Page 56 of Ever With Me

“I used to do this with Kayla. My mom had a recipe, and it was cheaper than the store-bought one. Lasted longer, too. Plus, making it is a whole activity.” He carried some pots over to the sink. “Audrey had fun, didn’t you?”

“Wanna see the worm family I made, Cormac?” Audrey asked Cormac.

“Of course I do,” Cormac said with exaggerated enthusiasm.

“Yeah, we made all sorts of worms,” Brooks said, giving him a grateful smile. He turned the faucet on and started washing one pot.

He really hadn’t intended to make a mess, but there had been little time to clean. Originally, he’d hoped he could snag a few minutes to pick up once Maddie arrived.

But she was already forty-five minutes late.

He snuck a glance at his phone.

She hadn’t texted him back, either.

Focusing on the task in front of him, Brooks tried not to overthink it. So she was late? She ran a business, after all, and he’d demanded a lot of her time this week.

No reason to let this get to him.

Putting the pot in the dishwasher, he paused in front of the drink fridge on the way to get another pot. His eyes landed on a pack of nonalcoholic Blue Moons Cormac had picked up on Sunday, but then he reached farther in and pulled out a regular one instead. Wordlessly, he uncapped it and took a swig.

Just something to take the edge off.

A beer later, he finished the dishes, feeling remarkably better. More in control.

It didn’t matter that Maddie was now over an hour late and hadn’t texted.

“Uncle Books, I’m hungry,” Audrey said, coming into the kitchen as he dried his hands.

“You want a grilled cheese?” Brooks asked. This he remembered. Little kids always seemed ready for the next meal just as soon as the kitchen was clean. Though, technically, the play dough hadn’t been a meal.

Audrey nodded. “Can I have chippies too?”

“Only if you eat the blueberries I bought, deal?”

“What happened to the chef tonight?” Cormac asked. Audrey had abandoned him to the coloring book and he was taking his time coloring a picture of Donald Duck.

“I told him not to worry about it.” Brooks wouldn’t mention that he’d enjoyed making dinner for Audrey with Maddie the day before. That maybe a part of him had been hoping for a repeat.

Where in the hell is she?

“Why?” Brooks asked Cormac. “You want a grilled cheese, too?”

“Unlike you, Mr. Private Chef, I will never turn down an American classic like grilled cheese,” Cormac said.

“My trainer will kill me if I eat that crap,” Brooks said with an eye roll. His diet had suffered enough while on tour, but he’d tried to stick to the plan the trainer had outlined as much as possible.

“What your trainer doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” Cormac shot Audrey a glance. “Are you done coloring, Miss Lady? I see a Daisy Duck that wants to be finished.”

Audrey scampered toward him, happy for the company in coloring.

Cormac had a point. The trainer didn’t have to know. But working out and maintaining his diet were a part of the job he didn’t mind so much. Lifting weights had become an outlet for him, even when he was out on the road. A way to keep that pretty mask on an otherwise effed-up interior.

Maybe that was what was going on with Maddie. He’d let her see under the mask too much.

One look at the dark, turbulent part of him and she’d run away scared. Hadn’t liked what she’d seen.

Tension squeezed his chest, and quietly, he grabbed another beer while getting cheese to make dinner.

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