“Shh, you’re going to wake up your mother.” I stick my finger to my lips.
“Sorry,” she whispers. “Can I help?”
I think about it for a moment and decide it should be fine. I nod and start grabbing our supplies.
I lay everything out on the counter next to her and grab an apron. “Do you want to wear it?” I ask, holding it out to her.
Her smile is to die for as she frantically nods her head. I help her tie it around her waist and then hand her an egg. “Do you know how to crack an egg?”
She shrugs. “Kinda, but I’m not very good at it.”
“Okay, watch what I do, and then you can try it, okay?”
She watches me intently as I tap the shell on the side of the bowl and then release the egg inside. “See, that wasn't so hard.”
“Okay, I wanna try.” She smashes the egg on the side of the bowl, making the shell fall into the bowl, and egg goop ends up all over her hand.
I start to laugh, but she looks like she is about to cry. “I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad at me.” She sticks her fingers in the bowl and tries to fish out the little white pieces in a panic.
“I’m not mad, pretty girl. You didn’t do it on purpose.” I brush her hair from her face. “Here, let me see it.” I grab the bowl and toss the egg into the sink. “Want to try it again?”
She shakes her head and frowns. “I’ll just mess it up again. You do it.”.
“You won’t get any better if you don’t practice, little one.” I hold out another egg. “Come on, you can do it.”
She takes the egg into her hand and looks up at me with sad eyes before reaching for the bowl again. This time, she doesn’t hit the side of the bowl so hard, and no shells go inside.
She does it perfectly. “Great job!” I shout. “Now, let me add the others.”
The smile that is plastered on her face melts my cold heart. How could anyone be upset at a face like that?
I crack the last egg, put the shell into the empty bowl, and then hand it to her. “Here, dump this in the trash for me, please.”
She stands on the counter and walks to the edge to dump it in the trash at the end.
I chuckle and swat at her with the dish towel I have in my hands. “I didn’t mean for you to walk on my counter, girl! Your dirty toes are all over it now.”
She looks at me over her shoulder and smirks. “This was quicker, Mr. Hunter.”
Once she is back seated, I open the flour and sit it by our bowl before grabbing a whisk to mix the ingredients together.
When I turn back around, I’m hit in the face with a whoosh of powder and start coughing. “What the heck?” I wipe my face and scowl at Charlie.
I raise my brow. “Did you just throw flour at me?”
She sticks her hand back into the bag and throws some more, all while nodding and laughing a high-pitched laugh.
“Oh, it’s on now!”
Chapter 17
Blake
I open my eyes, and the room is still dark. I reach across the bed to feel for Charlie, but it’s empty. “Charlie?” My voice comes out strained, barely above a whisper, but the silence that follows is deafening.
Panic claws at my throat, cold and suffocating.
Where is she?
