    “It’s from my Sacred Scents collection.” Tia’s thumbs moved to the base of her skull. “The insert reads: ‘Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.’”
    “I like that. How’d you come up with it?”
    She could hear the smile. “Jesus said it.”
    “Like, two thousand years ago?”
    “Go figure.”
    Tia was teasing, but Piper sank deeper into the ministration. Come to me, you who are weary . Had it really been so bad? A little rushing back and forth, some rude and disgruntled customers. But she’d managed. Sarge had gotten help, and he’d only yelled at her once. “Can I be you when I grow up?”
    “Better to be you, sweetie.”
    Tia’s tone was soft and warm but hinted at sadness.
    “The chief sure helped. Without him, I’d have panicked. You could have heard my heartbeat across the street. Then he came in and, I don’t know, it felt like everything would be all right.” He’d soothed her then, just as Tia’s massage soothed her now. “He was really good.”
    “I bet.” Tia didn’t hide the edge.
    Piper slid a glance upward. “What happened with you and Jonah Westfall?”
    Tia’s hands slipped away, and Piper regretted the question. Most people wanted to share. Tia was like a mirror reflecting conversation back to others. She listened in a way that made it all about you.
    But this was about Tia, and it felt important. “Come on, tell me.”
    Tia rested her palms on the chair. “He broke my sister’s heart.”
    “Your sister?” She could have sworn it was more personal than that. “Are you close?”
    Tia sighed. “We were.”
    Yet until now she hadn’t seen or heard a word about a sister. “Where is she?”
    “She moved to Arizona.”
    “Because of Jonah?”
    “Sort of. She got married.”
    “Then she couldn’t have been too heartbroken.”
    “Ever heard of rebound?”
    Piper scratched her cheek, peeling away a shard of caked flour. “Where’s the rest of your family?”
    “They’re all there. Reba had a difficult pregnancy, and my parents went down to help out.”
    “You didn’t?”
    “Mom asked me to watch the shop.”
    “The Half Moon?”
    Tia nodded.
    “I thought it was yours.”
    “It basically is.”
    “How long has