Chapter 4

Nathan came down at six and found my suitcase standing in the hall, and he did the thing he always does when he has lost control of a room — he made coffee for two.

I let him. There is no faster way to learn what a man is going to try than to let him finish something small first.

He set the mug in front of me on the counter where I have set down four thousand loaves.

"Ma called me," he said.

"I thought she might."

"She says you asked her to stop the signing."

"I asked her…