Page 63 of Hot Zone

“That was pretty much the long and short of it. Steven was actually really proud of him for standing his ground.”

“I’m glad. The last thing I wanted was to cause trouble between them. I love Steven, and I know Mars does, too.”

“It’ll be a little awkward for a while, but he’ll adjust.”

We joined them back in the kitchen just in time to see Mars pull the roast out of the oven. I thought about standing back and keeping my distance to give Steven some time, but Mars looked back at me over his shoulder, and I couldn’t resist. I walked over and kissed him on the temple.

“It smells wonderful.”

“Thanks.”

“Have you ever had Mars’s pot roast before, Dad?”

“I haven’t.”

“Well, you’re in for a treat. Mars will tell you he isn’t a great cook, but that’s a lie. Everything he makes is great, or at least it is by the time he settles on a recipe. Get him to make you a chocolate cake sometime.”

Mars laughed. “That was an adventure.”

“It was,” Steven said. “But one I was happy to take with you.” Steven looked at me. “He decided he wanted to learn to make the best chocolate cake, so he started trying recipes.”

“None of them were bad,” Mars added.

“Of course not. They were chocolate cake. But anyway, I bet he made like twenty cakes before he settled on the one he thought was good enough to beTHEcake.”

“I could’ve figured it out a lot sooner if I hadn’t been so hesitant to put mayonnaise in a cake, but come to find out, that really was the magic ingredient. Now take this to the table for me.” Mars handed Steven a bowl of mashed potatoes.

“I’ll grab the roast,” I said.

A few minutes later, we were all sitting around the table, eating what had to be the best pot roast I’d ever eaten.

I took another bite and bit back a moan. “This is better than my mother’s pot roast.” I pointed my fork at Steven. “Don’t you dare tell Nona I said that.”

He chuckled. “I won’t tell her you said it if you don’t tell her I agree.”

Mars blushed, and he was so adorable. “Thanks, guys.”

“So, Dad, how’s the bathroom coming along?”

“I haven’t made much progress lately. I’ve been a little distracted.”

“Yeah, I can tell that.” His eyes darted back and forth between me and Mars.

“I meant by the arsonist at the station, Steven.”

“Yeah, sure you did.”

Mars picked up a carrot off his plate and threw it, nailing Steven right between the eyes. “Behave.”

We were about halfway through the meal when Mars’s phone started blowing up. He was doing his best to ignore it, but whoever was messaging him was insistent.

“Let me guess,” Steven said. “It’s Holly Thomas, isn’t it?”

“Who’s Holly Thomas?” I asked.

“She’s one of the customers from the shop.”

“And she’s calling you on a Saturday night?” I asked. “Is that the same woman who was messaging you the other night when we were watching television?”

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