Page 87 of Timber

Grabbing a flavored water out of the fridge that we picked up when we were in town, I head out to the main room. Surprisingly, the guys don’t allow me to wait in line.

“Our rule is those that cook get to grab their food as soon as they step out of the kitchen,” Beast says as he gently pushes me in front of him.

“Oh, well, thank you.”

Grabbing an enchilada, a little rice, chips, and a bowl of salsa, I make my way over to where Timber’s sitting and dig into my meal.

About half-way through dinner, Smithy leans back in his chair and pats his stomach.

“That’s it. We’re not letting you go back, Lil’ Bit. Timber’s putting in a transfer and your ass is staying here.”

I stare at him in shock and can’t help but blush when the others all voice the same thing.

Timber wraps his arm around my shoulders, and I bury my face in his side, overwhelmed by the attention they’re giving me. Never have I had so many people praise me for something.

“Okay, ease up, guys. Let’s just see how everything plays out,” Timber tells them.

Peeking out from Timber’s side, the guys all seem a little uneasy about making me uncomfortable. Clearing my throat, I look up at Timber and then at the others sitting with us.

“Well, while I am here, and whenever I visit, I could take requests. We could start with lunch tomorrow and I’ll draw a new idea for supper. Though, I’ll need to make sure we have everything on hand to make it.”

“Send the Prospects out to get whatever you need, Lil’ Bit. I’ll see if Mama Astrid has a jar that we can use for meal suggestions and put it out on the counter,” Devil says as he takes another bite of his food.

Feeling a sense of purpose, and that I won’t be sitting around twiddling my thumbs while we’re here, I nod. I’ve always loved when I was able to take a cooking shift at Peggy’s diner. Because face it, that was really the only time I was evenableto cook in a real setting. There was no way I was spending that much time in the kitchen at our trailer with Preston nearby. Not that there would have been enough food in the trailer to cook with, that is.

Pulling out of Timber’s arms, I sit up again and continue eating the last few bites as I think about the upcoming meals.

“Let’s limit it to one suggestion per person for right now. I want to make sure everyone gets a chance to have their request and when the jar gets low, I’ll let the guys know they can put in more ideas.”

“What all are you familiar with cooking?” Cannon asks.

Putting down my fork, having just finished, I pause as I think back to everything that I’ve made over the years.

“Well, Peggy’s diner had your stereotypical diner food. Burgers. Biscuits and gravy. Eggs. Pancakes and waffles. Sandwiches. Panini. Omelets. Skillet dinners. Salads. Fruit salads. Homemade coleslaw. Steaks on a cast iron skillet. Glen’s family has some Hispanic roots, so we also had some Mexican food. Quesadillas. Tacos. Burritos. Fajitas. Homemade guacamole. Pico de gallo. I’m sure there’s more, but that’s what I can think of off the top of my head, not to mention that I also love to bake.

Refocusing on everyone, I see varying levels of shock and that almost everyone had stopped talking to listen to our conversation. And they’re all staring at me.

I look around in confusion. “What?”

Timber’s the one to break the stare off and squeezes my shoulder. “Sunshine, are you sure you want to run a daycare? Sounds like you could open up your own restaurant. And I can’t wait to have more of your food, baby.”

“You learned all that from working at Peggy’s diner?” Kai asks in disbelief.

I shrug. “Well, yeah. I started working there when I was fifteen, so it’s been six years now. She made sure I knew how to take care of myself, which included how to cook, doing laundry, grocery shopping, handling a checking account. All of that stuff. Her husband, Glen, taught me how to do basic car maintenance and showed me a little self-defense.”

“Definitely talk to Levi and see if you can invite them to the wedding, Sunshine. I want to thank them for everything they did for you,” Timber whispers into my ear, and I nod, trying to blink away the tears that threaten to fall.

“Well fuck. I’ll definitely be thanking them as well. Also, I want to head out to visit them and see this diner,” Kai says. “In the meantime, I’m getting seconds.”

He gets up from his seat and walks over to the pass-through. As he helps himself, others get up to get seconds as well.

“Hey, you okay, Sunshine?”

Turning toward him, I smile shyly. “Yeah, just a little overwhelmed. While I’m happy that I’ll have something to do now so I’m contributing, I’ve never had anyone respond like this to my cooking. Ever.”

Mama Astrid pats my shoulder as she passes us. “I can already tell we’ll have lots of fun in the kitchen together while you’re here and whenever you visit. This was divine and you can bet your ass I’ll be pestering you to write this down for me.” She winks at me and goes to get more food. I don’t know what parallel universe I’ve fallen into, but I’m never going back to how things were before.

Pushing back my chair, I go to get up myself when Timber stops me.

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