Chapter 15
FIFTEEN
DAKOTA
“Dakota?” My name sounded like it was coming from the opposite end of a long, dark tunnel, barely penetrating my consciousness as I stood, staring unseeing at the items on the shelves in front of me.
“Hey. Dakota?” The touch on my arm gave me a start, jerking me back into the present.
I blinked, the boxes of different types of dried pasta coming into focus.
“So sorry.” I turned my head to find Iris standing beside me, a hesitant smile tilting her lips up.
She lifted her hands in surrender. “I’m so sorry.
I didn’t mean to startle you. I thought you heard me. ”
I let out a low chuckle and shook my head. “No, no. Please. Don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong. I just spaced out, I guess.”
We both turned to look back at the pasta for a few beats before Iris sucked in an excited breath, clapping her hands and doing a little hop on the balls of her very sexy, very cool high heels. “Are you making more recipes for Foodie Bee?”
I looked at her and smiled. “You’ve been watching?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “Oh yeah. Ever since Pheebs mentioned it. I think I’ve managed to watch every piece of content you’ve put out. I really want to try that one recipe.” She snapped her fingers as she tried to recall the name. “Ah! The Beef Wellington. That’s what it was.”
My stomach rumbled at the thought of that tender, succulent dish.
It been too long since I was in a kitchen without being able to cook for myself, and I’d been eating whatever was quick and easy.
I really missed cooking. It was why I found myself absently parking my car, going into the local market on autopilot, and walking through the aisles without my brain communicating with my body.
When I was stressed, I cooked. When I was angry or sad, I cooked. Hell, when I was happy, I cooked. The kitchen was my safe place. The only one I’d ever had, and not being able to do what I loved for weeks was slowly sucking the life out of me.
It might have sounded ridiculous to some people, but the grocery store was like therapy for me.
“That’s a really good one. I know it can seem intimidating, but I made sure my recipe was beginner friendly. Plus, you can always call me if you need help.”
She shot me a wink, and I couldn’t help but think that the women I’d met so far—Lennon, Iris, and Phoebe—were sweet as hell.
“I’ll probably have to take you up on that.
I have this bad habit of thinking I can do something because the internet said I can.
Just ask the drywall I tried to patch by myself, or the mechanic who had to fix my car when I tried to change my own oil. ”
Her smile and good-natured personality were infectious. It was impossible not to return the pretty, petite redhead’s smile when she gave it. “You have my number. Don’t be afraid to use it. And who knows. Maybe with enough practice, you’ll be who I call if my car ever craps out.”
We shared a laugh before she glanced back to the pasta boxes. “So, do you have something in mind or just looking for inspiration?”
I heaved out an unhappy sigh as I pulled down a box of pasta and studied it, a feeling of longing washing over me. “No,” I answered sadly. “I wish, honestly, but I’m still at the inn, and there isn’t anywhere for me to cook.”
If this had been the city, I could have rented a kitchen space to film, but this was a small mountain town. They didn’t have anything like that, and I was slowly going out of my mind.
Replacing the box, I turned to Iris. “This is like window shopping for me. I came here for a fix.”
Understanding washed over her pretty features. “What are you up to right now? You busy or do you plan on standing here, staring at food like a starving person on the fifth day of a juice cleanse?”
I let out a bubble of laughter. “No. I’m not busy. What do you have in mind?”
I came to a stop behind Iris’s car, throwing my own into park and looking through the driver side window at the adorable little bungalow on a shady, tree-lined street.
Stepping out of the car, I closed the door and smiled up at the house cozily tucked back from the street on a nice-sized lot with deep green grass.
“What is this place?” Iris joined me at the curb, pointing in the direction of the For Rent sign I’d missed while appreciating the house.
My heart stuttered in my chest. As cute as this whole street was, I couldn’t bring myself to imagine staying here, permanently or not.
I felt like I’d been spinning out of control since I got back, and I was struggling to find solid ground.
Since my run-in with Roe at the hospital a few days ago, I’d been in such emotional upheaval that, by the end of each day, I collapsed into bed, so emotionally exhausted that I was out as soon as my head hit the pillow.
The one silver lining to it was that I slept so hard my overactive brain wasn’t able to have nightmares about the past.
“Iris, I don’t think?—”
She lifted both her hands, palms out, before I could finish my objection.
“I know, you don’t want to put down roots here, at least not yet.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hope you’d change your mind.
And not just because I’d get a commission if you moved here and hired me as your realtor.
” She shot me a teasing wink that made me laugh again.
“But because I think you’re super cool and I’d love to get to know you better. ”
Gah , she was so freaking sweet it was almost impossible to deny her.
“This is Lennon’s old place. Remember? The one we told you about that day at coffee. Well, I called her on the way over here and together, we came up with the perfect solution to your little problem.”
Her giddiness as she spoke was just as infectious as her smile. “Oh? And what’s that?”
“She’s going to rent out the kitchen to you on a week-to-week basis!” She did that little hop again. “Isn’t that great?”
My mouth dropped open as I looked back at the house. “Oh, Iris, I couldn’t?—”
“Of course you can! Look, it’s only fifty bucks a week?—”
“Iris, that’s a ridiculous price!”
Her smile dropped a bit. “Is it too much? I’m sure we can work something out?—”
I shook my head. “No, honey. It’s too little. I feel like I’d be taking advantage.”
“You wouldn’t though. I swear.”
I tugged the corner of my bottom lip between my teeth as I looked back at the house. “I don’t know, Iris. I mean, this is a deal that’s too good to be true. Doesn’t Lennon need to offload this place?”
Iris snorted. “Please. Like Pope would let her feel that kind of strain. He paid the mortgage off as soon as she agreed to move in with him.”
My eyes widened, my brows flying up toward my hairline. “And she doesn’t care? That he used, you know?.?.?.” I leaned in and finished on a whisper. “ Blood money ?”
“Bood money?” she asked in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“You grew up here, right? You know the kind of shit the club’s about. How they make their money.”
She stared at me like I just switched into a foreign language mid-sentence. “Uh, honey. A lot of things have changed while you’ve been gone. I think there’s a lot you don’t know.”
My brow furrowed, a strange sensation swimming through my belly as I tried to make sense of what she said. “What do you mean?”
Empathy washed over her face. “Maybe that’s a talk you should have with your father.”
I blew out a weary breath as I pushed a hand through my hair, forgetting for a second that I’d tied it up in a messy topknot until my fingers caught.
Iris couldn’t have possibly realized what a blow to the gut that suggestion was, especially these last few days.
I hadn’t been able to bring myself to go back to the hospital after making a fool of myself and running out the last time.
Any courage I’d built up over the past few weeks had drained out of me completely, and I couldn’t bring myself to have the conversation I knew we desperately needed to have.
Particularly after how I reacted to seeing him with another child.
I knew he hadn’t missed my reaction, so I’d been avoiding him ever since, afraid he’d bring it up if I wasn’t brave enough to do it.
“There’s a lot we need to talk about,” I muttered more to myself than to her. “I guess that just got added to the list. But I don’t understand. If it’s been paid off, why wouldn’t she sell it?”
The ease returned to her face as she explained, “Spend enough time here and you’ll learn why. Lennon got really close with all her neighbors, and she doesn’t want to risk sticking them with someone who doesn’t match the vibe.”
I quirked a brow and shot her a cheeky grin. “And you think I match the vibe? You hardly know me?”
She shrugged that off and started up the walkway, her heels clicking against the concrete. “I have a gift for reading people,” she stated simply. “And my gut tells me you’re a good fit.”
She unlocked the door and pushed it open, stepping aside to allow me to enter ahead of her. The house had been emptied of any furniture or personal belongings, but I could see from all the natural sunlight pouring through the big bay windows why she liked the place so much.
“There are no utensils or anything, so you’d have to bring your own. I hope that isn’t a problem.”
I shook my head as I entered the kitchen, dragging my fingertips across the cold stone on the island.
The countertops and upper cabinets were a clean, gleaming white that brought light into the space.
The lower ones a deep navy to offset and make the space even more inviting.
The appliances were a few years old, but all stainless, and, according to Iris, they still worked perfectly.
Standing in the middle of the open, airy kitchen, I felt like I finally found the piece of myself that had been missing since I returned to Ashland.
No, that wasn’t right. I felt like I found the piece that had been missing even before I left Adam.
I felt like I belonged in here, like it was meant to be.
That wasn’t a feeling I’d experienced in so long.
If I really let myself think about it, I hadn’t felt that kind of connection since the first day Roe came into my life.
The lack of pots and pans wasn’t a problem for me at all.
Poppy had been kind enough to let me store all my kitchen stuff in a storage room off the laundry facility.
It had been a relief that I didn’t have to leave all that expensive equipment in my car or have the boxes crammed into my room, taking up all the available space.
Looking around at the counters and cabinets, even the pantry, I could see that there was more than enough space for all my stuff.
“So? What do you think?”
I turned to face Iris, a slow, beaming smile taking over my face. “If Lennon’s really cool with it, I think we have a deal.”
She let out a sharp squeal of excitement and shimmied her hips in an adorable little dance. “Oh, she’s totally cool with it.”
Looked like I needed to get my ass moving, because I owed these ladies some serious tasty treats as a thank-you for helping me get my sanity back.