Page 44 of Zane

“Tastes good,” Zane said.

“I’m not surprised you think that,” Kelsey replied as she lifted her mug to take a sip. “It’s your recipe.”

Zane looked down at his pancakes, then back at her. “Did I teach you how to make them?”

“Yep. I wanted to learn how to make something you liked, and together we decided that this recipe was simple enough that I wasn’t likely to mess it up.”

“Well, apparently, we made a good decision because you didn’t mess this up at all. Even with canned whipped cream.”

The headache was still there, but the food and Kelsey were giving him something else to focus on. Elsa came over to him then and sat looking up at him.

“I can give her berries, right?” he asked.

“Yes, but probably not too many. We wouldn’t want to make her sick, even if her dad is a vet.”

Thinking of Lee as a dad to a dog led Zane to thinking of him as a dad to a kid. Lee had always hoped to have a family. However, when Lee’s relationship prior to Rori had ended because the woman had rejected him over his unknown past, Zane hadn’t been sure Lee would be willing to try for another. At least not without more answers about his past.

Now, however, Zane could see how children would fit into his brother’s life so easily. His career was stable, and he was married to a woman who would make a wonderful mom.

Zane could see Rori’s mothering tendencies already in how she cared for Kelsey and for him. She was a bit like a mother hen, worrying over both of them.

And then there was the house. Big enough for a whole lot of children.

Kelsey flipped the pancakes, then went to pour more coffee into her mug. “Did you want more?”

“I think I’m good for now. Thanks.”

“Do you want more pancakes?” she asked as she removed hers from the griddle.

“I’m pretty full, so no more for me at the moment,” Zane told her. “But they were great.”

“I’m going to cook the rest of the batter up, anyway.” She ladled more circles of batter onto the griddle. “I figure we can heat them up if we want more later.”

“What were our days like in Tampa?” he asked.

She glanced up at him, then turned her attention back to the berries she was scooping onto her pancakes. “We were fortunate that our jobs had similar hours. Your days were longer than mine, though. You left before me and got home after me.”

“Sounds about right for a sous chef in a restaurant of that caliber.”

Kelsey nodded. “They worked you hard there, but you loved it.”

“I’m sure I was more than happy to do whatever the job required.”

“You were,” Kelsey agreed. “But you always made sure that we had time for each other. Sometimes that was makingbreakfast together. That’s when you taught me how to make these pancakes.”

It was so easy to picture what she was describing… for someone else. But he still had a hard time imagining it being his life.

“I’d always wait up until you got home, then we’d have supper together, hang out for awhile and go to bed.”

“Did we have friends in Tampa?”

“Not really,” Kelsey said as she flipped the pancakes she’d poured onto the griddle. “We each had people at our workplaces that we got along well with, but we hadn’t forged any real friendships yet.”

That didn’t really surprise Zane. He’d never made friends super easily, and if he was working hard at a new job, building friendships would have definitely taken a back burner. Especially if he had a wife to spend time with.

Zane was glad to hear that he’d made his relationship with Kelsey a priority. He still struggled with the idea of being married to anyone other than Sarah, but it was good that he had taken his marriage to Kelsey seriously.

Kelsey began to clear up the dishes she’d used to make their breakfast, as well as his plate. He took her offer of a refresh of his coffee, and once again, she’d fixed it just the way he liked it.

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