Page 60 of Ballads of Lines Blurred

“I still can’t believe Dash won this for us,” Slater said, shaking his head. His brother had bid on it at the charity event we went to. Slater thought it was for Dash, but once he won, he told Slater to take Milo and me. The more I got to know Dash, the more I saw how generous and kind he was.

“He had fun when he was here. I guess he thought you would too.”

We entered into Vail’s kitchen where my eyes immediately went to a baby gate blocking entrance from the hallway. A tall, lanky dog stood on the other side. Dark brown and black in color with one ear up and one ear down, its ass moved with every wag of its tail.

“I wasn’t sure if you liked dogs or not. I didn’t want to let him free,” Vail said when we were inside and the door was closed.

“I’m fine,” I said.

Milo and Slater nodded as well.

“Tahoe is more of a lover than a fighter, much to my dismay. I adopted him from a shelter. They knew he’d be big. I was hoping for more of a guard dog. What I got was a giant child who wants to play all the time and is afraid of squirrels. I haven’t done the DNA test, but best guess is he’s a German shepherd mixed with some overly friendly breeds. He didn’t get the protective big dog memo.”

Vail bent down to unlatch the gate. Tahoe came rushing into the kitchen with his feet skidding on the tile floor as he tried to decide which one of us to go to first. He was about to jump but one command from Vail and he kept his big paws on the floor. That didn’t stop him from looking up at us and whimpering.

Slater caved first and got into a crouch to pet him. Tahoe’s big tongue licked Slater’s face as he kept pushing into his space until Slater landed on his ass. He laughed and, damn, it was a good sound. So many times, I’d seen Slater panic and be overwhelmed with his anxiety. Today, there was none present.

Vail gripped Tahoe’s collar to pull him back so Slater could stand. Milo and I petted Tahoe as well, both of us bending so he could lick our faces. Once he’d said a prolonged hello, Vail sent him to his bed in the corner of the kitchen where he tried to curl up, but his ass didn’t fit onto the bed with the rest of him.

“Tahoe?” Milo asked with that easygoing smile he usually wore. “Interesting name since yours is Vail.”

“I wanted to keep with the town name theme. Also, Brett didn’t really fit.”

“Brett?” I chuckled.

“That was the name the shelter gave him. I had to change it.” He clapped his hands together. “Okay, you’re here to cook. Before we start, I just want to confirm there are no food allergies. I know we discussed it over the phone but it’s always good to verify.”

“None,” Milo said. “Bring on the good stuff. I know you’ve got it too since Dana is your brother-in-law. I’ve eaten at work many times.”

“Don’t get your hopes too high. I can’t cook as well as him. He’s got many years on me.”

“Yeah, but you’ve subbed. I’ve seen you there.”

Vail grinned. “When needed. I’m guessing you three each know how to cook. Are any of you good at it? Do you like it, hate it?”

“I like to bake,” Slater said. “I’d much rather make a cake than cook dinner, but I can do both. Nothing fancy though.”

Turning to him, Milo asked, “How come we haven’t gotten a cake yet?” He even stuck out his bottom lip.

Slater put his arm around Milo’s waist and dropped a kiss on his lips. “I’m sorry I’ve neglected to load you up with sugar. I’ll be sure to remedy that.”

“As you should.” Milo nodded. “As for me, I keep myself alive. Takeout is best but my brother and I got good at trying new things over the years. His partners also pitch in to cook. There’s never a shortage of food at home.”

“Good,” Vail said. “Cody?”

“Xaiden likes to eat healthy and that’s what he cooks for us. Honestly, I love it. His food, along with the regimen we follow at the gym, has kept me in good shape. Not that I don’t like to indulge. He’s taught me how to make a lot of different meals I wouldn’t have thought to before.”

I didn’t want to bring up my mom and how many times I stood in the kitchen with her while she made meals for us. How I’d help her add ingredients or assist her with stirring or flipping whatever was in the pan. She told Olivia and me it was good to learn how to prepare meals. Little did I know how much I would need what she taught me when she was no longer there to guide me along the way.

Slater’s hand on my cheek pulled my attention to him. Looking into his eyes, it was like he could read my thoughts. The compassion there, the way he seemed to get me, had me nearly breaking in the middle of Vail’s kitchen.

Now that Slater took down the wall separating us, taking my age out of the mix, he fully gave in to what he felt for me. I didn’t have to wonder what it would be like to have his attention on me. Or if I was going to be the odd one out while he got together with Milo. Three people in a relationship could work. I’d seen it firsthand. Experiencing it wasn’t the same. There was conscious effort in the relationship to make sure no one was left out.

Vail gave us time to have our moment then launched into what we’d be making today. With it being June, he was going to teach us how to properly grill meat and vegetables, as well as prepare summer salads and fresh, citrusy desserts.

We sat at a table in his tiny backyard a bit later, eating the food we’d cooked. Looking at it, there was nothing fancy about it, and maybe that was the point. Vail wanted to show us how to make everyday food extraordinary. I could easily say this was the best corn on the cob I’d ever tasted. Xaiden had made it on the grill before, but it never came out like this. Every bite of the steak, the burger, the freaking pasta salad, was an explosion of taste in my mouth. I wasn’t the only one who thought so. We were all complimenting the food and how good it was.

“I’m guessing you do this full time?” Slater asked, leaning back in his chair.

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