“You do remember I can cook, yeah? Go rest, have a hot bath, or sleep. Let me make dinner for everyone.”
Peony stopped and looked up at him. She smiled, the same smile her daughter might have, he suddenly thought.
“You are a West, my dear. I can see it in everything. The way you walk, talk—” She stopped, and he urged her forward, shoring her up with an arm around her waist. She leaned into him with a sigh.
“I never knew my father,” he said quietly. “Sometimes I used to wonder if I was like him. My mother never even had a photo of him, and he certainly wasn’t her favorite person.”
“You are,” Peony said. “Tanner’s like him too. Likely want a DNA sample from you for all of this.”
“Already ordered the kit while Frank and I finished up. Least I can do,” Jake said, pushing open the door that Peony pointed to. He ushered her into her room and set her on the edge of the big master bed. The suite was huge; Gordon’s whole apartment was smaller. The entire house was a sprawling maze of wealth, and it hit him that he didn’t remember one bit of it.
“Thank you, Jake. I mean it,” Peony said as she shifted into her bed, and he pulled up the covers. She lay back and he turned to go, but she stopped him, her hand on his arm.
“Follow the hallway back and then turn right toward the big dining room, kitchen is back behind that.”
Jake nodded and left her to her nap, closing the door softly—there had been enough doors slamming for one day. He made his way back to the main living room, then through an enormous dining room with a butler pantry, to the kitchen just as Peony had said. He stopped short, taking in the expensive stone countertops, massive gas cooktop, big double-door commercial fridge. A chef’s dream kitchen was staring back at him, gleaming in the late afternoon light.
He leaned on the island and looked around, processing the past couple of hours. In one fell swoop, he had been tied to this place until their lawyer could figure out a way to break it. He didn’t have time to sit on his ass out in the middle of nowhere; he needed to be back in the city, getting on with his own life. But here he was. A few days of clothing wasn’t going to cut it—he could be here a month or more, so he fished his phone out of his pocket and called Gordon.
“Hey, man, how’s the middle of nowhere?” Gordon said as soon as he answered. Jake’s shoulders lowered as he leaned on the counter, happy to be talking to someone familiar.
“A lot of cows,” Jake replied. “How you doing without me to harass you?”
“Aww, you know I miss your sweet face first thing in the morning, Grumpy.”
Jake chuckled. “‘Grumpy’?”
“Hah. Whatever. I secured that gig at The Grill, you know they brought on a new head chef. She was looking for some deep experience, so I’m the new pantry chef. Not exactly what I wanted, but it’s a foot in the door.”
“Hey, that’s great!” Jake said, a pinch of excitement reverberating in his stomach. The Grill. It was a great place, one he’d tried to get into once, but they were interested in European fusion cuisine rather than Jake’s specialty at the time. Gordon could helm the place easily, if he wanted. Jake sobered. Time to get to the point of his call.
“Listen, I have a situation.”
“When don’t you?” Gordon teased back.
“Hah, funny. I need you to ship me my clothing and stuff. I might be here a while.”
Gordonhmmed and Jake heard paper shuffling on the other end of the call. “Okay. Spill, what’s the situation?”
“Well, my dad, he. . . . Well, he willed me the entire ranch. I have to stay while the family’s lawyer finds a way out of it.”
Gordon let out a whistle. “Wow, that’s a situation for sure. You’ll need all your shit, then, huh? I can do that. Are you okay? Do you need me to come out there?”
“Nah, I’m good. I don’t know how long I’ll be here, maybe a week, maybe a month or more. I’ll find a spot to settle in, and the main house here has a really nice kitchen. Could be worse. Plus, I might learn a thing or two about my dad. I have half brothers, two of ’em, can you believe it?”
“Instant family, man. That’ll be new for you. I can send you some audio from Fifth Avenue at rush hour, too, if you want. The lack of sirens and horns is going to drive you nuts,” Gordon said, and thenahhed under his breath as more paper sounds made it through the phone. “Here it is, I knew I wrote down the address where you were going. I can send all of it there?”
“Yeah. If anything important comes in the mail, can you forward it as well?”
“Yep. But when the executive chef invitation for The Odeon arrives in our mailbox, can I pretend to be you?” Gordon said.
“Not on your life, but if it does, I’m bringing you with me,” Jake replied.
Gordon let out a laugh. “Hah, like you have a choice. Anyway, I’ll get it all out to you, no worries. You sure you want all of it?”
“Yeah, gonna need to think practical if I’m here for a while. Thanks, man, I owe you. Let me know what to send you for it.”
“Yes, Chef,” Gordon said. “Take it easy, might find you like the peace and quiet compared to this madhouse, get your head on straight while you figure out where your next restaurant’s going to be.”
