“It’s the best fucking lasagna I’ve ever had, every time you make it,” Jude said as he and Kendall came walking in from the common area out front.
“Language!” Tommy quipped.
Our mother’s effort to minimize our tendency to swear around Tommy was failing, although Tommy didn’t swear much. So maybe we were serving as the bad example for him.
In short order, we were all digging in, and it was, as Jude said, the “best fucking lasagna.”
“This is amazing,” Adele enthused after a few bites.
Tommy beamed at her. “Good! I love having a new guest.”
“This is your life’s calling,” Kendall piped up.
“I think I’ve already agreed that it is. I’m gonna go to chef school somewhere and come back and take this place up a notch. We’re gonna be legit competition for Fireweed Winery.”
“Oh, yeah?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I want people to travel out here for our food, and we could maybe have an outpost location in town.”
“Wow, you’re thinking big,” Haven said, lifting his glass of water in the air in a toast.
“Why not?” Tommy replied with a shrug. “It’d be fun.”
“Dude, you can do whatever you want. I support it,” I added.
The conversation meandered along, and I caught myself stealing glances at Adele again and again andagainbecause that’s what I did whenever she was nearby. I didn’t realize I was so obvious until Jude elbowed me in the side, leaning close to say under his breath, “You’re staring, dude.”
“Shut up,” I muttered.
He chuckled. I took another bite of lasagna to give my attention something to focus on. After dinner, when we were cleaning up, my cell phone vibrated in my pocket. When I glanced down, surprised to see Adele’s name flash on the screen, my nerves were a jumble. I tapped the message to open it.
Adele:Can you walk me back to the barn tonight?
As if there was any answer other than yes.
Me:Absolutely.
I found her a few minutes later out in the foyer in the main area. Her cheeks were a wash of pink, and she smiled a little bashfully. “Thanks for meeting me here.”
“I’ll walk you home every night,” I said, my tone almost somber.
Her flush deepened, and she rolled her eyes. We stepped out into the falling darkness.
Chapter Twenty-One
COLE
Crossroads and scars
For the first moment or so, we walked quietly. The sound of our footsteps crunching on the gravel mingled with the background sounds of an owl calling in the distance with another returning the call. The moon was a crescent above the mountains, casting a shimmery glow over the peaks.
I heard the sound of Adele drawing in a breath. I wanted to reach for her hand, and I almost did, but I sensed that wasn’t the right thing to do. Not just now.
She started to speak. “Cole, I—” before her words cut off sharply. I risked a glance at her, but her eyes were trained ahead as we walked.
“Were you about to say something?” I asked after a beat, trying to quell the race of my pulse, to contain the anxious anticipation inside me. I stole another glance at her, and she was still quiet. Long enough that I almost prompted again, but I bit it back, waiting for her to say something.
She cleared her throat. “I’ll give it a chance.”
