“Could’ve, sure, but who actuallydidthe cooking…” I trailed off pointedly, grinning at Rey.
“What he said.” Rey stuck out his tongue at his friends.
Seeing him like this felt good, too. He was a far cry from the panicked kid who had gotten out of the car the first day. There was still a lot of things he couldn’t do, but he was getting better, and like Ben, he was slowly coming out of his shell.
“Okay, we’re going to clean up and then go upstairs,” River announced.
“And I’m going to put in ear plugs just in case,” Rey added, smirking.
Ben blushed, but nodded at River’s words and helped him clear the table.
I waved at them without looking at them, because all my tired concentration suddenly snapped to Lake.
“You’re amazing,” I said quietly as the guys started to retreat up the stairs.
He blushed lightly, and his foot touched mine under the table in an echo of that other dinner.
“You’re not too shabby yourself,” he murmured, then gestured at the food. “Let’s eat before it gets cold. Then shower and maybe dessert in bed?”
I grinned. “I could be persuaded.”
Chapter 21
Lake
I’d become antsy in the afternoon, so Ben had called it a day. Then River had come home and taken one look at me.
“We’re going to cook for your man,” he said. “Rey! Cooking time!”
The speed Rey bounced down the stairs was comical.
I was put in charge of the salad, and Rey—along with River, when he was allowed to help—made the chicken casserole Theo loved.
Ben, on the other hand, had gone for a walk. The way River gazed after him as he walked out the door was…well. It made me sigh and turn away. I loved my best friend with everything I had, but I wished he wouldtalkto Ben.
Not in the cordial way or the sort of hesitant,I hope I’m not upsetting you too muchway they were doing these days. I wanted to lock them in a room and tell them they weren’t coming out before they’d had an actual, adult talk.
By the time we got the heads up from Theo that they’d be arriving soon, I’d already talked with the volunteers who had shown up to help, and the dinner was ready as soon as Theo was able to sit at the table to eat.
The sisters, Penny and Poppy, were awesome. They were no-nonsense horsewomen who obviously loved Theo to bits. I’d met Poppy in passing before while she was shoeing Ursula with gentle, kind patience that you wouldn’t necessarily expect from her firecracker persona outside of her job.
Penny was more subdued on the outside, but as soon as she began to talk about rescue horses, she lit up with a fire that was breathtaking. She trained horses for cross-country and travel riding, and she was always searching for new horses to adopt and re-sell once trained.
When she went to see the mare I’d decided was going to be Theo’s, she took one look at her and grinned. “This one is special.”
“Yup.” I reached to pet the still nameless horse. “I’ve had her earmarked for Theo. He doesn’t know.”
Penny let out a pleased hum. “I’m happy. He needs one of his own. Good scheming.”
* * * *
Later, as I tugged Theo through my bedroom into my bathroom, I could see the hesitancy in his eyes as he glanced around the space that had been Ruth’s.
“Too much? We can go to yours—”
He shook his head. “No, no. It’s…It doesn’t look like hers anymore. I just haven’t been here since…”
I pulled him fully into the bathroom and started the shower. Then I undressed him slowly, kissing his shoulder first, then his chest, I even pressed a kiss on his lightly furry stomach.
