Chapter Twenty-Five
Daisy
I pull the last piece of fried fish from the oil and put it on the plate lined with napkins to catch the dripping grease, then turn off the burner.
Gus lined up the plates already, so I plate the food. Fish, mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus.
I wasn’t much of a cook before I came here, but I’m getting better at it every day. It’s easier when I have money and options, and the time to do it. Baking, though… that’s a lost cause.
Though, I have attempted everything in Grannie’s recipe box except the pecan pie. Maybe I should give it a go just to say I tried them all.
“Dinner!” I call.
Rhett and Gus come into the kitchen and take their plates. We get to the table and sit. I’ve taken one bite when the back door opens.
“Charlie?” I whisper.
Rhett leans back in his chair to look through the doorway. His eyes widen, making me think it’s not Charlie. A moment later, I see exactly who it is.
“Wade,” I say, getting up from my seat with a smile. “Are you staying for dinner?”
He watches me with a neutral look on his face. He doesn’t look mad… he seems cautious though.
“If that’s okay,” he says.
“Of course it’s okay. You can take my seat. Here,” I say, pulling out the chair. “Sit. I’ll get another plate.”
He hesitates before taking the seat and scooting in. I make another plate for myself, then sit in the last open spot, looking around the table and smiling.
This feels right.
“I’m glad you’re here, Wade,” I say. “Hopefully you like fish.”
“Fish is fine,” he says, picking up his fork and not saying anything about the fact I took a bite already.
I hadn’t thought of that when I offered it to him; I was just so excited that he was here.
We eat in silence, silverware scraping against porcelain. It all feels so good, so right, to sit at the table and eat dinner with the three of them.
“This is so nice,” I say. “Having dinner together.” I sigh. “Oh! But I didn’t make dessert. I’m sorry, Wade.”
“It’s okay,” he says. “Dinner is good. Thank you.” He smiles, but it feels a little forced.
“We have all those snacks,” Rhett suggests. “They aren’t home-cooked, but Oreos are—”
“Oreos?” Wade says, perking up. “You have Oreos?”
“And something else,” Rhett says with a grin, getting up. “I forgot until just now.”
He goes to the fridge, pulling out the pop he got for him. He offers it to Wade.
Wade doesn’t move. He doesn’t even blink.
“Here,” Rhett says, urging the bottle toward him.
Wade finally takes the bottle and stares at it like it may explode.
“Grape,” he says, his voice low. “Did you get this for me?” He turns to me.
“Oh, I—”
“Yes,” Rhett says quickly. “We were at the square and I told her how much you liked it. She said we should get it for you. It was the last one, or I’m sure she’d have gotten more.”
“Th-thank you,” he says shakily.
Wade stares at the bottle for another moment before twisting the cap off and bringing it to his nose. He smells it, a small smile falling over his lips, and then he takes a sip.
Letting out a sigh, he takes another, longer sip. He puts the bottle on the table and turns to face me. I stare into his beautiful, bright eyes, unsure of what he’s about to say to me.
“Thank you,” he says again, getting up and opening his arms, offering a hug. I stand and hug him willingly. He doesn’t let go for a long time.
“I’ll clean up in here. You can go watch a movie,” Gus says.
“No, I’ll clean,” Wade says, grabbing the bottle off the table and taking it with him to the sink. “But I’m eating Oreos when I’m done.”
I laugh. “I’ll make sure they don’t eat them all.”
Gus stays to help Wade clean up, while Rhett and I dig through the movies and settle on Annie—one of my childhood favorites. We get it all set up and on the menu while we wait for the guys in the kitchen to finish up.
Wade comes in with the package of Oreos and a tall glass of milk.
He sits on the end and puts the glass down, the package on his lap.
Gus stands in front of me, gesturing at the space between me and Rhett, so I push over.
He sits, forcing me to scoot even closer to Wade.
The couch isn’t big enough to fit three people comfortably, but four…
we’re squished. But it doesn’t feel bad.
Like everything else with these men, it just feels right. Comfortable. Fun.
“You want one?” Wade asks as he dunks the Oreo in the milk.
“Sure.”
He lifts the cookie from the milk, using his other hand to catch the drips and brings it to my mouth.
“Open,” he says, laughing at the mess. “Hurry, it’s dripping.”
I laugh as I open my mouth and take the bite, my mouth full of milky-cookie.
Rhett starts the movie, and we sit together on the couch with Wade feeding me cookies and Gus reaching across me to steal some from the package. He feeds one to Rhett, and it’s adorable.
This is all so normal. So right.
For once, I think this is where I belong.