Page 18 of Inevitable Dream

“I don’t want to interrupt him. He might be busy.” I hesitate. This is his first day back, and I don’t want him to think I’m needy or, worse, checking up on him.

“He won’t mind. I called him earlier and told him I was going to drop in. He probably didn’t think of it before he left,” Gertie urges, then adds, “I’m looking forward to us getting to know each other better, and this place I want to take you has the best coffee in town.” She raises her brows with a glint in her eye.

Rebel may have forgotten to give me a key, but he took the time to program his number into my phone. I make the call.

It rings only once before Rebel picks up. “Hey, sweetheart, is everything okay?”

“Hi. I-I’m sorry to bother you, but Gertie said you wouldn’t mind. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“Babe, I love hearing your voice. I consider this a bonus in my day,” he says. A warm, gushy feeling spreads through me.

“Gertie wants to take me to the best coffee in town. We were about to head out when I noticed that I don’t have a key to lock up.”

“Shit! Sorry, babe. There’s an extra key in the top drawer in the kitchen,” he says. “Just a word: Gertie won’t tell you when she’s getting tired, and when she does, she gets a little unbalanced. Good idea if she holds on to you while you’re strolling. And Sadie, don’t overdo it. You promised you’d take it easy.”

“I’ll be careful, honey,” I tell him quietly. “While I have you, what do you want for dinner?”

“You don’t?—”

“Nope,” I jump in. “We talked about this, and I’m cooking. Is there anything you don’t like?”

He chuckles, and I imagine him smiling. “You cook it, I’ll eat it.”

“What if I make something you don’t like?”

“I’ll eat it anyway.”

“Rebel,” I warn.

“I like it all. As long as it’s not weird shit like chicken feet, tripe, or haggis, I’ll eat it.”

“Gertie, we’ve got to stop for tripe,” I call out with a giggle.

“Being a brat earns you a spanking,” he says, and an electric jolt of excitement sparks inside me. “Letting you go now, babe. See you tonight.”

Rebel

I can’t remember the last time someone cooked for me. As soon I walk in, I smell the aroma of roast beef. The table is set for two, with a small vase of daisies, and sitting on the counter is a giant chocolate chip cookie the size of a pizza.

Sadie’s taking the roast out of the oven when she hears me and sets the roasting pan on the stove before coming to greet me. Her arms come around my neck, and she tilts her head back for a kiss. Her full, pink lips are a temptation I cannot resist.

After our mini make-out session, because one kiss is not nearly enough, she unwraps her arms from around my neck and slides her hands down to my chest.

“I missed you,” she says shyly. “Ready for dinner?”

“Smells great.” I look around the kitchen. “Looks great too.”

“I hope you like chocolate chip cookies. I wanted to make you something special to celebrate your first day back.” She takes my hand and leads me to the pizza-sized cookie. On the top, written in icing, is Happy Back to Work Day.

“Love chocolate chip,” I say with a lump in my throat. I can’t find the words to tell her how much this means to me.

The guys have always included me, and we take care of each other. My sisters are great and call often to check in on me. But I don’t remember a time when a woman went to this much trouble for me. With nerves of steel, I’ve fought battles with bombs going off in every direction, but now a chocolate chip cookie makes me want to cry.

“Everything okay, honey?” Sadie asks, watching me carefully.

Honey, she calls me. I’ve never been anyone’s honey. I glide my fingers through her long tresses and tug her close to my side. “Everything’s perfect.”

Chapter8

---