Page 30 of Even Ground

I head to the fridge and grab everything I need before placing it on the bench. By the sink, there’s a fresh loaf of bread, and I pick it up to take a deep breath. There’s nothing better.

“Fried eggs on toast with bacon. The grease will suck up all the alcohol.”

He chuckles. “I’m pretty sure that’s not true.”

“Of course it is. Want a coffee first?”

“I’m not sure there’s enough coffee in the world to get me through today.”

Retrieving a pan from a hook on the wall, I then place it on the cooktop and turn it on. A big, shiny coffee machine sits on the other side of the kitchen on a bench. Delaney’s made the coffee since I’ve been here, and I think she’s in a love affair with the machine. I shake my head; she’s got everything set out just like she did in the diner.

“You look like you know what you’re doing,” he says.

I roll the hair tie that usually resides on my wrist off and scoop my hair into a ponytail. “I was a barista in a former life. I’m so impressed at Delaney’s coffee machine.”

“Josh used to have a much smaller one, but you know what he’s like.”

“I know what Delaney’s like with shiny appliances. How do you take your coffee?”

“Any way you want to make it.”

I laugh and then get to work, heating the pan and adding the eggs to it, and then the bacon. In between checking it’s not burning, I make the coffee and pass Reece a cup before popping some slices of bread in the toaster.

“You make it all look so effortless,” he says. “I would have burned something by now.”

“Try making breakfast with a diner full of customers. This is easy.”

He takes a sip of coffee. “Damn, this is so good.”

“Here we go.” I slide a plate of food in front of him, and then pick up my plate and coffee, walking around the bench and dropping onto a stool next to him.

“This smells amazing. My stomach is churning, but I know it’ll be better once I eat this.”

“Oh, I nearly forgot. Do you want any painkillers? I saw some in a drawer somewhere.”

He shakes his head. “No, I’m just going to eat this, drink my coffee, probably have some more water, and then head back to bed.”

Pushing myself off the stool, I walk back around the bench and start opening drawers, punching the air when I find a packet of Tylenol.

I read the back of the packet and hold it up. “Is this okay for a hangover?”

Reece looks up and nods before returning to his food.

Grabbing a couple of tablets, I go back to my seat, swallow them with my coffee, and get stuck into my food.

Reece’s knife scrapes his plate, and at a glance, it’s already nearly empty.

“Do you want some more?” I ask. “There are plenty of eggs and a ton of bacon in the fridge.”

Reece turns to look at me, and for the first time, I see his eyes are still a little bloodshot. I think he’s right that he needs more sleep. I probably do too.

“No, thanks for the offer. This is really good.”

“Do you cook for yourself? Josh sucks at cooking.”

He chuckles. “I rate myself as slightly better. I can cook a steak, but not much more.”

I shrug. “That’s easily better than Josh.”