“Yeah, thanks.”
She did that, leaving the monitor behind. He paused, watching and listening as Tam returned to her room with Lyssa and got her settled in the large portable crib with Maisie.
“There we go, my little lovely,” she said. For a moment, he imagined Aisling standing next to her, the two of them watching the babies sleep.
And he desperately wanted that happiness for both women. Wanted to tell Tamsin and nudge the two of them together.
Except he knew he had to keep his mouth shut. Not only because he’d promised he would, but also because he knew it was an issue fraught with highly charged emotional complications that made his own situation look boring in comparison.
They were in the middle of cooking prep when Nami joined them, Tahlia asleep on her shoulder, and Tamsin took the baby to her bedroom.
Nami turned to Ken when Tamsin left the kitchen, and Ken didn’t need to be a Prime Alpha to read her thoughts.
“I don’t know how long I can keep this secret,” she mouthed to him.
“Do the best you can,” he mouthed back.
Nami prepped trays of biscuits, and they were nearly ready to start grilling the steaks when Ken stumbled across an old, well-worn cloth-bound binder in one of the cabinets while looking for spices.
Taking it out, he paged through it when he realized what it was. “This was Chelsea’s,” he said, flipping to the front. Inside the front cover, in unfamiliar handwriting, was the woman’s name in blue ink.
Nami and Tamsin crowded close. While dividers separated it into sections by type of dish, the front section held sheets of lined paper with handwritten recipes, many of the pages marred by splashes from dishes cooked long ago. Those twenty recipes were apparently her favorites, based on the condition of the pages.
“Look at this one,” Nami said. “That looks delicious.”
“‘Crowdpleaser Casserole.’” Ken read, scanning the ingredients. “I don’t think we have everything to make it, though. I’ll run to town tomorrow and shop.”
“If you’re volunteering to take charge of cooking,” Nami said, “then bless you, my son. Beck’s family is arriving tomorrow. We really want to spend time with them. They’re all staying with a cousin, so we’ll be over there for most of our visit.”
“Oh, sure,” Ken said. “I’ll be happy to. Hey, it’s something I can do.”
“I’m happy to help as well,” Tamsin said, smiling and draping an arm around Ken. “We’ve got this. You enjoy your visit.”
“Don’t be afraid to grab Malyah to help, too,” Nami said.
Before he returned the binder to the cabinet, Ken snapped a picture of several recipes so he could compile a shopping list. Dinner that night wasn’t a sit-down gathering, more like controlled chaos where word was spread between the two households that food was to be had and people cycled in and out of the kitchen to grab their share. Ken shooed Nami out after dinner because she looked exhausted, and he and Tamsin took care of the clean-up.
By the time Ken was ready to collapse later that night, Asia and Trent had welcomed little Malina to their family. Dewi had to sit in on an overnight conference call with Peyton and several of their Enforcers, but Ken didn’t have to be there, so he opted to go back to sleep while Dewi sat on the couch in the cabin’s living room with her earbuds in so she wouldn’t disturb him.
The next morning, the time change meant Ken awakened before everyone else. Knowing further sleep was out of the question, he headed to the main house to start breakfast preparations. He left the baby sleeping in her crib, knowing Dewi would awaken if the baby did. While he worked, he consulted his phone and compared recipe ingredients to everything they had on hand to finish compiling his shopping list. He was about to start making biscuits when a sleepy-looking Nami entered through the back door.
“Perfect timing,” he said. “Coffee’s ready.”
“Bless you, my child.” She headed to where he’d pre-staged mugs and coffee fixings for anyone who might arrive.
“I thought you were spending time with Beck’s family?” he asked.
“We are. I mean will. I left Beck with the baby after I nursed her. He was up talking late last night with Peyton and Dewi and them, and wanted to sleep in a little. We’re going over later this morning. I know Malyah and Joaquin were up late visitin’ Joaquin’s family, so they should be here later on. I already talked to her and she said she’ll be happy to help you with the cooking.”
“Yeah, I bailed on the call,” Ken said. “Thankfully, they didn’t need me. Even with my nap, I was barely vertical.”
“You and me both,” Nami said. “Are you still going to the store this morning?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Can you pick me up a few things while you’re there, if they have them?”
“Sure. Just text me a list. Want to go with me?”
