"Believe it or not," Luke assured him, "I know how to do that. Can't tell you if we'll need to buy more appliances, but I know how to make sure they're working."
"Propane dealer is local," Emily offered. "His shop is in Bonham, but he lives just outside Cats Peak."
I was starting to get excited about this. Pushing my plate back, I reached for my chair, intending to go check Gran's journals to see what else we'd need. I didn't even make it to scooting my chair back, though.
"Eat!" Faith snapped at me. "Dinner before homework, Violet."
Luke ducked his head and chuckled. "That's my girl," he bragged, looking over at me. "And it will wait, Violet. At least finish the burger?"
I turned to Emily to explain. "I've had an eating disorder since I was a teenager, and now everyone is helping make sure I eat."
"Yes, we all have to make sure the food goes inside her, not in the garbage. Wanna help?" Faith asked Emily.
"I think I can do that," Emily assured her.
Cy chuckled softly. "You're outnumbered now, babe. You realize that, right?"
"Which makes it harder to cheat," I assured him. "I'm actually ok with this. I just thought I'd check Gran's records to see what else we need, since it seems Emily has a few good ideas."
"Oh, I see how it is," Luke teased, reaching over to drape his arm around me. "You're saying my ideas are crap, right?"
"Such a local," Ash taunted.
Luke looked over, and for a second, their eyes met. Ash's lips curled in a soft smile. Luke breathed out a laugh before glancing down. Everyone at the table saw it, though. The men also knew it.
So Luke cleared his throat. "So, um... Just so it's out there..." He looked over at Darnell, then Cessily before turning his eyes to Zeke and Emily. "I'm bisexual. I'm dating Violet, but also Ash and Cy. I'm also practicing how to say that."
"Just like that," Emily assured him. "The most important thing to remember is that those who know you won't care, and those who care don't matter."
Luke just nodded. "Yeah, but it's still terrifying."
"Yeah, it is," Zeke agreed. "I keep waiting for people to hate me when they find out."
"Exactly!" Luke told the boy.
"Well, this?" I said, gesturing to the group of us. "We're the ones that will come running to pick any of you up if that happens." I looked over at Faith. "Even you. For any reason."
"Which means you too," Darnell told me. "It's what family does."
Chapter Seven
Since it was a Thursday, Emily and Zeke headed out early. When I walked them to the door, I checked to make sure we'd gotten all the paint off. Sure enough, the glass was streaked from the oil Emily had used on the wood, but there was no paint. Even better, the wood looked like it was in better shape than it had been in a very long time.
The hate had been erased, but that wasn't the same as being truly gone. Right now, the gate was completely destroyed, meaning anyone could drive onto the property. Luke and Darnell had been talking about how to fix that. Buying a new one wasn't something that could be done in a day. It was custom-made, which meant it would need to be completely rebuilt, and Luke said he could do it as well as anyone else.
The whole thing also made me realize that we'd need security cameras. Now that we had a real internet connection and weren't working off hotspots, that should be possible. I also knew just the man to tell me what I needed. Heading into my office, I plugged my phone in and sent off a text to Teal, making sure he knew it wasn't a rush and not to stop gaming, but I was going to need some advice on a camera system for the property. The kid sent back a thumbs-up emoji almost immediately.
Then I turned to get one of Gran's journals from the shelf. I'd wanted to do this at dinner, but I'd forced myself to eat. That didn't mean I'd stopped thinking about all the other positions we were going to need and how Gran had made this work. I had just set the book on my desk and flipped it open when soft knuckles tapped against the door frame.
"Obsessing much?" Ash asked.
I looked up to find him wearing pajama bottoms and a loose t-shirt, and yet he still managed to look sexy like that. The corner of my lip curled up as I leaned back in my chair, gesturing for him to come the rest of the way in. Ash pulled in a breath but didn't move. Pushing it out, he finally took a step, and yet he still paused just inside my office.
"You know, I feel like I'm doing something wrong," he said.
"Too many weeks of trying to ignore each other," I agreed.
"Yeah." He moved over and claimed the chair in the corner. "So, has anyone really had a talk with Faith yet? I mean, we've given her the smallest explanation, but in her head, this has to be confusing."
