Chapter 14 #2
But I’ve been avoiding John because I don’t want to hear what he’ll have to say when I explain about the broken AC and being out of my store.
He’ll see it as some kind of sign that this was a mistake.
I have absolutely no clue what he’ll think about me dating in general or about dating Tank, specifically.
“Hey.” James’s voice is a little sharp as he glares at Collin, Molly, Kyoko, and even Winnie in turn. “We’re here to help Rose bake, not interrogate her.”
There’s an awkward pause, and then everyone but James starts to laugh, myself included. Because there’s something absolutely hilarious about his serious face and tone paired with his big body in a tiny pink apron. The laughter only makes James glower more, which makes the sight of him even funnier.
And suddenly, I’m relaxed, feeling like I’m part of this sundry group of family and friends. Laughter, especially laughter in a kitchen for some reason, has a way of bringing people together.
Finally, Winnie walks over, uncrosses James’s arms and then wraps them around herself. Standing on tiptoe, she kisses his cheek.
When I stand up, my stomach hurts from laughing. I check for tenderness in my cut foot, but I barely feel the cut now. Even so, I’m glad for the extra hands to help. Even if said help is actually the indirect reason I broke a mug and cut myself to begin with.
“Put us to work,” Collin says, rubbing his hands together. “Though I should warn you that James has a tendency to burn things.”
“That was one green bean casserole,” James snaps.
“Hey, is that your gaming system?” Collin asks, pointing over to the living area where the controllers are still sitting on the couch.
“Oh, um, yes. Your dad and I were playing yesterday.”
This is met by silence and shocked stares. “Tank was playing video games?”
I smile. “He was. Very badly.”
The boys find this highly amusing, and based on the way Winnie, Molly, and Kyoko are grinning, they think it’s adorable. Before the conversation can go off the rails again, I channel my teacher voice and start doling out tasks.
“Kyoko, Molly, and James, I’ll have you help me with frosting cupcakes. Meet me over by the mixer. Collin and Winnie, you’ll be on cookie duty. The dough is right there on the counter along with a scoop and cookie sheets.”
Within an hour, I am overseeing while they work with assembly-line efficiency. Almost.
James is excellent at following recipes—something most people don’t realize is an actual skill.
I learned this thanks to Chelsea, who is living proof that some people are born with a mental block against accurate measurements.
Molly and Kyoko get competitive about decorating the chocolate and funfetti cupcakes and end up making them look better than I do even on my best days.
My strength is more in recipe development than the decorating side of things.
While Winnie works with a precise efficiency on the cookies, Collin gets demoted to dishwashing duty after he somehow made a dozen misshapen cookies.
“He kept putting his thumb on them,” Winnie said after the first batch emerged from the oven. “Which is silly because there is a literal scoop. My cookies are perfect.”
“That’s my Winchester,” James calls from across the kitchen, “and that’s … Collin.”
His comment prompted grumbling from Collin, which might have bubbled over into a fight had I not shoved a sponge into his hand.
“Keep washing. It’s an important job. And I can cut those and give them away as samples.
Or,” I added, seeing a few hungry gazes zero in on Collin’s batch of misfit chocolate chip cookies, “for breakfast.”
They’re gone within ten seconds.
By eight-thirty, the only communication I’ve had from Tank is a text around seven saying he’ll be late, and the only helper left with me is Winnie.
James and Kyoko had to head over to Dark Horse, Molly had a shift at the coffee shop, and Collin was meeting someone out at the property where he’s building a new sports training facility.
With everyone’s combined help baking and carting things across the street, I’m almost done not only with what I need for today, but with prep for tomorrow.
Which leaves me with a little too much time to think again.
“You’re awfully quiet over there,” Winnie says, startling me. Thankfully, I only drop a spoon this time, not a coffee mug.
Winnie picks it up and immediately rinses it off before putting it in the dishwasher. Not one for sitting still, she grabs a dish towel and starts drying the baking sheets.
“Are you an introvert? Even if you aren’t, we can be a lot all at one time,” she adds.
“No—I’m so grateful for the help! I’m actually an extrovert, though after having kids I started to question that. The older I get, the more I like alone time and the less I want to be out and about with crowds or strangers. Or out at all.” I laugh. “This is probably making me sound like a nerd.”
“Not at all.” Winnie finishes with one cookie sheet and grabs another.
“I’m an extrovert, but James is a massive introvert, so he’s pulled me over to the dark side a little.
I still get my energy from things like this”—she waves at the empty kitchen that not too long ago was practically filled with people—“but being alone or being with James fills me in a different way.”
On the surface, James is the one who seems the least like Tank. Where his father is open and warm and affectionate, James is like a lockbox. Or, at least, that’s how I originally saw him. Whereas Pat and Collin share a lot more of Tank’s outward characteristics.
But today, I got glimpses below the surface and saw the same big heart Tank has, the same concern and care for others, just surrounded by steel fortress walls.
And maybe it’s a stretch since I didn’t know Winnie or Molly or even Kyoko before, but I feel like I could even see Tank’s mark on them.
Maybe now it’s just a general Graham influence, but there is definitely something distinct about this group and how they interact, the way they respect and care all while ribbing and joking with each other.
Several times, I found myself imagining how John and Chelsea would fit in with the happy chaos. For a minute, I even wondered if Kyoko might be the kind of person who could unwind my very tight-laced son a little bit.
But after the third time she brought up Wolf Waters today, I get the impression she has her sights set elsewhere.
Somehow, despite Wolf’s name coming up, I managed to keep them from telling me details of what happened last night so Tank can tell me himself. I can’t wait.
Honestly, I didn’t think I’d be waiting this long for him to show up today.
I wonder if he’s someone who typically runs late like this.
Lateness has always struck me as not respecting someone else’s time, and that doesn’t seem to line up with Tank’s character at all.
But an hour and a half late is more than a little delay.
As though hearing my impatient thoughts, Tank arrives just then.
Because I know Winnie is watching, I try not to smile too hard at the sight of him coming through the door. It turns out to be impossible.