We all fell into step together as we walked down the hallway.
“So, Adele’s working out well,” Grady commented. “She helped me today with a short rock-climbing trip. Mom was right.”
“About what?” I asked, trying to ignore my curiosity about Adele and the urge to ask every question I could about how the rock climbing went with her.
It wasn’t that I cared about that, but what I wanted was for her to be assigned to every trip with me. We had the Katmai trip coming up. I hoped that would give me a lot of time with her since it was a two-week jaunt.
“What’s Mom right about, and do we have to admit it to her?” Asher asked dryly.
“When she said we should have a female guide on staff,” Grady added. “One of the women thanked us.”
“Good to hear,” I chimed in. “I get it. I’m sure there are people who want that as an option. Especially for something like rock climbing where we have to help them put the gear on and everything.”
As we turned into the kitchen, the smell of food assailed us instantly.
“Oh, man, I can tell you put lots of cheese in that,” I called over.
Tommy glanced over, waggling his brows. “Of course I did. As if I wouldn’t.”
“There’s no such thing as too much cheese,” Haven chimed in.
“Never,” I agreed. “Is it ready though?”
“Almost.” Tommy adjusted the temperature on the oven. “I want to give it a few more minutes to get a nice crisp on the cheese.”
“Is there a way to just make things with burnt cheese? Honest question. I would just eat the burnt cheese,” I added.
Adele happened to come walking in at that moment, hearing my comment. When she giggled, the sound echoed in every cell of my body.
“If there is such a thing as just eating burnt cheese, sign me up,” she said, her tone completely serious.
“There’s that kind of cheese…” Tommy paused. “I gotta look up what it is. You can fry it.”
“Oh, can you make us that every day?” Adele said, her tone completely serious. “I mean it.”
Tommy grinned. “For you, of course, Adele.”
“Why just for her?” I couldn’t help but tease.
“Because she’s new.”
“You wouldn’t do it for us? I’m hurt,” Grady quipped, palm to chest.
Tommy shrugged. “Maybe, but you guys can be kind of demanding,” he said dryly.
That elicited another giggle from Adele, just as Chloe and our mom walked into the kitchen through the doorway from the office hallway.
“Y’all can be demanding,” Chloe agreed somberly.
Lincoln was leaning against one of the counters, out of the fray and observing up until this point. Although he stayed quiet, his gaze slid to Chloe, his eyes darkening. I wondered when he was going to figure out he had it bad for her. Meanwhile, I wondered when Adele might give me an answer. I was starting to wonder if I’d have to face rejection, and I didn’t want to think about that.
Contemplating rejection from Adele hurt more than I expected. Maybe it was because it wasn’t just a fling that I wanted with her. I actually liked her. A lot. I was unsettled by how protective I felt toward her.
“Tommy, it smells amazing,” Mom enthused, clasping her hands together. Her eyes twinkled as she smiled at him.
Tommy’s smile in return was jaunty. “I think I’ve mastered lasagna.”
“Of course you’ve mastered lasagna,” our mom said firmly.
