There was something very special about arriving back at the house and having it all lit up while having Ruby and Kenzie’s laughter accompany me through the cold air from the truck and into the warmth of the kitchen.
“Damn, that smells good! Calder, what are you making?” I called out as I stepped inside.
Ruby charged through the kitchen and into the front of the house. She had only been working for me for a few days, but she was already comfortable being in the house. Kenzie hung back by the door. She wasn’t comfortable in my space yet.
I wanted her to be as comfortable as possible. I wanted her here. My plans of treating her to a homemade meal earlier in the week were foiled by Allan’s arrival. Fortunately, she understood. Unfortunately, that meant this was her first time inside.
“You have a good day on the slopes?” Allan asked. He looked at Kenzie directly.
I felt a growl form in my chest. He needed to not be looking at her.
“I don’t know if a good day is the right way to describe it.” Kenzie chuckled.
“We had a fun day,” I said a little more aggressively than necessary.
“Uh-oh, did I step on another land mine?” Allan said.
I gave him a very pointed look. He laughed and waggled his eyebrows.
“Nothing so drastic,” Kenzie said, oblivious of his double meaning. She stepped into the kitchen properly and finally took her coat off. “Apparently, I have completely forgotten how to ski. I’m going to be so sore in the morning,” Kenzie said.
“Then you”—Allan pointed at me with finger guns— “should take her into the other room and rub her feet or something while I finish dinner. It should be ready in about twenty minutes.”
The growl in my chest relaxed. He knew who Kenzie was to me, and this was his way of letting me know.
“Don’t you need any help getting everything ready?” Kenzie asked.
“Not from you. Send Ruby back if she’s willing to help out,” he said.
I tilted my head to Kenzie, indicating we should leave. She followed me out to the living room. There were other downstairs rooms, but I hadn’t finished cleaning everything out. But the living room was clean, and I had replaced the furniture with comfortable modern styles.
“Did I say something to get banished?” Kenzie asked.
I sat on the corner of the couch, expecting her to sit next to me. She flopped down in the side chair.
“I can’t rub your feet from there.” I patted the couch next to me.
“He was just saying that—”
“He was just saying that to let me know he was simply talking to you, and not flirting. Get over here and let me flirt with you.”
“You’re incorrigible,” she said. But she came and sat next to me. She kicked off her shoes and curled up with her head on my shoulder. “You don’t have to rub my feet, at least not right now.”
Ruby stepped into the living room, looked at us, then looked at the TV. “You know, the TV has to be on to watch a movie.”
I laughed. “We’re getting warm before dinner. Allan said he could use your help.” I hitched my thumb over my shoulder, kicking her out of the living room.
Allan’s announcing dinner came far too soon. Kenzie slipped off the couch and shoved her feet back into her shoes. The table was set, and Ruby carried in the salad as Allan carried in the roast.
“Oh, everything smells so good,” Kenzie purred.
It did smell good. It tasted even better.
“When did you learn how to cook?” I asked before shoving more of the garlic roasted potatoes into my mouth.
“Part of my recuperation. I was encouraged to take up a hobby, and I like to eat. Seemed like a win-win.”
“Were you injured?” Kenzie asked.
Allan paused. We made eye contact. I waited for his signal. I could deflect, or he could continue. This was his call.
“Yeah, I got hurt in the Army.”
“Is that why you didn’t come skiing with us?” Ruby asked.
“No, I can’t ski. I couldn’t ski before the accident, but I really can’t ski now.” He reached down and knocked on his left calf. It made a hollow thunking sound.
“You have a fake leg?” Ruby asked enthusiastically.
“Ruby!” Kenzie said through clenched teeth.
“It’s okay. Yeah, I have a prosthetic lower leg.”
“Can I see it?”
“Ruby!”
Allan waved Kenzie’s concern away. “Not at dinner. But sure, I’ll show you sometime.”
“Did you know each other in the Army?” Kenzie asked.
“I served under the major in the Middle East. At least until this happened, and then he retired.”
Kenzie got quiet. She looked down at her food and nodded.
I put my hand on hers. “You okay?”
Her eyes met mine. “Scary, that’s all. I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”
“Oh, no, not bad memories at all. Sure, the active-duty part wasn’t ideal, but I loved my time in the service. I had brothers by my side all the time. It was great, like living with your best friends. It was great, and the hard parts, well, you didn’t go through them alone.”
“But you got hurt, like seriously hurt,” Ruby pointed out.
“Yeah, I went and stepped on an incendiary. I loved being there with my guys, but it was dangerous.”
“Allan thought he was at some kind of party camp on his last tour. Always arranging cookouts and ballgames,” I remembered.
“Well, the food sucked, I had to do something.” He laughed.
Those were the good memories. Those were the ones to hold on to. And not the ones that visited me in my nightmares.
After dinner, Ruby stepped in and offered to clean up. Maybe she had accepted this as her punishment for taking an extra run on the slope and wasn’t going to argue, or maybe she was just being helpful. She had a smart mouth on her, but underneath that attempt at a tough exterior, she was a good kid.
We waited until she and Allan were finished before starting a movie. I wanted to keep Kenzie by my side longer, and a movie to wrap up our day seemed like a good idea.
“I’m turning in. Night. Nice to finally meet you, Kenzie. ’Night, Major.”
“Good night, Allan.” Turning to Ruby, I asked, “Do we need popcorn?”
“How can you still be hungry? I’m stuffed. We do not need popcorn, but I wouldn’t say no to ice cream.”
I shook my head. “I’ll be right back.”
I had enough ice cream for one bowl. Lucky kid, it was hers. I tossed a bag of popcorn into the microwave and made a mug of hot chocolate for Kenzie and grabbed a beer for myself.
Ruby still stole a handful of my popcorn as I handed her the bowl of ice cream.
“Thank you,” Kenzie said, looking up at me with eyes that seemed to be bigger and more luminous in the low light of the living room.
At some point during the movie, Ruby passed out.
“Leave her,” Kenzie said. She sounded sleepy. “I’ll wake her up when the movie is over. We can go home then.”
“You could stay,” I suggested.
Kenzie didn’t say anything as she looked at me. She snuggled against my chest a little closer as we watched the rest of the movie. I couldn’t pay attention and eagerly waited for the end credits to roll.
“Come on.” I grabbed Kenzie’s hand and pulled her from the couch.
I scooped Ruby up. She snorted. “Still asleep?” I asked. I couldn’t see her face once I had a grip on her.
“She’s still out cold.”
Kenzie followed me up the stairs and into the second guest room. I put Ruby on the bed and stepped away. Kenzie pulled off her sister’s shoes.
“So, this is a twin bed. There really isn’t room for me to sleep in here,” she pointed out.
I nodded.
“I can’t sleep with you. Allan and Ruby would know.”
“Allan already knows there is something between us. And Ruby doesn’t need to know the details. My bedroom is on the far end of the hall.” I held my hand out to her.
She looked down at her sleeping sister and chewed on her lower lip. With a nod, she put her hand in mine.
“I don’t have any pajamas with me.”
“You aren’t going to need pajamas tonight,” I replied as I led her into my room.
“Tate.” My name was an admonition. I was in trouble.
“You can sleep in one of my shirts. You’ll look adorable. I promise I won’t do anything you don’t approve of.” I wanted to do quite a lot to her, and I was certain, once I was able to get my hands and mouth on her body, she would approve of it all.
I pulled a shirt out of my dresser and handed it to Kenzie and showed her the bathroom. While she got ready, I stripped down and put on a pair of long flannel sleep pants. I was in bed when she came back into the room. She was adorable. My shirt strained at her breasts and fell to her bare thighs. She still had socks on her feet.
She hovered on the far side of the bed. I reached out to her and pulled her against my chest.
“Tate.” Her voice was soft.
“Touch me, Kenzie. I want to feel your hands on me.”
“I don’t know what you want, where to start,” she admitted.
I took her hand and placed it on my chest. “Just touch me, any way you want.”
Her fingers were ticklish and curious. The night wasn’t long enough to get my fill of her hands on me.
