“Do you have everythin’ you need?” I ask Lukas when he comes out of his room again. “Hangers, space, everythin’?”
He nods. “Yeah, I think so. Thanks.”
Dropping onto the couch, I grab the remote. “Wanna watch some TV?”
“Sure.” Lukas sits on the loveseat. “What do you like to watch?”
“We can pick whatever you wanna watch,” I offer. “What type of shows are you into?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. All kinds of stuff.” There’s a pause. “Have you ever seen Modern Family?”
“Nope, can’t say that I have.”
“It’s pretty funny.” He huffs a small breath. “My dad and I started watching it before he…” His words trail off, and my heart squeezes for him. “Anyway, it’s pretty good, if you wanna watch that.”
“I’m down.”
Even though he’s seen the first season, he has me start from the beginning, and I’ll give it to him… Itisfunny.
“Do you snore?” Lukas asks after a couple of episodes.
The question takes me by surprise, since we haven’t really said anything since I turned the show on. I chuckle and shake my head. “Not that I’m aware of.”
“Good. My dad snored like a chainsaw.”
I can’t help the laughter that bubbles out of me. “My dad used to snore too. I remember waking up some weekends, and he’d be on the couch because my mom couldn’t stand it.”
“God, it’s theworst,” he grumbles. “Do you, uh— Do you work tomorrow?”
“No. I’m off for the next two days. I rearranged my schedule a little because I wanted to make sure you were settled before leavin’ you overnight.”
He nods slowly, but doesn’t say anything back to that. Instead, he asks, “Do you cook?”
“I can, and I enjoy it. I handle most meals at the firehouse when I’m on shift, actually.”
“Really?”
“Sure do.”
“Can I…” Lukas pauses, clearing his throat. His eyes avert to his lap like he’s nervous. “I’d love to help with dinner sometimes.I used to help my dad as much as I could, but he usually burned everything he made. Well, except for breakfast.”
I lift my brows. “Oh, really? Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day.”
He nods. “Every Saturday that he was home, we’d go all out for breakfast. Homemade waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage, freshly squeezed juice. I loved it.”
I think about that for a moment. Think about all the stuff I used to do with my dad that I never really got to do after he died. “My dad and I used to go fishing on Sunday mornings when he wasn’t at work. Not exactly a gourmet breakfast, but it was something I looked forward to all the time. Something I got to do with just him because Sadie and my mom hated fishing.”
“I’ve never been fishing,” he admits softly.
“If you want, I can take you sometime. Hollis and I go every now and then. There’s a great fishing hole not far from here.”
A small smile pulls on his lips. “Yeah, that’d be cool.”
“And look, I know tomorrow isn’t Saturday, but what do you say about helpin’ me make a big breakfast like you used to with your dad?”
“Really?” Excitement gleams in his eyes.
“Hell yeah. We can do waffles, if you want, or we can put our own spin on it and make somethin’ else.”
