Page 45 of The Kidnapped

“I don’t want to intrude, Hollis. I–”

“You’re not. Come on,” Hollis interrupted. “You can drop your purse and coat on the sofa. We’re not formal around here.”

“Take the woman’s coat, Hollis,” Olivia said.

Raleigh looked down at the floor, trying to control her laughter.

“Yes, she’s right. I will take your coat.”

“It’s okay,” Raleigh replied, looking back up at her. “I’ve got it.”

She removed her coat and handed it to Hollis.

“Thanks,” Hollis said. “Sorry, Mom.”

“Raleigh, you can be my eyes at the stove. I’m not allowed to stand for too long yet, so I’m sitting at the table, trying to teach her how to season properly.”

“Got it,” Raleigh replied.

Hollis hung her coat in the closet, and Raleigh dropped her purse on the floor by the sofa. Then, she followed Olivia into the kitchen, which looked like a mess.

“You really don’t cook, do you?” she teased Hollis.

“My dad’s idea of cooking was putting a Hungry Man dinner in the microwave and hitting start,” Hollis said. “Be patient with me.”

“You’re supposed to clean as you go so that you have space to cut those vegetables.”

“I’ve tried to tell her that,” Olivia noted.

“Okay… I don’t need both of you ganging up on me. Teach me.”

Raleigh looked around, trying to figure out what Hollis was making.

“Some kind of soup?” she guessed.

“Soup? No, it’s a chicken dish with mushrooms,” Hollis told her.

“And celery and carrots?”

“Those are out from the other day. I haven’t put them away yet.”

“Well, maybe start by throwing those out. They look awful. Have you ever sliced mushrooms before?” Raleigh asked.

“No, I don’t eat mushrooms,” Hollis shared.

“She’s making it extra difficult on herself by making this for me and making herself the chicken without the mushrooms,” Olivia explained. “Do you eat mushrooms, Raleigh?”

“Yeah. Usually, just on pizza, but I don’t mind them.”

“Do I make yours with or without them, then?” Hollis asked, holding up a very sharp knife.

“Let’s actually start with you pointing that toward the mushrooms and not at me,” Raleigh suggested, moving to lightly grip Hollis’s forearm and lowering it so that the knife was pointed down. This put her behind Hollis a little and gave her a chance to breathe her in for the first time since that night Hollis had held her. “You washed these, right?”

“They come pre-washed.”

“Hollis!”

Raleigh laughed at Olivia’s admonishment.

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