Page 39 of Complicated Past
When they got to the house, Linc started a bath for Jalen. While Kendra boiled water for mac and cheese, she made sandwiches.
“Have anything that needs to be washed? His clothes are kind of ripe.” Linc dug into the black gym bag he’d brought in the first night here and removed his dirty clothes.
She added her laundry to the washer, trying not to get too comfortable with this cozy, domestic scene. Her ex, Marcus, had spoiled her with nice dinners and gifts, but he never offered to wash her clothes, or asked about her coffee preference, or even remembered that she didn’t drink coffee. But he’d been safe for her. Safe in ways that her attraction to Linc wasn’t.
What Linc said the other night gave her the confidence that things could be different with him. And, unlike Marcus, whodid not know how to interact with or want children, Linc was a natural with them, which made him even more desirable. She listened to Jalen giggling in the bathroom as Linc dried him off.
She got out the dinner plates and served up the sandwiches, fruit, baby carrots, and mac and cheese. Jalen darted out of the bathroom wearing the new pajama set Linc had purchased when they’d shopped at the Post Exchange the other day. Had that only been yesterday? Being with Linc around the clock the past few days blurred time.
Jalen’s face lit up as he climbed onto the chair with a pillow serving as a booster seat. He didn’t wait for his uncle before picking up his fork and digging into the macaroni and cheese.
“Thanks for fixing dinner.” Linc took a seat. Unlike Jalen, he ate everything except the mac and cheese she’d put on his plate.
“I didn’t ask if you wanted mac and cheese. Too many carbs or too processed?”
“It’s not that. It’s just, um, well, I’ve eaten enough boxed mac and cheese for three lifetimes.”
“Oh.” She hadn’t thought about that.
“My mom left home as a teen. She didn’t know how to cook and didn’t have money, so we ate a lot of mac and cheese. And baloney and cheese, and grilled cheese sandwiches.”
“The government free cheese program?” she asked.
“I’m not knocking it. We also had condensed chicken noodle soup weekly. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, hot dogs, and lots of cereal, though we didn’t always have milk, and it’s not the same with water. We had a neighbor down the hall, Mrs. Shannon, who lost her son. I’m sure she saw Mom slide deeper into her addiction. Mrs. Shannon claimed she had trouble getting up the three flights of stairs and sometimes would pay me a few dollars to get her groceries. Then she’d make enough to feed Bri and me dinner. She even taught me how to cook a few things.
Kendra took it as a compliment that Linc felt safe enough to share more from his past with her. It was a bonus that it provided more insight to both him and Bri. It made sense why he would have bought so much food for now, saying he could take it to Bri’s.
“She sounds like an angel.” She’d seen similar situations with her clients. Not many kids were lucky enough to have an angel like Mrs. Shannon. They certainly had a rough childhood, but joining the Army had not only provided for Linc financially but given him stability, a sense of worth, and even family. All good things for a young man who’d been in foster care. Some of her coworkers were advocates for kids aging out of foster care joining the military. She hadn’t been due to her ingrained biases, but that would change going forward.
“You have to try a bite, or you don’t get dessert.” Jalen waved a fork at the pile of mac and cheese still on Linc’s plate. “That’s the rule.”
“Maybe I don’t want dessert,” Linc retorted, sounding like a child himself and making a face. “Fine.” Linc continued his childlike act and took a bite of mac and cheese. “Better than I remember.” He ate another bite. “I might be able to eat it again. Just please don’t serve me bologna and cheese.”
“I promise.” Kendra couldn’t help but chuckle. For some reason, she’d expected a guy serving in one of the most elite military units to be intense and lack a sense of humor. Linc was definitely intense, which was warranted considering the current situation, but his sense of humor was another highly appealing quality.
“Do you want your dessert now?” Linc asked Jalen.
“Can we watch some shows, then have dessert?”
“You can watchoneshow, then it’s bedtime.”
Jalen placed his plate and empty milk glass on the counter near the sink. “See? I help.”
“That doesn’t mean you get to watch more shows.” Linc got up from the table.
“More ice cream?” Jalen aimed his adorable smile at his uncle.
“Maybe bigger scoops, but you have to give me bigger hugs.”
Jalen raced the three steps over to Linc, nearly toppling him as he wrapped his arms around Linc’s legs.
“Thanks.” Linc bent over to rub Jalen’s back. “Let me help clean up, and we’ll pick a show.”
“I can do the cleanup,” she offered.
“If I have to watch a kids’ show, you do too.”
“You laughed at something in it the other night.”