Page 82 of Goode Tidings

I want to run my hands through his hair myself, but I don't. Knowing I will later, even if under the guise of cutting his hair, is setting off a fluttery feeling in my stomach. "I promise to save my second glass until after the haircut." I grab my phone and text him the recipe for tonight. Then I hop up on the counter, cross my legs at the knee, and give him a wink. "Get cooking, chef."

CHAPTER 39

Callum

"Mom, this is really good." Oliver happily chews through his second helping.

Eden thumbs at me. "All the credit goes to Callum. He cooked."

"I'll take most of the credit, but not all. Your mom saved me from gummy mashed potatoes."

Eden grins. "That's true. I did."

Oliver makes a face. "You were going to put gummies in the mashed potatoes? Kids gummies or, like, adult gummies?"

Eden shakes her head. "Gummy is a way to describe mashed potatoes that have been overworked and released excess starch."

Oliver nods, far less interested now. "My mom's cousin accidentally got super high with his wife's grandma because she gave him a gummy."

"Your selective hearing knows no bounds," Eden mutters.

A knock pounds on the front door. Justin? Did he sense my crumbling resolve from across the world?

Eden glances at me, a do you know who that is look on her face. I shake my head and push back from the table to go answer the door. It's no longer raining, and the snow hasn't yet begun. Still, it's a mess out there. I wouldn't want to be driving right now.

Swinging open the door, I realize the person standing in front of me did not drive here. "Eugenio. Marco. Hi." I nod my head and greeting at each boy.

Marco's mouth drops open. "What are you doing here, Sad Man Hermit? I thought you were living next to the lake?"

A laugh works its way through my throat, but I swallow it down. I have a reputation to uphold. I grimace, and say, "None of your business."

"He was making dinner for me and my mom," Oliver answers, coming out of nowhere and obliterating my grumpy façade.

Marco still stares at me, open-mouthed. Eugenio bops him on the chin, and he closes his mouth. He says, "Oliver, you didn't answer my text."

"I didn't know service was restored. And I was eating dinner. No phones at the table."

Eugenio leans over and waves at Eden as she walks up behind Oliver. "Hey, Mrs. Madigan."

"Ms." Eden corrects. "But Eden is better."

He clears his throat. Makes a show of straightening his shirt and pulling back his shoulders. "Ms. Eden, would it be alright with you if Oliver stayed the night at my house tonight? My mom and dad are home, and we have a snowy night tradition where we make a big living room fort and tell ghost stories."

"Ghost stories?" Eden looks at Oliver. "But you⁠—"

"Sounds like fun," Oliver interrupts, giving his mom a serious look. "Can I go?"

"I...suppose."

Eugenio, Marco, and Oliver charge down the hall to Oliver's room. Before they disappear inside, Eugenio says, "Bro, when are you gonna get your mom to sign that field trip form? You can't be the only one who doesn't go."

Eden backtracks to the kitchen, where she picks up her phone and punches out a message.

"Making sure Esme and her husband will really be home?" I ask, gathering the dinner plates.

"Teenagers do dumb stuff. You never know when they'll think it's a good idea to throw a snow rager."

"At fourteen?"