Chapter 20 Food, Glorious Food
Food, Glorious Food
A few days later, Seth decided to grill burgers, sausages, and tenderloin for the bodyguards’ final night at the inn. The men were carnivores, and it would be fun.
Seth enjoyed plating fancy dishes and creating frou-frou meals, but there was something basic about cooking on a grill that appealed to him, too.
He figured it was one thing that had elevated the human brain. The creation of fire. The realization that heat could make food better, which in turn made life better.
Who had first realized that corn left too long on the fire would pop into a delicious treat? Who had decided that cooked meat was better than the raw variations they’d been eating for generations?
Had it started with fish and evolved into game animals? Maybe it had started with potatoes or another root vegetable.
Whenever he grilled, Seth wondered and considered.
Food was a necessity, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t be an art as well.
How far along in human evolution did food cross from basic survival needs to an art form?
He imagined that point was pretty early on.
At their core, humans enjoyed pleasing aesthetics.
There was a lot to savor in a meal. Taste, obviously, but scents and visuals as well.
In some cases, even the sounds, like corn popping or the sizzle of meat hitting the hot grill.
For his burgers, Seth had ordered high-quality Angus beef. He’d created a few sauces and relishes that would have the men sighing every time they were forced to settle for plain ketchup and mustard in the future.
The sausages would scent the air with their various spices. He’d made a batch with garlic and herbs to go along with the Brats.
His marinated tenderloin would melt in the mouth. The peppercorn sauce would top it off to perfection. He imagined his carnivore guests would sleep well, their stomachs full tonight.
Sure, it was basically man plus meat plus fire, but it was so much more.
Gray walked out onto the porch where they’d set up the grills. He held a hand to his heart. “My man, that is the scent of the gods.”
Seth grinned. “I was just thinking about how many centuries man has been having that reaction to meat cooking over fire.”
His buddy smiled, as only another cook would. “My mamma often spoke about the history of food. She used recipes passed down through generations. It’s a good connection to have to our pasts.”
Seth nodded. “A good way to remember humans have more in common than some think.”
“We sure do. One big Italian family, as mamma used to say.”
“I’m half in love with your mamma without even meeting her.”
Gray laughed. “The feeling would have been mutual. Anyone who understood and respected food the way you do was an automatic friend. But I think my mamma would have had a rival for those feelings you’re declaring.”
Seth raised an eyebrow. “Mara doesn’t need another big brother looking out for her.”
“Maybe I’m looking out for you.”
Seth snorted a laugh. “Right.”
Gray laughed. “I think you’re great together. I’m glad you both came to the farm. Not only because the No Phailed Apples Inn is going to be the best in the state, but because you’re rounding out our family.”
That hit Seth in the heart. He’d lost his birth family long before. Then he’d lost his military family in the blast. While Maki was the only one who’d died, the team had drifted apart. Or he had. The others continued to serve.
He got texts and messages from them, but he knew he was the one who’d slipped away from the group. He’d had to be physically separate, but he’d let the emotional ties go, too.
Maki’s death had carved deep into his soul, and he’d blamed himself. He hadn’t felt he deserved the continued friendship of the others, so he’d lost them, too. He’d have to work on that.
It had taken the family here at the farm to show him that. Well, mostly it had been Mara.
He’d found a place to set down roots with a third family. Most people weren’t that lucky.
He wasn’t convinced he deserved that kind of luck, but he wasn’t turning his back on it.
The door swung open, and the first of the bodyguards marched through. “Couldn’t stay in my room with the scents of this wafting up.”
Seth grinned and pointed at a table. “Appetizers.”
He’d known the slow roast of the tenderloin would bring out men and appetites.
He’d plated antipasto and vegetables. Not enough to ruin anyone’s appetite, but enough to keep them from attacking the grills.
In only minutes, the deck was filled with hungry men, swapping stories and salivating. Even the one Mara called Stone Face sucked in a deep breath of the scents as he climbed up to the deck from the yard.
Seth didn’t give a rat’s ass whether anyone preferred burgers rare or well done.
He would cook the meat the way it deserved to be cooked.
If they didn’t like it, there was plenty of other food: corn, green and yellow beans, skewers of grilled veggies, and fresh salads.
Mara’s homemade buns for the burgers and sausages waited along with a selection of cheeses. It was a hell of a good meal.
Once Seth plated the meat on the buffet table, the men descended like wolves.
Each man devoured at least two plates, and all of them tried all three meats.
Gray came out with more pitchers of Nash’s cider. The plain apple was a favorite, but the apple-pineapple was a surprising hit with the meal.
He headed back to the kitchen and sliced up another pineapple. He set the slices on the grill and drizzled them with Dani’s honey. They disappeared from the platter as soon as he put it on the buffet table.
He made a mental note to add grilled pineapple to the menu regularly. Peaches and nectarines as well. He’d never tried apple slices, but after Mara’s apple chips had been such a hit, he’d try those one day soon.
His eyes tracked the area again, but he still didn’t see Mara. It wasn’t as if she had to show up when he was cooking, but she usually did.
He missed not having her at his side, acting as sous-chef, or just filling up the space with her happiness.
They’d connected so quickly, but he knew their bond was strong. Strong enough for a lifetime? He sure as hell hoped so.
And after this crew demolished the food and the baking Mara had set out, he’d find her and set about ensuring she felt the same.
When Mara didn’t show up to serve up the Irish apple cakes she’d created for tonight’s dessert, Seth’s curiosity about her whereabouts moved toward worry.
Had she taken a nap? Maybe she’d been worn out. Between her early mornings and their hot nights, they hadn’t gotten much sleep in the past few days.
Instead of heading to the kitchen as he usually did, Seth moved to her room. Gray and Amber asked her to keep her rooms locked, whether she was inside or not. No one wanted guests wandering into her space.
Amber had ordered door signs that matched the ones on the guest rooms for most of the doors in the building. The one on Mara’s door read “Private.”
Seth knocked, but when she didn’t answer, he called out. He didn’t want to wake her up if she was catching up on needed sleep, but worry was clawing in his gut. “Mara? You in there?”
No answer.
He pulled out his phone and sent a text. He didn’t hear anything beyond the door while he waited for an answer. None came.
Maybe she’d hear a call. Nothing.
Hell. The door was locked, so he hurried through the main floor, but she wasn’t in the lobby or any of the guest spaces.
Back in the kitchen, he found Amber and Gray cleaning up, with Boomer snoozing in the corner. “Have you seen Mara?”
Amber shook her head. “Not since lunch.”
Gray frowned. “Not in her rooms?”
Seth shrugged. “She’s not answering my knock. Or my texts. Not even my call.”
“Did you two have a fight?”
“No, nothing like that. I’m worried.”
Amber pulled out her phone and made a call. “She’s not answering me either.” Then she left a message asking Mara to call her. Boomer rose to his feet and moved to Amber’s side, where she stroked his fur.
“Do you have a key to her room? Maybe she’s deeply asleep, but I need to check.”
Amber nodded and grabbed a keyring from her pocket. “I still have mine.” Her voice shook, and Boomer leaned into her side.
Gray took the key from Amber’s trembling fingers. He and Seth moved to Mara’s rooms.
Seth’s gut was screaming at him to hurry.
Gray called out. “Mara, it’s Gray. We’re coming in to check on you.”
As soon as he opened the door, Seth shoved past him and into the space. No Mara in the living area.
Fritter yowled from further in the suite, and he followed the sound.
The bed was neatly made, with no Mara napping on top. Or anywhere else.
Another yowl had Seth moving to the bathroom, eyes and body alert. “Mara?”
No answer. He eased open the door in case she’d passed out behind it, but the only living thing there was a very pissed off cat who shot by Seth’s legs and into the room.
The shower had a clear door, so it was immediately obvious she wasn’t anywhere in there.
Behind him, Gray called out that the rooms were clear.
Seth was about to leave when a shiver of dread ran through him. His army training had his brain automatically searching for anything that didn’t fit or make sense.
It took only a moment for him to find what had triggered his senses.
In the mirror, he saw a note pinned to the back of the door.
Not pinned.
He stepped inside the room to look at the door.
Holy shit.
Everything in Seth hardened and freaked out at the same time.
Thanks to his training, he kept the freakout internal. A knife had been thrust into the door, pinning a photo to it. In the photo, Mara lay bound and gagged, with the knife point stabbed through her throat.
Scrawled on the bottom of the picture, someone had written. “Her turn to die. Your turn to suffer.”
Seth’s head swam as fear, anger, and panic rushed their way through his system.
Someone had Mara.
They wanted to kill her so that Seth would suffer.
“Seth? You find anything?”
He took a deep breath before he could answer. “In here, Claus.”
His tone alerted his buddy. He heard Gray tell Amber to wait, and told Boomer to Guard before he entered the bathroom.
He followed Seth’s gaze and swore. “Who the hell would do that?”
Seth shook his head. “And where the hell is she?”
Amber spoke through the door. “What is it? Should I call the others? Should I call Marcus?”
He heard the fear in her voice. It echoed the fear raging through his system. Gray answered her in the affirmative. He told her to tell everyone that Mara had been taken and that they were organizing a search.
Seth wanted to run after Mara, but he didn’t have a clue who had her or why.
Who the hell would want him to suffer like that?
Maki? Could it be connected to Maki?
He reached for the photo, but Gray stopped him. “Take a picture, we’ll leave it there for evidence for Marcus.”
Nodding, Seth steadied his hands enough to zoom in and take several pictures. It was a close-up shot, but maybe they’d find something in the background.
If he focused on the task, maybe he wouldn’t simply explode from fear.
Gray touched his shoulder. “Babs. Focus. Everyone’s meeting in the kitchen. We’ll get her.”
Because not getting her wasn’t an option.