I shake my head. “Weweregoing to Target. But not anymore. It’ll have to wait. Tomorrow maybe. And I know you hate shopping, so before you start complaining about it, I’d remind you about what Bug said.”
She claps excitedly. “Goody! I’m going to get a PlayStation. Thank you, Mommy!” She hugs me. “I love you.”
Ugh. I scold myself. I should have been clearer. I didn’t mean she’d get oneimmediatelyif she was good. I meanteventually. But she’s four. Her sense of time and patience is practically non-existent.
“I walked right into that one.”
Amelia looks around. “What did you walk into?”
I chuckle. “Nothing. Come on, let’s go back upstairs and see if we can scrounge up something for dinner.”
Chapter Nine
Carter
Something smells incredible when I walk in the door. Christian occasionally cooks for us. Well,cooksis a bit of a stretch. He heats up a frozen pizza, warms cans of soup, or throws together a salad. What I’m smelling, however, is way above and beyond anything like that.
Rounding the corner into the kitchen, I find Kenna taking a pan out of the oven. Amelia, Christian, and—surprise, surprise—Bug are playing a card game at the table. Go Fish if I remember my games correctly.
Soft music is playing over a Bluetooth speaker, and something shifts inside me when Kenna’s hips sway back and forth. Jesus, it’s like I walked into another dimension. If someone were looking through the window right now, they’d think we were a family.
I resist the urge to walk over behind her, wrap my arms around her, and pull her against me. Hell, she’d probably deck me and then take her kid and run as far away from me as she could get. And I’d deserve it. So instead, I stand in the doorway and stare as she dances absently from the stove to the refrigerator.
“Dad?”
I turn to find Christian and Bug watching me curiously. Bug looks from me to Kenna and smiles deviously. I point my finger at her and shake my head. She just laughs.
Kenna spins around. “Oh, Carter. Hi. I hope you don’t mind that I used your kitchen. There’s enough for everyone.”
“Mind?” I go over and inhale a huge whiff of garlicky goodness. “It smells amazing.”
She looks embarrassed. “I promise not to encroach on your space after tonight, but I couldn’t find an Uber that had a car seat so there was no way for me to go shopping and get my own provisions. I’ll have to remember to get Amelia’s car seat out of your SUV.”
“Wait, are you saying you made lasagna from what I had here in the house?”
She shrugs. “The noodles had expired, but not for too long so they should be okay. You had some frozen ground turkey, sauce, lots of spices, and enough shredded cheese to clog the arteries of an elephant.” She giggles at her own joke. “You didn’t have ricotta, but I was able to substitute cottage cheese. I’m actually surprised you had it. An unusual item for two bachelors.”
“It’s Aunt Mia’s,” Christian says. “She loves cottage cheese. She puts tomatoes on it.” He cringes at the thought of Mia’s unusual concoction.
My stomach growls loudly when I take a closer look at dinner.
“Dad… jeez.”
I pat my middle. “Sorry, but it just smells so good. Let me go wash up and I’ll help you set the table.”
“We can do that, Mr. Cruz,” Bug says, already starting to clear away the cards.
Okay, then. I guess Bug is eating with us.Again. Somehow, some way, those two end up eating at each other’s houses at least half the time.
While I change out of my work clothes, I remember what Kenna said about not being able to go to the store. I should have told her about Truman’s, the small grocery store over on McQuaid Circle. It’s only a short walk from here. Still though, in this weather, it’d be a trek.
Back in the kitchen, Christian and Bug have set the table and Kenna is bringing over the food.
More garlic assaults my nostrils, drawing me toward a breadbasket. “Is that garlic bread?”
Kenna nods. “I had to improvise. This is a package of hamburger buns, toasted and spread with butter and garlic salt, with a little sprinkle of shredded cheese.”
My mouth waters. “Dang… I like the way your brain works.”
