Page 28 of Welker

The thought of Welker being…afraid of something, didn’t sit well with her. If the man needed back-up of any kind, she’d be there for him. Moira told herself it was because that’s what teammates did for each other, but she knew standing up for Welker went above and beyond duty. There was something in her gut that made her want to champion him. She just wasn’t ready to delve into exactly what that was. At least for the present.

Taking her cue from everyone else, now that food was to be eaten, Moira sat on a stool at the kitchen bar, poured real maple syrup over her pancakes and started in. They were freaking delicious. Due to the amount of time Moira spent trying out recipes, she hadn’t even needed to see Sabira’s use of vanilla, and vinegar-soured milk to taste the hint of those flavors in the fluffy confections.

“Excellent,” she praised, then tried the scrambled eggs. “And the eggs are good, too,” she told Welker.

“My neighbors have chickens,” he explained, while shoveling in his own food. “The fresh ones taste much better than the ones from the market.”

Moira hadn’t known the difference growing up, since everything in her home was store-bought, and not an ounce of love had ever been injected into the process of cooking it by whatever chef ruled the kitchen. That’s probably why Moira had a thing for carefully procuring ingredients, and making her own food. Some things in life deserved to be…special, even if they were for your own, solo, enjoyment.

“I completely agree,” she said. “I make sure to buy local whenever I can.”

“That’s right. You said you like to cook,” Welker probed. “How did you get started on that?”

Moira knew if she wanted communication between the two of them to open up, she’d have to start revealing a little of herself. She drew a deep breath, and even though her stomach lurched a bit at the thought of sharing, she gave it her all.

“The food in my house when I was young, got purchased by the cook and…put together by rote. There wasn’t much of a variation in what the chef-of-the-month could make since my father was a meat and potatoes kind of person. If I wanted anything outside the box, I had to concoct it for myself.”

“Well, that’s a shame,” Callie huffed. “We might not have had a lot of money growing up, but Mom was inventive, to say the least.”

Welker threw back his head and laughed. “Inventive? That’s what you’re calling it?” He snickered, giving Moira the story. “Mom loved to throw things together to see if her guinea pigs—me and Callie—approved or not.” He regarded his sister again. “Do you remember the frosted-flake encrusted steak she baked with honey-mustard glaze and cinnamon?” He rolled his eyes and made a gagging sound.

“I do. But the supper I remember most, the one I had to send into the trash, was the calamari tacos. Chewy and crunchy together did not work, and the lavender cocktail sauce she tried to dress them up with…” Callie stuck her tongue out and grimaced.

Moira and Sabira both laughed.

“That doesn’t sound so bad to me,” Sabi speculated thoughtfully once she’d calmed down.

Callie answered, affectionately, but with a tease. “That’s because you grew up in India, and will eat just about anything.”

Cool.

Moira’s inquisitive brain immediately kicked in, wanting to know more about Sabira’s palate when she was young. “Tell me your favorite foods.”

Twenty minutes later, amidst a lot of moans and groans, but also a lot of “yumms”, Moira had plenty of new ammunition for cooking once she got home, as the four of them companionably cleaned up their current meal.

“I’d be happy to show you how to make a few of the more difficult recipes,” Sabira offered, scraping scraps into the bin. “At least when this whole MC thing has cleared up and you can get back into your house.”

“I might take you up on that,” Moira replied, carrying the syrup and butter to the fridge.

Her continued acquaintance with the female pair depended on how things went here, with Welker. By the time her jeopardy was over, she and Welk might just want to kill each other, and having anything to do with his loved ones would be off the table.

Moira changed the subject as she turned to the sink and began filling it with water, addressing Sabira. “Welk tells me that one of the outbuildings here is going to be your pottery studio?”

The woman lit up, grabbing a dish towel. “It is. I’ve taken a bunch of classes at the local college, and I’m getting pretty good at things, but what I really need is my own space so I can experiment.”

“Don’t let her fool you,” Callie added proudly. “She’s no beginner. Her stuff is fantastic.” Callie walking over to cover Sabira’s hand with her own and gave it a squeeze as she smiled into her wife’s eyes. It was easy to see the love between the two women, and Moira was momentarily jealous as she witnessed the easy affection. When, if ever, would it be her turn to experience that kind of devotion?

She supposed she’d had a taste of it with Jory, but not a full-blown relationship, that was for sure. And now that he had a budding family…

Welker must have noticed her look of yearning.

He snorted as he rested his ass against the counter across from her. “They make it look easy, don’t they?” he posed. “And with so many of our teammates finding significant others, I feel a little left out. I guess you do, too?”

Should she wear her heart on her sleeve, or not? There was a moment’s hesitation as she cleared her throat. “I…”

“Don’t put her on the spot, Welk,” Callie scolded. “Not everybody is looking for a partner, or trolling the waters all the time, like you.”

Is that what Callie called Welker’s catting around. Trolling the waters? Very…sisterly.

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