Page 38 of Roads Behind Us
He chuckled. “Yeah, but only when we wanna piss her off. Make sure you do it too.”
“Okay.” I laughed. “Like she doesn’t already hate me, but she seems to favor you.”
“You noticed her icy reception earlier?” He huffed a laugh. “I don’t think she favors me. She loves all her sons the same, even though Dixon doesn’t deserve it most of the time. But she defers to me ’cause I’m the oldest male in the family.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, like I said, it’s how she was raised, but it’s pretty fucked up. If she was smart, she’d look to Brand for answers. He’s the one who has life all figured out.”
“Is that why she barely looked at me earlier today?”
“Probably. Plus, you’re a woman in a”—he imitated quotations with two fingers up in the air, then dropped his hand into his lap—“man’s job. You should hear the shit she still says to Abey about her job as the deputy sheriff.” He opened his mouth for the next spoonful as I held it to his lips. He swallowed, then smiled and said, “This is really good, Bea.”
“Thanks.” Why was one little compliment from him making butterflies erupt in my stomach like they’d just snorted cocaine?
“Who taught you to cook?”
“My mama, I guess, before she died. But honestly, I don’t know if I even remember any of that. My dad was hopeless after she passed, so things like laundry and cookin’ fell to me.”
“That wasn’t fair. You were just a girl.”
“Fair or not, it’s what happened. By the way,” I said, “I admire how you care for Athena.”
He rolled his eyes. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t admire me for that. I’m a shit dad.”
“You are not. You two are so close. You know her so well. I loved my dad. Worshipped him, really, but if you’d asked him what my favorite color was or what classes I loved in school, he couldn’t have answered. He was too wrapped up in his grief until the day he died.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he said softly, reaching over to sweep a lock of hair behind my ear so he could see me better. “Tell me your favorite color.”
“No, I shan’t,” I teased. “Before I leave to go back to Sheridan, you tell me. Let’s see if you can figure it out.”
He smiled and said, “Okay, challenge accepted. And just to be clear, I think it’s hot.”
“What, the soup?” I asked around a mouthful, which was really good. I’d have to remember to write down all the spices I’d added.
My little cabin kitchen had been stocked surprisingly well, with a few pots and pans and the olive oil, rosemary, and ginger I’d needed, but when we’d stopped at the store to get chicken stock, I grabbed veggie stock instead, sage, and garlic. The soup was creamy and rich and perfect for a cool fall night.
“No,” Bax said, “your job and the fact that you’re really damn good at it.”
Chapter Thirteen
Bea
The next morning when I stepped outside my cabin, crisp October mountain air slapped me in the face.
I’d dressed in my Carhartt overalls with a moisture-wicking thermal turtleneck underneath, thermal socks, my steel-toe boots, a black beanie, and fingerless gloves. Steam rose from my nose and mouth as I breathed, preparing to address the crews gathering in the unpaved roundabout.
There were ten guys for each house and a crew of twenty to finish the cabins, plus a few specialty guys who’d be stopping by throughout the job to do whatever they’d been contracted for. Brand had hired a masonry guy to come out and add some stone features to the cabins’ porches, just to pretty them up a bit, and he’d add fire pits to each lot. Electricians had already roughed in, but they and the HVAC guys would be out in the next week to do final checks and tests.
My cabin had been finished ahead of time, minus the stone façade, but all the rest were still in varying stages of completion, all without appliances and finishing touches, so as soon as roofs and walls were up, that would all be delivered and finished too. And then furniture would be delivered along with things like blinds and curtains, pots and pans, bedding, but I’d probably be back in Sheridan by then.
Guilt kept washing through me, making my stomach burn, because of what Bax and I had done last night. Although, after I drove him back to his house, I crawled into my bed and slept like a damn baby.
It wasn’t that I thought what we’d done was wrong in a general sense, but fooling around with him wasn’t the smartest idea I’d ever had because I knew I’d be leaving in a few weeks. One-night stands weren’t a foreign concept for me, but this guy had a family. He had a history of heartbreak, and I didn’t want to do anything to add to it.
