Page 18 of Secrets and Ruin

Oh, it’s Friday already? Where did my week go? Dirk left on Monday.

“He might be late. He went to Dallas to check on the group there, so we should have time.” I put the recipe down, throwing myself into it with her. It was a sweet gesture, so I wasn’t going to question it. She wanted to make this cake, so we were going to make this cake.

“That’s right. Him and Dad, yeah? I mean, Dad has his own stuff, too. So does Landon.”

“Yeah, but they’re using the excuse of errands to make sure Teagan is handling everyone with him well enough.”

“You know, it’s Friday. Shouldn’t Teagan be off work today and coming back?”

“I don’t know Teagan’s schedule, but I think there’s some work going through the weekend, and he won’t be back until Sunday.” With a shrug, I started reorganizing the kitchen, trying to get the ingredients where I needed them. “It’s not my business to know what the pack’s involved with, not in their personal lives.”

“I don’t know how Dad does it, keeping track of everyone all the time. It seems like a lot of work,” Carey huffed. “But he does, no matter what. He knows who has a work thing or an anniversary or a birthday. He knows when they need time off or should be somewhere they aren’t. Or when they are somewhere they shouldn’t be. It’s crazy.”

“He’s… particularly talented at it,” I agreed pragmatically. “I think he likes it. He seems comfortable when he’s managing all of his werewolves.”

“And us.”

“You. He doesn’t manage me,” I countered, smiling as I started measuring things out. Carey joined in, and I caught on to her problem quickly. “Carey, the measurements have to be exact. You can’t just scoop as much or as little as you want.”

“But I want it to taste extra chocolatey. I think he’ll like that.”

“It ruins the mix because the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients need to be balanced. That’s why recipes exist, so we don’t need to figure out what that balance is. Someone else already has. Baking is chemistry, and I know you’re good at chemistry. You don’t throw in whatever you want while you’re doing stuff in the school’s lab, do you?”

She emptied the double helping of cocoa and got the proper amount. She didn’t answer my question, which worried me a little, but I let it go.

We got the mix on the first time this time, and I was able to get it into the oven before starting on the icing.

“Now, the hard part,” I mumbled. Carey nodded as we both stared at the ingredients for the Italian meringue. “You ready for this?”

“Not at all, but I’ve got you. I think we can make something decent.”

With a grin, I got to work, loving that she trusted me like that. She had me, so we could make this happen. She had me, so she could face any challenge.

In my heart, she was already my daughter even though Heath and I hadn’t tied any knots or walked down any aisles yet.

We haven’t even started planning a wedding… but it doesn’t matter.

We worked together, an experienced team as we tried to get the cake ready for the inevitable judgment of Landon Everson. Since it was from his sister, I had hope he would go easy on her if it wasn’t the best-tasting cake he’d ever had. If he learned I had a hand in it, the judgment would probably be laid at my feet. Landon had a funny way of showing he liked me.

We finished only thirty minutes before the men got back, Heath coming in first. Carey disappeared the moment we were finished, and it was tucked away in the fridge. I was glad I cleaned up quickly, or it would have been exposed as Landon walked in behind him, sniffing the air. Seeming satisfied with something, Landon elbowed his father.

“See? She’s not a housewife. She didn’t sit here and cook dinner for you just because you weren’t here. Aren’t you glad I put in an order for dinner?”

“Thank you,” Heath said, chuckling as he shook his head. His eyes were on me, and I could tell he wasn’t upset or disappointed. “But I could have texted her to make sure. What if she had something for herself and Carey since we were running later than intended?”

Landon only shrugged and walked back out.

“What’s going on?” I asked, crossing my arms.

“Landon got something for us to eat from his favorite steakhouse. When I said I would text you to make sure you weren’t already working on something, he took my phone and said it would ruin the surprise. That you weren’t a housewife, as if I thought you were.”

“Is he in a better mood today? He seemed like it just now.” I was hoping so.

“He is… though we started the day with Dirk calling him. They talked the entire drive to Dallas. Dirk is doing fine, too. Apparently, he’ll be in Berlin this weekend seeing some old friends. He misses all of us, but he’s glad to see Niko again… more than he thought he would be.”

“He’s been sparse with me over the phone, so I’m glad he was comfortable telling Landon that,” I said, thinking about how awkward Dirk could be with me. He always had those moments, even if they had grown fewer. He tried to hide things, but I was never really sure why. He wasn’t as shy about being my nephew anymore, but there were still times when I saw him pull away from it or any of his relations to my family. It didn’t surprise me that he was more comfortable telling Landon things because that was a relationship he’d chosen. I was one he couldn’t get away from, and I came with more baggage.

A second later, Landon was back, carrying our dinner, packaged nicely in one of those insulated bags. I knew when it was on the table, it would still be warm enough that no one would need to reheat anything.

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