Page 43 of On The Rocks

Moonshine went down smooth, but the aftermath wasn’t kind.

I opened the tiny medicine cabinet hidden behind the mirror. “Thank you, Laverne,” I whispered, as I found the travel toothbrush and toothpaste along with a small bottle of Advil.

She’d come in snooping after Kain had finished the majority of the renovations. In true Laverne fashion, she’d stocked the bathrooms.

After I brushed my teeth and washed up, I escaped to the kitchen.

Lennon was still in my bathroom, and by the sound of it, she was taking a shower.

I groaned.

Now I could imagine her in there too.

Pushing that thought out of my brain, I opened the fridge and pulled out omelete fixings. I found a roll of tin biscuits. Not like homemade, but they would do in a pinch.

With the oven preheated, I put them in to cook, made a quick pot of coffee, then cut up red peppers, scallions, and the leftover bacon from lunch the day before.

By the time she came out, I was pouring the egg mixture into a pan.

“Smells good,” she said, from behind me.

I turned to her with a smile and damn near burned my hand. She was wearing my Johnny Cash T-shirt, which was big enough to slip off her shoulder. Definitely no bra or tank underneath.

Fuck me.

“Hope you don’t mind. I wasn’t exactly prepared for a sleepover.” She came up beside me, her fingers quickly braiding her wet hair. “Your shower is A+.”

Quickly, I turned back to the pan and tested the edges of the eggs to make sure it wasn’t burning. “No, not at all.” I cleared my throat. “Glad you enjoyed it.”

Her face was scrubbed clean of makeup, making her look impossibly young. Thank God she’d put on her jeans, or I’d have her on the counter, damn the consequences.

“Do I smell buttery biscuits too?”

“You do. You’re not gluten free, are you?” I glanced down at her, my gut tightening at her bare feet peeking from the frayed cuffs of her skinny black jeans.

“God, no.” She opened one of the narrow cabinets over my coffee maker. “You need a life preserver for these mugs.”

“I like a trough with my coffee.”

“Evidently.” She grinned and padded over to the fridge, holding the Snickers creamer my brother preferred. “Cream?”

“Just black for me.”

“And yet…” She dangled the bottle.

“Kain.”

“Ah.” She snickered. “Tracks. That boy has a sweet tooth.” She sniffed the pot of coffee then added a healthy splash of creamer into the red mug before taking a large sip with a hum of pleasure. “Good stuff. Did you get this from that café over in Crescent Cove?”

I laughed. “How’d you know?”

“I’m addicted to Brewed Awakening’s coffee. Every time I go out that way, I get a bag of her seasonal beans.” She nudged the black mug my way. “How’s the head?”

“I’ve had worse.”

“I just bet.” She grinned over the rim of her mug.

I flipped the omelette just before it browned too much, then I took a quick sip of my own coffee before I got out some cheese.

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