Page 96 of You Found Me
Over the last week, they’d settled into a routine that felt entirely too comfortable. Late mornings were followed by afternoons and evenings at Sevens, where Della quickly shed that awkward first day like a worn-out coat.
Now she tracked her tables like a veteran. She had a way of making everyone feel special and seen. Even him.
Rule one slapped him upside the head for what felt like the hundredth time this week.She’s your protectee. Not your girlfriend. Remember?
He hit the next log a little harder.
Thwack!
She was in there. Right now. Bare shouldered.
Thwack!
It was getting hot out here, even with the fall breeze.
Thwack!
Thwack!
Thwack!
The smell of roasting meat reached him, making his mouth water. The neighbors must be barbecuing.
Odd. The closest neighbors were in their eighties and didn’t do that kind of thing anymore. But he hadn’t been around much over the past couple of years. Things might have changed.
He shrugged it off and hit another log.
Two days.
They had two whole days with nowhere to go and nothing to do but stare at each other.
Thwack!
His body quickly reminded him that there were a lot of ways to fill downtime. An image of Della wandering into the kitchen this morning in a T-shirt that barely reached her thighs flashed through his mind and revved up everything south of his navel.
Rule goddamned one, he reminded himself and split four more pieces of wood.
The muffled sound of a smoke alarm sang from inside the house.
A second later, the kitchen window was thrust open, letting wisps of smoke out.
He threw his shirt on as he jogged back to the house. There was a fire extinguisher under the kitchen sink, but he doubted Della knew that.
He found her frantically using a magazine to fan the smoke detector in the kitchen.
“Shit! Shut up, you stupid thing!” Della spared a glance at him and cringed. “Nothing’s on fire. It’s just smoke.”
Smoke belched from the oven. He eyed it with amusement.
“Sure about that?”
She coughed. “Sweet Jesus, that smell is vile.”
Ward crossed to the stove and peered at a baking sheet that contained two black lumps that might, at some point, have been chicken breasts.
He tried hard not to laugh. She’d learned how to serve food, but her ability to cook it was nonexistent.
What had she been living on all these years?