Page 49 of Everything We Left Unsaid

“He got a call from one of his bandmates and had to leave.”

“I’m sorry, Tiff. I shouldn’t have stayed gone so long. I thought I could depend on him to help out a little more.”

Her eyes finally meet mine. It’s like she’s been avoiding looking at me until now. “Don’t you worry about it,” she asserts. “Your grandma needed you. I didn’t mind watching Chloe one bit.” She’s quiet for a moment, her expression contemplative. “Don’t be too hard on Ethan. He’s worried about Ama, too, and having a hard time with everything that’s happened the last few days.”

I gape at her, stunned. “Since when do you take up for Ethan?” She and Ethan have never really gotten along. It’s not like her to defend him.

“Eh, he’s not so bad, I guess.”

We take turns pushing Chloe in her swing until she tires of it and decides to move on to her little plastic car. She’s peddling across the lawn, Flintstone style when I feel two strong, muscular arms wrap around me, cocooning me in a warm embrace.

“You know, I’ve been thinking,” he whispers against my ear, his breath tickling the sensitive skin. Chill bumps spread down my arms and I shiver. “Chloe needs one of those trampolines with the safety net around them.”

“What?” I ask, turning in his arms. That was not at all what I expected him to say. “Don’t even think about it,” I warn him.

“Why not? I never had one, but they look like a lot of fun.” My face falls at his revelation. Despite the fact that his parents are wealthy and he grew up with every advantage, I forget that he missed out on some of the normal childhood activities the rest of us got to experience.

“She’s not ready for that,” I explain. “She’s too little.”

“When will she not be too little?” he asks playfully.

His excitement and need to provide her with things she’ll enjoy causes an elated warmth to settle in my chest. It makes me even more thankful that she finally has him in her life. I run my fingers down his face and enjoy the feel of his stubble against them.

“Soon,” I promise and pull him toward me. His lips brush mine and I part them slightly, allowing his tongue to slip inside briefly.

“Ew, yuck,” we hear from across the yard and pull away. Tiff and Chloe are standing there watching us with matching looks of disgust. Chloe mocks Tiff the best she can, and they pretend to make gagging noises. Chloe giggles uncontrollably, for some reason finding Tiff’s nonsense hilarious.

“You’re a bad influence on her,” I accuse.

“It could be worse,” Tiff points out between guffaws. “Your brother could’ve stuck around and corrupted her.”

“Touché.”

We enter the house and a delicious aroma hits us immediately. “Wow, something smells amazing!” Tiff trumpets from the entryway.

“Dinner is served,” Jacob announces, motioning toward the kitchen table.

A platter of pan-seared pork chops rests in the center of the table with a boat full of gravy next to it. Jacob places two bowls of side dishes at each end of the platter. One holds roasted red potatoes, seasoned and crisped to perfection, while the other contains creamed spinach, the rich sauce still bubbling.

“Holy shit, Jacob, this is one hell of a spread.”

“Shit!” Chloe bellows.

“Oops.” Tiff shrinks back, a cringe wrinkling her forehead. At least she has the decency to look remorseful. “Sorry. I forgot about that whole repeating thing.”

“What’s in the oven?” I ask, catching the light scent of cinnamon in the air.

“That’s the apple pie, but I didn’t technically make that. It was in the freezer. I just threw it in and cranked the oven to four twenty-five.”

“This is perfect,” I praise as I swallow my first bite of pork chop. “You’ll have to show me how to make these. I won’t be able to fry them anymore since my grandmother has to change her diet.” I can’t believe what he did with the sparse ingredients we had. Hell, I’d forgotten all about the spinach, and I’m glad he found a use for it.

“I will. It’s actually quite easy.”

We enjoy our meal mostly in silence, even Chloe. She eats almost everything I serve her. She usually won’t touch spinach, but she gobbles up the whole helping I scoop onto her plate. When dinner is done and the dishes are cleared, Jacob makes a homemade caramel sauce in a pan to pour over slices of apple pie, serving it with big scoops of vanilla ice cream.

“Mmmm,” I moan. “I didn’t know store-bought pie could taste so good.” Jacob’s eyes flash to my mouth when I lick the last of the caramel from my spoon. They flare at the sight of my tongue darting out and my face heats, knowing what he’s thinking. If something doesn’t happen between us soon, we both might combust.

“Jeez, you guys! I’m getting turned on just watching you two watch each other!” Tiff exclaims, startling us both. Our eyes land on her as she stands and walks her dishes to the sink. “Eat your damn dessert and go take a cold shower,” she orders when she returns to the table. “Better yet, I’ll take that cold shower.”

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