Sandy reached for her cane. “No, I’m good with that, but I hate that you have to do all of this on your own.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
“Not really. Not to feed an army of men.”
“It’s really no more work.” Brooklyn started slicing the chicken. “There just won’t be any leftovers, and we’ll have a few more bowls to wash, which the dishwasher will take care of.”
Sandy struggled to her feet. “Well, don’t let us take advantage of you.”
Brooklyn nodded, but honestly, it was just the opposite. She was feeling useful and connected for the first time in a long time, making her even more resolved to do whatever she could to locate Kane.
Colin’s mom hobbled into the room, her cane thumping on the thick pine floorboards with a rhythmic thump, thump, thump. He pulled out a chair for her at the head of the long, rustic dining table. She grimaced when sitting. He gritted his teeth. They needed softer chairs for her to sit in than the matching log style. When this was all over and Tarver was behind bars, he would remedy that.
Colin went back to the passthrough counter to retrieve platters of food. The chicken smelled out of this world. Spicey and tangy at the same time. He wasn’t quite sure what the meal was, but he was a fan of all of the ingredients. Well, maybe not the yellow stuff he couldn’t name. Looked kind of like rice except rounder, and he had no idea if he liked it or not. Hewas generally a meat and potatoes kind of guy. Oh, and pizza—’cause what guy didn’t like pizza?—but he didn’t mind trying new things.
The other guys came into the room and settled at the table, their conversation filled with this week’s NBA final games.
His mom plugged her nose. “So who smells like cigarette smoke and why?”
“Sorry, that would be me.” Ryan stood behind a chair. “When we canvassed the route we thought the potential intruder took, I went into a convenience store where the owner smoked. I’ll go take my jacket off, and that should help.”
“That would be good,” Colin said. “Mom’s lupus makes her sensitive to all unusual smells.”
“Just one more of the many perks of the disease.” She laughed, but Colin caught the frustrated undertone.
How many times a day since she’d come to live here did he wish he could take this disease from her and take it on himself? Sure, he would hate having it, but he hated seeing his beautiful, wonderful mother suffering even more.
“Could someone grab the iced tea and glasses?” Brooklyn called out.
Dev dropped into a chair and stared at Colin. “You’ve been doing such a good job of helping I wouldn’t want to deprive you of the final steps.”
“You know what I’m going to say to that, right?” their mom asked.
“Don’t let your big brother do everything,” Colin and Dev said at the same time, then Dev laughed.
“Yeah, you can laugh ’cause you’re the one sitting on your butt.” Colin rolled his eyes. “But it’s no biggie. Brooklyn’s the one who got the wrong end of things.”
She entered the room and swiped a hand over her forehead. “I like to cook, and I don’t get to do it often for others, so it’s mypleasure to make the meal. I’ll be able to plan ahead for the next one and have all the ingredients to make something special.”
“In that case”—Dev jumped up and pulled out a chair for her—“sit next to me, and we can talk about a menu.”
She laughed, the delightful sound rising up and filling the room. Colin couldn’t help the happy smile that crossed his face, capturing his mother’s attention and gaining him a knowing look. So, fine. She knew he was attracted to Brooklyn. What red-blooded male wouldn’t be?
He grabbed the iced tea and filled the tall glasses, handing them down the table.
“The tea isn’t sweetened.” Brooklyn picked up the sugar bowl from the tray and held it up. “My granny would be disappointed in me. She always said sweet tea was the only tea, but I didn’t think you all were the type to want sweet drinks. The sugar’s here if anyone wants it.”
“I’m not too proud to ask for it.” Dev reached for the bowl and started spooning sugar into his glass.
“And not too proud to consume the whole bowl.” Colin shook his head as he took a seat. “Wait until you see him in the morning with his sugar-filled breakfast cereal.”
“Hey, you gotta start your day out right.”
Brooklyn laughed again, and Colin wished he’d been the one to make that happen, to make her happy. But he seemed only to bring her down with his serious nature. Or scare her. He had to change that. Make a point of it, or she was going to fall for Dev. Nothing worse in Colin’s book right now than that happening. Seeing her dating his brother. No, he couldn’t let that happen. Not at all.
Ryan came back and took the furthest chair from Colin’s mom as possible.
“You don’t have to exile yourself,” she said, smiling at Ryan.
