by Devyn Quinn
Two thumbs up had to count for something.
Since the bargain had covered only food, but not service, Kenneth set to making breakfast himself. Hunting though the cabinets, he had familiarized himself with the whereabouts of the necessary staples. Gwen had made sure they’d eat well, loading up the kitchen with enough food to feed a small army.
The appliances were older models, but still functional. Since natural gas wasn’t available on the island, everything was powered by electricity. As no power lines stretched from the mainland, he suspected everything was run off a generator, probably located in the shed abutting the house. If nothing else, the island seemed self-sufficient.
He was just about to pour the pancake batter on the hot skillet when two curious redheads peeked around the doorframe.
Addison took a deep breath and squealed, “Oh my God. I haven’t smelled anything so heavenly since Mom was alive.”
Tessa nodded her agreement. “It’s been years since anyone cooked on that stove.”
Addison’s eyes settled on the wheezing coffeemaker. “And is that real brewed coffee I smell?”
Setting down the mixing bowl, Kenneth reached for the coffee cups he’d set out. “One hundred percent Colombian.” He poured three cups. “I hope you’re both hungry.”
Addison’s face split into a grin. “Oh, you are so frickin’ right I am!”
He delivered the cups to the kitchen table. Instant creamer and sugar occupied a lazy Susan, along with a set of salt and pepper shakers and a napkin holder. “Sit down. I’ve almost got everything ready.” Anticipating that he wouldn’t be eating alone, he’d set out enough silverware for three. It was purely a move of optimism. The women he knew freaked out at the thought of eating more than a piece of whole wheat toast and a half slice of grapefruit.
Addison zoomed to the table. “Bless you.”
Tessa followed at a slower pace. Pulling out a chair, she plopped down on the farthest side. “If I’d have known you cooked,” she said, wrapping her hands around a thick mug, “I’d have hired you faster.”
Kenneth returned to the stove, poking the bacon with a fork. It was sizzling nicely. “Thought I’d treat you both to breakfast,” he said casually, making sure to include Addison.
“It does smell good,” Tessa allowed.
He reached for the bread, popping a few slices into the toaster. “I think I remember you saying you didn’t cook much.” He was going all out, missing no detail. Besides, nothing went better with fried eggs and bacon than slices of buttery toast loaded with sweet jam. The kitchen was redolent with the aroma of cooking.
Loading her coffee with cream and tons of sugar, a hint of a smile touched Tessa’s lips. He couldn’t tell if she was genuinely amused or just tolerating him to be polite. Once Addison left, those claws of hers might come.
Be nice if she’d rake them down my back. The sexually charged notion buzzed through his mind like a hornet heading in for the sting. It could be a problem if all he thought about was sex every time he looked at Tessa.
But he’d promised her he’d keep his distance. If nothing else, he was a man of his word. No matter how damn hard it might be to keep his hands off her luscious body, he’d be nothing but a perfect gentleman.
Unless she changed her mind . . .
Tessa sipped her drink, now a pale milky white liquid barely recognizable as good Colombian coffee. “I don’t. And I’m not going to start now.”
Kenneth cleared his throat. “Guess I’ll just have to handle that for you.” He winked. “I hope you don’t mind a masculine touch.”
A blush immediately rose to Tessa’s cheeks. “I think we’ve had enough touching around here for one day,” she mumbled into her mug. “I could have made do with a bowl of cereal.”
Addison pretended not to be listening. “I’ll take the freshly cooked hot food, thank you very much.” She jabbed a finger his way. “Just let him handle things and you’ll eat a lot better. All that junk food you eat is scary.” She rolled her eyes. “Who seriously eats a box of Triscuits and calls it a meal?”
Tessa pounced on her sister. “Those crackers are made out of shredded wheat. Lots of fiber.”
“Which makes you full of shit,” Addison retorted. “I hate to disillusion you, but potato chips and salsa isn’t a meal either.”
“I’ve got better things to do than cook,” Tessa huffed. “So sue me.”
The two set to bickering, going back and forth on the benefits of a healthful diet versus the convenience of junk food.
For the moment, Kenneth was content to let them argue.
He sipped his coffee, trying not to look at Tessa over the rim of his cup. Casually dressed in jeans and a faded goth-metal tee, she looked great. She’d braided her long hair into a rope stretching down her back. As an extra touch, she’d put on a bit of makeup: mascara, eye shadow, and gloss. Not enough to be showy, but subtle. Yesterday her face hadn’t had a lick of cosmetics.
A little smile tweaked up one corner of his mouth. Maybe she’s making that effort for me.
Maybe there was hope she’d give him a chance.
From what he’d seen of Gwen, and now the youngest, all three of the girls were real lookers. He couldn’t imagine being attracted to either one of the other sisters, though. Tessa had a spark, a certain bristly manner that reminded him of a semi-wild cat. Half-eager to be stroked, but wary of human hands. She’d run if spooked, fast and hard.
So he wasn’t going to chase. He’d just let things happen.
Addison rubbed her hands together. “So when’s that food coming, bud?”
“Coming right up.”
Setting down his cup, Kenneth flipped the pancakes over. Mooning over Tessa, he’d almost forgotten them. To his relief, they were a nice golden brown. Good. He’d hate to serve burnt food. He forked the bacon, laying it across paper towels he’d spread on a plate to soak up the excess grease.
Finishing the pancakes, he carried them to the table with a bottle of maple syrup. “Might as well get started while I get the rest done.” He eyed the girls. “How do you like your eggs?”
Addison forked up a couple of pancakes, then slathered them with butter and at least half a cup of maple syrup. “Over easy, please.” Taking a huge bite, she rolled her eyes. “Delicious. Did you make these from scratch?”
“It’s just a mix,” he admitted. “But I used milk instead of water, and added in some blueberries.”
Addison paused long enough to swallow. “They’re perfect.” She wiped her syrupy chin with a napkin. “The best I’ve eaten.”
“You flatter me, I’m sure.” Kenneth looked to Tessa. “Want to try one?”
Tessa’s brows puckered, and then she shrugged. “Sure.” Adding a pancake to her plate, she was a little more cautious with the extras. “I usually don’t eat much this early in the day.” She took a bite, chewing slowly.
“It’s almost eleven, so call it brunch.” Kenneth watched her swallow. “Okay?”
“Good.” She forked up another bite, tucking it in her mouth with a little more gusto. “In fact, they’re better than I thought they’d be. I never could make that mix taste decent.”
“It’s all in the extras.” He smiled. “You want eggs?”
Tessa visually took his measure, as if she didn’t quite trust whatever he might be up to. He could tell by the look on her face that it had been a long time since anyone had waited on her. “Two, please. Over easy. And I like my bacon crisp.”
“Hungrier than you thought you were?”
Relaxing a little, Tessa allowed a little smile. Her face immediately changed from merely pretty to beautiful. “Guess I am.”
Kenneth headed back to the stove. “Then I’d better get those eggs going.” Cracking a half dozen into the still-sizzling bacon grease, he set them to frying before popping more toast in.
Addison watched him with stars in her eyes. “Gwen said you’re a mechanic, have worked in construction, and now we find out you can cook. If you want
to move in with me, I think I could find a place for you.”
Tessa cut another bite out of her pancake. “You have a one-room apartment so small you can’t even turn around in it,” she reminded after she’d swallowed her food. “Where would you possibly put him?”
Addison smiled and winked. “I bet I could find a place to tuck you in.”
Kenneth retrieved the hot toast, stacking it on a plate. Addison was flirting outrageously and it was beginning to piss Tessa off. Good. “I’ll keep the thought in mind. If things don’t work out here, it might be worth considering.”
Tessa immediately put the kibosh on the idea. “Back off! I’ve got a to-do list at least three miles long. The man’s got plenty to handle around here.”
Kenneth liked the sound of that. It seemed like Tessa wasn’t going to give him a boot to the ass and send him packing. In the back of his mind he hoped he’d be handling more than tools and spatulas.
Eggs done, he added the bacon and toast. He delivered three heaping plates of food to the table. “With a list like that, I’d better eat up.” Pouring everyone a second cup of fresh coffee, he took his own place at the table. “Dig in, ladies.”
The sound of silverware going into serious action filled the kitchen.
Addison pointed toward the last pancake. “Anyone going to eat that?”
“Not me,” Tessa said between bites. “I’ve got enough.”
“Feel free,” Kenneth added.
Addison stretched out an arm, snagging the pancake with her fork. “Thanks.”
Kenneth eyed her bare arm. Addison was dressed much like her sister, except her T-shirt had an EMT’s emblem on it, and was emblazoned with SEARCH AND RESCUE in big red letters across the back.
“Nice tats.”
“Thanks,” Addison said between bites. “I like ’em.”
“Yours match Tessa’s.”
Addison shrugged and forked in a mouthful of eggs. “We each chose the same designs.”
“Tribal, right?”
The two women exchanged a quick glance. Blank stares and silence followed, as if he’d lifted his leg and stuck a foot in his mouth.
“So let’s drop the bullshit,” Addison finally said. “I know you saw Tess wearing her tail, so you know the tats are part of our scale pattern.” She gave him the stink eye as if daring him to make a big deal of the issue. “What do you think of that?”
Keeping his face neutral, Kenneth sipped his coffee. “Well, truth be told, I think it’s pretty awesome.”
Addison speared her butter knife his way. “I know you’re the dude Tess hauled out of the water last year.”
He nodded. “I guess I’m not going to live that one down.”
“You’re lucky you did live. Tessa told me about your wife, so I won’t ask you to explain the reason why you did that.”
Tessa glanced at her little sister sharply. “That’s enough,” she warned. “Shut the hell up.”
Kenneth shrugged. “It’s okay. I was just having a moment.”
“Just don’t have another one.” Addison made a face. “I hate hauling dead bodies out of the water.”
He nodded again. The girl was certainly blunt. “I’m good and done with my nervous breakdown.”
Tessa gave her sister another verbal poke. “Change the subject or shut up, Addie.”
Kenneth smiled to himself. Ah, Tessa. Prickly as a cactus. Reach out and touch and you’d get a nasty jab.
Sitting at the table with two pretty women, he realized how much he’d missed the simplicity of sharing a meal with other people. Because of her busy schedule, Jen had never done more than grab a cup of coffee and a piece of fruit before heading out to work at the hospital. They rarely met for lunch and dinner was catch as can.
He’d known when he married her that Jen’s career was important. She was an up-and-coming young neurosurgeon. Her parents had freaked when she’d agreed to marry him, a mechanic and junkman. After Jen’s murder, they’d cut him cold. He knew why, too. In their eyes he wasn’t good enough. Not highly educated, just a plain workingman. He didn’t fit in with their country-club lifestyle.
Glancing around the kitchen with its faded wallpaper and peeling linoleum, it vaguely occurred to him why he felt so comfortable sitting down to the table with its scratched surface and creaky chairs. It reminded him of the place he’d grown up, one of the tract houses across the railroad tracks that separated the good side of town from the poorer side. When he was a kid, his mother had encouraged him to work hard and do better. He’d married up, to the manor born.
But he’d never been comfortable.
Scraping her plate with the last of her toast, Addison popped the final bite in her mouth. “My God, I’m stuffed.” She patted her stomach. “This is the best breakfast I’ve ever eaten.”
Having wiped out his own food with the speed of light, Kenneth sipped his coffee. “Glad you enjoyed it.” He glanced at Tessa. Though she hadn’t cleaned her plate, she’d eaten a good portion. “Edible?”
She gave one of her slight, fleeting smiles. “I think I just gained ten pounds,” she allowed. “All that greasy food is going to go straight to my hips.”
He smiled. “I can do healthy.”
“I thought you were a mechanic. Where’d you learn to cook?”
Her probe for information wasn’t graceful or subtle.
As a general rule, Kenneth didn’t care to share his childhood. Along with the memories came the fear he’d end up as bitter and alone as his mother had. She’d tolerated people, but never allowed them to get close. In the end, she’d pushed everyone away, including her own children.
But since Tessa was a woman who also eyed all men with suspicion, he supposed it would be best to open up and be honest. He really had nothing to hide. But what he had to share wasn’t pleasant, or encouraging.
“My mother was a single parent. I guess you could say I kind of grew up having to look out for myself. Mom worked two jobs to keep a roof over our heads, so she didn’t have a lot of time to cook or clean. Since I was the oldest, I tried to help out.”
Pushing her empty plate away, Addison propped her elbows on the table. “You have brothers and sisters?”
“A brother. Jason. Three years younger than me.”
Addison waggled her brows. “Maybe you could introduce us sometime?”
Tessa smacked her younger sister’s shoulder. “Stop it, Addie. He gets that you’re on the make.”
Addison eyed her sister. “Keep your hands to yourself, or I may be hitting back.” She raised a mock fist. “I got one that’ll send you to the moon, babe.”
Kenneth couldn’t help but laugh. It was clear when these two got going, they’d entertain for hours. He wished he’d had that kind of connection with his own sibling.
Regret prickled along his nerves. “As much as I would like to see him with a girl like you,” he said, “that’s not possible. Jason got into drugs really deep when he was a teenager. Even though he was in and out of jail, he never could shake the habit. Rehab didn’t work either. Last I heard, he was a carnie traveling with some fly-by-night circus. You know, the kind that blows into town, sets up for a week or so, then blows back out.” He shook his head regretfully. “No keeping up with those kinds of people. I lost track of him a few years ago. I don’t know if he’s dead or alive.”
Tessa’s grip visibly tightened on her cup. Her expression grew somber. “I’m sorry to hear that. What about your dad?”
Kenneth fiddled with his own empty cup. This was a part of his story he’d like to skip. “Dad walked out when Jason was three and I was six. I spent most of my life after that listening to Mom rant about what a bastard our father was. She blamed him for everything that went wrong, for everything we didn’t have. Poverty wasn’t just a word, it was a way of life.”
Tessa’s hand slipped over his arm. “I’m sorry. That must have been tough.”
Heart tripping in his chest, Kenneth glanced down in surprise. Tessa reaching out to him was s
omething he definitely hadn’t expected. By sharing a bit about his life he’d unwittingly set up a thaw, cracking through her icy wall of self-protection.
Swallowing hard, he shrugged. “The rest is pretty simple. I grew up and moved on.”
As if she recognized the implications behind her touch, Tessa got up and began to clear the table. She obviously needed to put some distance between them. She piled the dishes in the sink.
Kenneth watched her work. As he’d gotten older, he’d tried to help his mother out. But nothing he did to please her was ever good enough. In her eyes, all men were pigs. Swine. Out for nothing but a good time and a quick lay.
It was exactly how Tessa seemed to view men. She’d lumped him into the category occupied by cheats, losers, and liars.
That wasn’t true, though. He wasn’t a man who used women.
Kenneth had decided at an early age that he wasn’t going to grow up and be like his father. He’d work hard, be responsible, and take care of the woman he married.
He inwardly flinched. Jen, however, didn’t need much taking care of.
Maybe that’s why they’d begun to flounder . . .
Unwilling to let Tessa look like the heroine for taking over kitchen duty, Addison immediately butted in. “I can handle those dishes.”
Soppy washrag in hand, Tessa raised a brow. “Don’t you have someplace to be? Like work?”
“I’ve done my four twelves; now I have three beautiful days off.” Addison reached for a dry towel. “You wash, I’ll put away.”
Pushing away from the table, Kenneth headed toward the coffeepot. There was just enough for one more cup; then he supposed he’d have to quit lollygagging and find something useful to do. Tessa had pointed out a work shed where the tools were kept yesterday. He supposed he’d better sort through them and see what he had to work with. If he needed anything, he could send the list back to the mainland with Addison.
Not that it looked like Addison was going to leave anytime soon. She seemed determined to park herself at the house and rag away on Tessa. It was worth it, though, if it helped keep her older sister in a good mood.
