She taps her lips and grins. “I guess it’s a good thing he ducked out of the party early that night. What does your brother think about you staying with Peter?”
How is that even relevant? “He’s glad someone was looking out for us. He can’t drop everything and run to help while working at the ranch.”
“True.” Piper slowly backs away and waves. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
I should definitely text Peter and tell him about Piper’s questions. But…I’m not going to. He can be as uncomfortable as I am.
I slide back onto the driver seat and pull away from the main building. There’s a big chance dinner is going to be interesting tonight.
The sky is darkening and I’m working on dinner. It’s the least I can do after everything Peter has done for us.
Is it elaborate like the chili he makes? Not even close. But it’s the thought that counts, right?
“Do you need help with anything, Mom?” Lexi comes into the kitchen with her phone in her hand. She’s not even looking up to see where she’s going. Has she gotten that acquainted with Peter’s house in the short time we’ve been here.
“I think I’ve got it.” The weekend will be over soon and she’ll be back at school after the unintended break. “Have you checked your school email?”
“Yes, Mom.” I can practically hear her roll her eyes. “They gave us a break from any assignments in case we didn’t have power. Which is a good thing because we didn’t.”
I’m not sure the answer required so much snark, but at least she’s taking care of what she needs to. “Can you take out Alice? I’m sure she wants to run off some pent-up energy.”
“Mom, she’s the most chill and lazy dog I’ve ever seen.” She shoves her phone into her pocket. “Besides, she hates the cold. I’ll take her out, though.”
“Thank you.”
Lexi’s need to tell me things I already know astounds me. But the dog still has to go out. And I need some space. Not really from her, but to gather my thoughts and prepare myself for when Peter gets here. I just know he’s going to be upset about Piper knowing I’m here.
I add the noodles to the boiling water and slide the garlic bread into the oven. Now, all I need to do is make the salad. This is the kind of busy work I enjoy. There’s no thinking, just making sure I go through the process of the meal I’m making. It feels good to be doing something normal again, even if I’m not in my own home.
The back door opens and I hear boots hit the floor before heavy footsteps enter the kitchen.
“Why are you cooking?” Peter asks. The question borders on an accusation, like he doesn’t want me in his kitchen. “You’re my guest.”
I add the vegetables I cut to a bowl before facing him. “I want to. It’s the least I can do after the kindness you’ve shown us.”
Little does he know that if we had stayed where we were, I can’t think of a single person who would have helped us. My ex-husband did a fine job of slowly turning everyone in our area against me. It was the catalyst to us moving.
He opens his mouth as if he’s about to say something, but quickly closes it. Instead, he moves toward the cabinet holding the plates and pulls out enough for the three of us. “I’ll get everything out.”
“Thank you. The food should be ready soon.” I’m glad he isn’t actually mad at me for cooking. He must know I need this bit of normalcy. Though, I don’t know how.
He also hasn’t said anything about Piper. There’s no way he would pull out that tidbit of information in front of Lexi. Maybe I got lucky and Piper didn’t say anything to him. At least that worry is off my plate.
Fifteen
Peter
The last place I want to be is at work. After dinner last night we watched some movies and hung out. Lexi didn’t say much, but she wasn’t on her phone so that’s a plus. I’d much rather be hanging out with them today.
Tomorrow will be weird with them gone all day, especially since it’s my day off. There are some things I need to take care of. And I need to check in with the plumber. Maybe he can get to their house sooner than later.
It’s not that I have a problem with Callie and Lexie staying with me. But…it’s harder and harder to remember Callie is my best friend’s little sister. Being around her is easy, and it feels right. Even if she’s doing everything in her power to keep me at arm’s length. I wish I knew what I did to her to make her not want anything to do with me.
I get my workstation set up and push aside thoughts of Callie. There’s no way she’s interested in more than friendship with me. Right now, I have work to do, and dwelling on why Callie seems to despise me won’t accomplish it. I’m sure I’ll need to restock bottles in the main house. We had a steady flow of traffic yesterday, and I except the same to happen today.
The last crate ice loaded, and I set it on the dolly. The walkway still has some slippery areas where it’s shaded. The last thing I want to do is carry these out by hand and fall taking all the bottles of wine with me. I’m sure Pierce would be all over my ass if I wasted product like that, even if it’s not technically my fault.
I open the warehouse door to move the bottles of wine and run into Piper. “Hello, big brother.”
