Page 13 of Codename: Dustoff
Despite my leg groaning that I’d finally just gotten settled and comfortable, I couldn’t resist taking a look. It isn’t every day you see a one-armed chef.
“Gemini said it was okay to come back and see you.”
Emmett stood in front of a gigantic stove, shaking one pan after another to keep the food from settling and burning. The whole process was a sight to see. Despite only working with a single arm, he commanded that kitchen like an octopus. Between the pans of cooking meat, the sauce he stirred, and the plating, I quickly became mesmerized by his well-choreographed dance.
“Were you coming back here for something specific or just to watch the show?”
I felt the blush rise all the way up to my eyebrows. He busted me, but his voice sounded more entertained than annoyed. I don’t know if I would feel the same way if people watched me like a circus act.
“I wanted to see what it was you’re cooking because I can smell it all the way out there. And the guy cooking it isn’t too bad to look at either.”
That last part came out of nowhere. I don’t even remember thinking it before I spoke the words. Emmett’s eyebrows shot up in I’m assuming total shock that something like that would come out of my mouth, especially given I’d been nothing short of an asshole to him all day long. I wish I could have blamed it on the wine, but I’d not had anything but water since arriving at the Tavern.
Emmett didn’t respond, rather stirred something that smelled divine in one of his pots, and then grabbed a spoon.
“Here, taste this. It’s venison stew.”
I’d had my share of stews. Whomever decided the menu for MREs loved nothing more than a stew. When I left the army, I swore I’d never eat another stew again. But that one taste of Emmett’s stew had me rethinking that.
“Sorry, a little bit dripped off the spoon…”
He reached around me to set the spoon in the sink before swiping his thumb along my chin. I felt that momentary point of contact in my whole body. As if the breaker in my body had been shut for the last three years and suddenly someone flipped the switch, my entire blood stream vibrated with awareness. I think I may have even closed my eyes and moaned. I needed to get out of there before I made a fool of myself.
“Gemini’s looking for you. Go keep her company and I’ll have the server bring you a bowl. Between this stew and the drop biscuits, you’ll forget all the B.S. of this entire day.”
* * *
“Ihonestly think it’s really great that they paired the two of you together.” Gemini watched me watching Emmett from where I sat in the booth inhaling the stew he’d suggested I try.
“Oh really? How so?”
Gemini quirked her eyebrow while taking a long sip from her wine goblet.
“Henry’s assessment of Emmett is spot on. I’ve never seen anyone more adaptable to any situation. He’s the king of roll with the punches. And I think sometimes he does it to his own detriment. Like he’s trying to make himself amenable and personable and that fun, sweet, guy that everyone gets along with. As if then people won’t notice he’s only got one arm.”
“It’s a little hard to miss.”
I didn’t mean for that to sound snotty, but the guy only had one arm. How would anyone not see that gigantic elephant in the room? Just like me and my prosthetic. The misshapen bulge under my pants usually tipped people off, even if the difference in my gait didn’t.
“You’d be surprised.” Gemini replied, “The first time I met him I didn’t even notice that he was missing an arm. Hand to God. He was so funny and charming—and he and Finn, my partner—” She pointed towards where Emmett and Finn stood chatting while they wiped down the kitchen prep stations. “Those two have such a wonderful friendship, that I didn’t notice until the next time I met him. And even then, and since, he moves through life as if he has both arms. If something doesn’t work for him, he just—figures it out.”
She shrugged her shoulders, clearing the last of her wine glass as a period to the conversation.
“I thought you might need these.”
Emmett dropped two Alleve in my palm.
“I know it’s not a prescription pain pill, but hopefully it at least takes the edge off.”
I felt seen in the strangest way. It wasn’t the kind of piteous gawking that people did when I walked into a room. Or even the assessing way the V.A. processors looked at you—wanting to help, glad it wasn’t them, hiding the discomfort they felt at staring reality in the face. That simple gesture from Emmett however, felt different.
“You’re as white as ghost.” Emmett’s assessing eyes sent that same tingle through me I’d felt earlier. “I think we need to figure out where you’re going to stay so you can go to bed.”
He turned towards Gemini and the two of them had an unspoken conversation.
“We’re up a really steep flight of stairs,” she finally told Emmett, “I’m really worried that given the amount of pain she’s already in, that might be her breaking point.”
Finn wandered close to where we all sat. Both Emmett and Gemini looked at him before back at me. Something unspoken hung in the air. It made me super uncomfortable. It wasn’t their responsibility to house me anyway.