Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Cole
Carnie had left half a hummingbird cake on the counter like a dare.
I eyed it suspiciously.
Cake for dinner wasn’t exactly a crime, but it didn’t feel right either. Star needed real food. Protein. Something that would stick instead of sugar-crashing her straight back into bed.
I opened the fridge.
Ham. Cornbread. Leftovers, but I felt I could do something more than just warm food. I opened the freezer and saw a bag of chicken nuggets. Next to that was a bag of French fries.
I could handle that.
Probably.
If anything, if I messed it up, we could always have ham and cornbread.
I turned on the oven, and it beeped loudly at me.
I stepped back like it had personally offended me.
“Easy,” I muttered.
My eyes drifted down the hallway again, toward Star’s room.
She hadn’t come back out.
Good.
She needed rest, even if she fought it each time.
I grabbed a sheet pan from the cupboard and filled it with nuggets and fries. “So fucking easy,” I muttered as I slid the pan into the oven. I wasn’t sure how long to cook them for, but I would just figure it out.
My phone buzzed on the counter, the screen lighting up with Mac’s name. I wiped my hands on a towel and answered.
“You alive?” she asked.
“So far.”
She laughed softly. “How’s she doing?”
“Good,” I said honestly. “Tired. But good. A bunch of the ol’ ladies stopped by today, so she went to lie down.”
“I would need to lie down, too.” I could hear voices in the background. Laughter, movement, the low hum of people who didn’t know they were being recorded. “I’m still at the Social Club. Filming is running late.”
“That’s fine with me, seeing as I’m not the one you’re filming.”
She chuckled. “Yeah, you guys got lucky with Mason and Adley hooking up right away. I just know the fans are going to love those two. Second chance romance.”
Someone loudly called Mac’s name in the background.
She hesitated. “I’ve got to go, but look, if she wakes up dizzy—”
“I can handle it, Mac. Star is safe with me.”
Another pause.
“Thank you,” Mac said quietly. “Really.”
“No problem.”
I ended the call just as the smell hit.
Burnt.
Definitely burnt.
“Shit,” I muttered and lunged for the oven.
I opened the oven, and a plume of smoke rolled out.
“What the hell?” Sure, I wasn’t cooking all of the time, but I could work an oven to make a pizza.
Nuggets and pizza weren’t far off from each other, but for some reason the nuggets were fighting for their lives.
That’s when I felt it.
Not heard.
Felt.
Eyes on me.
I turned.
Star stood in the doorway, leaning lightly against the frame, with her arms crossed loosely over her chest. Her hair was pulled up into a messy knot, with wisps escaping around her face. She looked small in a baggy sweatshirt and her bare feet planted carefully on the tile.
“How long have you been standing there?” I asked.
She smiled faintly. “Long enough to smell something burning.”
“Great.”
She pushed off the frame and shuffled closer. “What are you making?”
“Attempting nuggets and French fries.”
“Attempting,” she repeated.
I shrugged. “I don’t cook much.”
Her brow furrowed. “Gee, I couldn’t tell.”
“I eat at the clubhouse. Or someone else cooks,” I said defensively.
“That checks out,” she laughed as she grabbed a hot pad from the drawer. “What temperature did you set the oven for?” She reached in and pulled out the burnt nuggets and fries.
“Uh, four hundred?” I guessed. I had pretty much just hit the bake button and let it go.
She tilted her head and looked at the dial. “You have it set to broil.”
“Yeah, bake.”
Star shook her head and pulled out the tray. “Broil and bake are not the same thing, Cole.”
I glanced back at the stove. “You sure?”
She laughed loudly. “I am positive.” She set the tray on the stove top, and the nuggets and fries were now a lovely black char.
“How do you feel about having ham, cornbread, and cake for dinner? Your mom called and said she had to work late tonight, so it’s just you and me,” I asked.
Star laughed and tossed the hot pad on the counter. “I think that sounds perfect. You should just stick to the microwave and leave the oven to me.”
I tipped my head to the side. “I am okay with that.”
“How about I warm our dinner?” she suggested. “I think I should be able to handle that.”
“You sure?” I asked.
She nodded. “More than sure. Sit down and let me do this. The only way I am going to start getting my strength back is if I do more than sleep.”
She slowly moved around the kitchen, and it took everything in me not to force her to sit down. She was right that she needed to keep moving to get her strength back, but she didn’t need to be making me dinner.
She brought two plates to the table filled with hot ham and cornbread.
“Well?” she asked expectantly.
I popped a piece of ham into my mouth and let out a moan. “Perfectly warmed, babe. Better than my burnt nuggets and fries.”
She glanced at the offending tray. “Cold ham is better than that, Cole.”
I shrugged. “Not wrong.”
I was done with my plate when I watched her for a moment. Her eyelids drooped slightly, and her fork slowed to her mouth.
“You’re fading,” I said.
She scoffed and put the bite in her mouth. “I am not.”
“Star.”
“I’ve only been awake for half an hour, Cole. It is insane for me to be tired already. I just need to push through.”
“Your body is still healing, Star. It’s normal for you to be sleepy.”
“Thank you, Dr. Cole,” she grumbled. “But I am going to stay awake a little longer.” She finished the last bite and pushed the plate away. “I just want to feel normal again.”
“I know.”
She looked up at me then, eyes searching. “When am I going to be better?”
The question landed heavier than anything else she’d said.
I took a breath. “One day at a time.”
She studied me like she wasn’t sure whether to be satisfied with that or not.
“I don’t want to disappear into sleep again,” she said. “Not yet.”
“Okay,” I said. “Living room?”
She nodded.
We moved back to the couch and settled in with a comfortable distance between us. The television glowed softly with the Golden Girls playing.
“I swear this show is always on,” she sighed.
I had seen every episode before, but they were still entertaining.
Her head tipped back against the cushion.
Minutes passed.
Then her shoulder brushed mine.
I stayed still.
A moment later, her head rested against my shoulder, warm and light.
Her breathing slowed.
She was asleep.
Again.
I waited a few beats, just to be sure, then slid my arm around her back and lifted her carefully.
She stirred but didn’t wake as I carried her down the hallway.
I laid her in bed, pulled the blanket up, and brushed her hair back gently.
“Don’t go,” she whispered.
“I’ll just be down the hallway, babe,” I promised.
She reached out and laced her fingers through mine. “Just stay for a minute,” she pleaded. She tugged me to her, and I didn’t fight it.
She wasn’t asking for more than me to just stay with her.
I could easily do that.
I laid on the bed next to her, and she tucked herself into me. “Thank you,” she whispered.
She didn’t need to thank me for a damn thing. Especially not this.
“Just sleep, Star.” I would just lay with her until she fell back to sleep, and then I would head back out to the couch.
Just a couple of minutes…