Chapter 13 #2
She flipped the sandwich, the cheese oozing at the edges. Her stomach growled, the scent of toasted bread and melted dairy making her mouth water. She slid the sandwich onto a plate.
“Do you want it cut die-a-bag-nel too?”
“Yes, please.”
The knife crunched through the crust as she cut it diagonally.
Kelsey clapped. “Perfect.”
Glenna lifted her off the counter and slid the plate toward her, watching as Kelsey went to sit at the table and took a huge bite, cheese stretching between her lips. “Good?”
Kelsey nodded, mouth full. “Best ever.”
“Awesome.” She turned back to the stove and grabbed her own sandwich, putting it in the pan.
Knock, knock, knock.
Glenna wiped her hands on a dish towel, pulse kicking up.
Stupid.
I’m blowing it all out of proportion.
He probably didn’t even notice.
It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen him since this morning. But the way her skin prickled, you’d think he’d been gone for weeks.
Kelsey’s head snapped toward the door, her eyes lighting up. “Zorro.”
Glenna turned the stove off and crossed the small kitchen to pull the door open before she could second-guess it.
Tyrone filled the frame, his broad shoulders nearly brushing the jamb.
Sunlight haloed him, turning his dark hair into a mess of shadows and gold, his jaw stubbled in that way that made him look like he’d just rolled out of bed—or a fight.
His eyes flicked to hers, then down to her mouth, before he seemed to catch himself.
“Hey.”
“Hey yourself.” Glenna stepped back, holding the door wider. “You’re just in time. We’re making grilled cheese.”
Kelsey wriggled off the stool and bolted past Glenna, latching onto Tyrone’s leg like a barnacle. “It’s extra crispy.”
Tyrone’s lips twitched. He ruffled her hair, his big hand swallowing the top of her head. “Yeah? That’s my favorite kind.”
Glenna crossed her arms, leaning against the counter. “Funny. Kelsey just told me you like yours cut die-a-bag-nel.”
A flush crept up the back of his neck. “Die-a-bag-nel, yeah, it’s pretty.”
What happened to tactical?
Somehow, it kind of felt like he wasn’t talking about the sandwich.
“Uh-huh.” She gestured to the pan. “You eaten?”
He hesitated a beat, but she caught it. “Not yet.”
Glenna turned back to the stove, hiding her smile. “Then you’re in luck.” She didn’t ask if he wanted one. She just flipped her sandwich, finished cooking it, and dropped more butter into the pan, letting it melt and foam.
Tyrone hovered near the door, his boots scuffing against the tile. “I can?—”
“Sit.” Glenna pointed the spatula at the small dining table tucked against the wall. “Unless you’d rather stand there like a sentry blocking all the sunlight.”
Kelsey giggled, already climbing into a chair. “Zorro always stands like a sentry.”
“Traitor,” Tyrone muttered, but he pulled out the chair beside Kelsey and sank into it, his movements careful, like he was afraid of breaking something. The chair creaked under his weight.
Glenna flipped the sandwich, the cheese hissing where it met the pan. “So. What’s the real reason you’re here? Or do you just have a sixth sense for grilled cheese?”
The spatula clinked against the plate as Glenna slid the sandwich onto it, the cheese still bubbling at the edges. She cut it and set it in front of Tyrone. His fingers brushed hers as he took the plate, the callouses rough against her skin.
“Thanks.” His thumb traced the back of her hand.
Her breath hitched, and the kitchen shrunk about ten feet, narrowing until all she could focus on was the warmth that swept through her.
A muscle feathered in his jaw. “You didn’t have to?—”
“I know.” Her pulse hammered in her throat. “I wanted to.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed, as his gaze flicked to her mouth. The sandwich lay forgotten on the table.
Kelsey’s voice cut through the tension, bright and unguarded. “Mommy, can I have some water?”
Glenna flinched, the spell broken. She turned too fast, her hip knocking against the counter.
“Yeah. Yeah, of course.” She grabbed the bottle from the fridge, her hands steadying as she poured.
Tyrone exhaled through his nose as if he’d been holding his breath. He picked up the sandwich, took a bite.
Glenna set the drink in front of Kelsey, her fingers lingering on the glass. “Eat up. Because next is bath time.”
Kelsey wrinkled her nose. “Bath time?”
“Yes, bath time. You’ve been in the pool, chicky.”
I can eat later.
Lord, he must think I’m an idiot.
“I’m going to run your bath, Kelsey. You finish the sandwich, ‘kay?” She didn’t wait for an answer and made her escape.
The faucet shrieked as she twisted the knob, but water gushed into the tub and it wasn’t cloudy like the stuff that came out of the shower at her last apartment. She adjusted the temperature with jerky movements, her fingers slipping on the polished chrome.
Too hot.
Too cold.
Too hot.
Damn it.
A shudder wracked her shoulders.
Stupid. She was being stupid. It was just a look. A moment. The kind of thing that happened when two people got too close to a stove and the air got thick with more than just the scent of burning butter.
It meant nothing.
She crouched, pressing her forehead against the cool porcelain of the tub. The water rose, steam curling around her face.
But damn if I wouldn’t climb him like the tree he is.
No. No, no, no.
She wasn’t here for that. She wasn’t here for anything but Kelsey.
For the first time in months and months, she had her daughter back, safe and laughing and alive, and she wasn’t about to screw that up because her pulse did a stupid little flip every time the big, bad, oh-so-pretty Tyrone Power walked into a room.
She grabbed the bottle of bubble bath from the shelf and dumped a glug into the water. Bubbles foamed instantly, rising in a frothy white tide. When she turned she caught her reflection in the mirror over the sink. Who the hell was she kidding?
I’d totally climb him like a tree.
In a heartbeat.
Without a second thought.
The water sloshed against the sides of the tub, nearing the rim. She reached out, cutting the flow with a sharp twist. The sudden silence was worse. It left room for the echo of her own heartbeat, the traitorous thud-thud-thud of it in her ears.
A knock rattled the door.
Glenna yelped, whirling toward it, one hand clutching the towel she hadn’t even realized she’d grabbed.
“Mommy?” Kelsey’s voice, muffled but clear. “The water running?”
Glenna exhaled, pressing a hand to her sternum like she could slow her heart by sheer force. “Yeah, baby. Bath’s ready.”
The doorknob jiggled. “Can I come in?”
“Yes, the bath’s all set.”
Kelsey peeked past her, eyes widening at the mountain of bubbles. “Whoa. It’s like a cloud.”
“A very smelly cloud.” Glenna ruffled her hair, steering her toward the tub. “C’mon, shark-bait. Let’s get you cleaned up before you start growing gills.”
Kelsey giggled, already kicking off her shorts. The water sloshed as she sank into the bubbles, her small body disappearing up to her chin. “It’s perfect,” she sighed, leaning back. “Can we do this every day?”
Glenna’s chest ached. She crouched beside the tub, dipping her fingers into the water. “We’ll see.”
Kelsey’s eyes flew open. “That means no.”
“It means we’ll see,” Glenna repeated, but her voice cracked on the words.
Kelsey splashed her, bubbles flying. “You’re weird.”
Just you wait, child. With me and Dwight as your parents, weird is in your DNA.
She grabbed the washcloth from the rack and dunked it into the water. “Less talking, more scrubbing. You’ve got grilled cheese grease in your hair.”
Kelsey groaned, but she tilted her head back, letting Glenna drag the cloth over her scalp. The suds lathered white and thick, the scent of lavender wrapping around them both.
Glenna’s hands stilled and just for a second—just a second—she let herself pretend.
Pretend this was their life. Pretend there wasn’t a world outside this bathroom where men with guns and war in their eyes decided who lived and who died.
Pretend she wasn’t a woman who’d spent the last few years clawing her way through the dark, only to be plucked out by a man who carried his own storms inside him.
Kelsey’s small voice cut through the fantasy. “Mommy?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“Do you think Zorro’s still out there?”
Glenna’s throat went dry. She rinsed the cloth, wrung it out with too much force. “Probably.”
Kelsey chewed her lip. “He looked… weird.”
“Weird how?”
“Like he was gonna say something. But then he didn’t.” She splashed the water with her toes. “Like when you want to tell me I can’t have dessert, but then you give me extra anyway.”
Glenna’s breath hitched. She forced her voice light. “Well. Maybe he just really likes grilled cheese.”
Kelsey didn’t look convinced. But she let Glenna scrub behind her ears, let her rinse the suds from her hair, let her pretend for just a little longer that the world outside this bathroom didn’t exist.