Page 4 of Peach

She pressed her lips together. “Um, that’s where I’m sleeping.”

Frustration filled his face, and his forehead wrinkled before his expression went blank. "Why are you here? You're not telling me something, and I find stuff out."

Shock coursed through her. “Are you threatening me?”

“Is there something you feel guilty about?”

She huffed out a breath. “They asked me to stay here. Your mom wanted me here.”

“Why? They aren’t here, so why are you?”

“Because they were just leaving for a little while. They needed to help Audrey.”

“Audrey? Who is Audrey?”

Haisley threw up her hands and thought about storming out. This man was beyond frustrating. “She’s Diane’s kid.”

“Who is Diane?”

“Jesus, you don’t even know Ellen and John, do you?”

Maybe she’d talked out of turn because Robert’s face turned red and his fists clenched. She took a step back, ready to run. Angry men hit, and she was ready for him to start swinging. He didn’t. Instead of coming after her, he blew out a breath and shook his head.

“I’m sorry. I’m angry that my parents are gone, and I don’t understand. Why did they ask you to live here?”

“I don’t know. They were just nice. John and Ellen are good people. That’s why they were helping Audrey. They saw that I needed something and they took me in, just like they saw something needed to be done and they went to Colombia."

Robert shook his head. “I need more information about Diane and Audrey, but I’m starving. I haven’t eaten breakfast. I need food. What is there to eat?”

She hopped up, ready to cook. "I can fix eggs for you." In her experience, few men knew how to cook, and they certainly had never allowed her to sit and relax if a meal had to be made. Will, her ex, had been the worst. The bruises had healed, but the memory hadn't faded.

Robert shook his head. “Sit down and relax. I can cook my own food.”

Her foot faltered, and she reached out and grabbed the nearest chair. “Oh.”

He shot her a look that made her heart squeeze with some feeling she didn't quite understand. His chuckle warmed her, and she had to turn away, or he would see deep red on her cheeks. She didn't want him to know she was attracted to him. It was stupid. So he was hot. She wasn't and didn't need to go looking for something that would never happen.

Robert snorted. “Let me guess. The men you’ve known don’t cook.”

“No, they can’t. They don’t know how.”

"Unless they were imbeciles, they can cook. They just don't. It's not that hard to follow directions. Sure, it took a few times working through most recipes to get it right. But I learn something every time I prepare a meal for myself.The most important thing I learned was how to feed myself good food without spending a lot."

She turned and saw he’d pulled out the carton of eggs and found the sausage patties in the freezer. He searched through cabinets for the pans and didn’t seem angry that he had to look in two different cabinets to find them.

After he had the burner on and butter in the pan, he turned to her, his eyebrows raised. “Would you like some?”

Her stomach grumbled. She needed to eat more. She’d lost too much weight, and she knew it was bad. “Yes. I’ll have two.”

“Is there bread?”

She moved to the pantry and pulled out a fresh loaf. “I can make toast while you do the eggs. I don’t want any sausage. It’s too spicy for me.”

“Sure.”

Revealing that just smelling the sausage had made her ill seemed weird. He didn’t need to know everything about her, at least not yet.

They worked on making breakfast together. It surprised her that he didn't get angry once. When he first showed up, he'd looked like he wanted to toss her out of the house. She expected him to be moody and mean all the time. He had his moments, but he was tired and hungry. That made everyone have bad attitudes.

---