5
Selah
I don't know what I expected when I opened the door to meet Edison's uncle, but it certainly wasn't the man standing in front of me.
I thought that Beckett Kade might just be a slightly more presentable version of Charlie Kade. All I knew about him from Sheriff Rockwell is that he lives in Manhattan.
But besides the striking blue eyes, there's zero similarities between the two brothers appearance wise. Looking at Beckett makes me realize how mysterious genetics really can be.
He steps past the woman he is with, continuing to run his eyes over me. He stretches out one of his large hands towards me. I look down at it, my eyes tracing over the tattoos there, feeling temporarily mesmerized until he speaks.
"He's my half -brother. And you're Selah, right?" he asks, his gruff voice snapping my attention back to his eyes.
"Yup..yes! That's me. Hi," I stammer, chuckling nervously. His hand engulfs mine and he holds it for a moment, studying my face. His stare is a bit unnerving, but I find myself unable to move as I allow him to take inventory of my features.
His eyes remind me of Edison's, except where Edison's light blue reminds me of the sky, Beckett's are intimidating. Especially when he holds them on you like he is doing to me right now.
This man's presence is powerful, and I wish I could have made a better introduction than my rambling apology about why I didn't answer the door more quickly.
But it wouldn't be my life if I had met a gorgeous stranger and not been an awkward mess.
"I'm Beckett Kade, and this is my Assistant, Helen. Thank you for having us over, Selah," he says.
I realize that they are still standing on the porch, and my hand is still in his. I pull it back and he frowns at me, strangely looking displeased that I let go.
"It's no trouble at all," I respond, ignoring his frown and moving so that they can come inside. "Come in, please."
They both look around as they enter my house. I feel a bit self-conscious now that they are here and not the normal people I expected at all. I swear the watch Beckett has on costs more than everything I have in this house.
But if he is unimpressed with his surroundings he doesn't show it at all. Instead he looks down at my bare feet, then bends down to unlace his dress shoes, slipping them off of his feet one at a time.
His Assistant observes what he is doing and follows suit, taking off her heels too. He takes their shoes and puts them neatly with the ones I have on my shoe rack by the door.
"Thank you," I say quietly, smiling at his manners.
He nods, the corner of his mouth lifting, and I try not to stare at his full lips. I turn around and walk them into the living room, looking around for Edison.
I call out his name and he runs into the living room a few moments later, stopping short when he sees Beckett and Helen there. His neck tips backwards to look up at Beckett, swallowing hard as he takes in his tall stature.
Edison moves to stand closer to me, his small hand taking a hold of the side of my apron as he looks between Beckett and Helen.
Beckett sees his discomfort and stoops down so they are eye-to-eye. He looks down at Edison's shirt, then back into his eyes that I'm sure are familiar to him.
"You a big Ninja Turtles fan?" he asks, pointing to Edison's t-shirt.
Edison looks down, holding out the shirt with his hands. "Yeah," he responds timidly.
"Cool. I like Leonardo, how about you?" Beckett asks.
Edison's eyes widen, "He's my favorite too," he says, pointing to the Ninja Turtle with a blue bandanna wrapped around his eyes, jumping high on his shirt. "He has the best moves!"
Beckett nods, "Of course he does. I bet you're a big fan of pizza too then, huh?" He says, rubbing his stubble covered jaw.
"Yup! Especially pepperoni," Edison says, moving closer to Beckett.
"That's the best topping for sure," Beckett agrees, then his face turns serious. "Do you know who I am, Edison?"
"You're my uncle. Uncle Beckett," Edison responds, looking at him more closely. "Ms. Selah said you were coming."
Beckett holds out his hand to shake Edison's, "That I am. And this is my Assistant, Helen."
Edison shakes Beckett's hand, then gives Helen a small wave, and she nods, "Hi Edison," she greets earnestly.
Beckett stands back up and looks at me, and I run a hand over my hair, feeling nervous with his eyes on me again. "Well I was just going to give Edison dinner before he went with you all, but I lost track of time," I say.
"Do you want to have dinner with us?!" Edison chimes in excitedly. "Ms. Selah is a great cook!"
I tense up at the thought of having unexpected dinner guest, but then Beckett smiles down at Edison. The man was gorgeous before, but seeing him smile just makes me want to melt into a puddle on my own wood floor.
"Well that would be nice," Beckett says, moving his attention towards me. "Would you mind, Selah?"
The way he looks at me makes me want to say yes to whatever question he asks. I find myself nodding without even realizing it.
"I-yes, yes, sure. I made plenty of food," I say quickly, looking over at my kitchen. "Come have a seat and I'll get everyone a plate."
I hurry into the kitchen while I hear Edison striking up another conversation about Ninja Turtles with Beckett. I get out some plates and realize my hands are shaking as I set them down on my counter.
I'm normally a pretty introverted person around other adults, and the only people I've had over to my house since moving in here last Fall have been a few of my girlfriends I’ve grown close to.
It's definitely not like me to have people that are total strangers over for dinner, but I know that Edison could probably use a little more time to get used to being around Beckett before he leaves with him.
He's had a rough two days, and I felt like he was just starting to feel a little settled. But now he has to leave, and start over again.
"Can I help you?"
I whip around to see Beckett walking into my little kitchen and I nearly drop the forks I'm holding in my hand.
He strolls into my space as if he's been here a million times before, and his gaze moves from me, to inspect the stove, "Lasagna, my favorite," he proclaims.
"Really?" I squeak, then clear my throat. "It's my favorite too."
He gives me a faint smile, "How about you plate and I'll be your server?" he says, coming to stand next to me.
I give him a grateful smile, trying to act like my heart isn't racing underneath my dress and apron. "That would be great. Thank you Beckett," I say, getting my spatula out of the drawer.
I fill four plates with lasagna and he carries each of them to the table while I go in the fridge to take out the salad I made. I get out some bowls and divide the salad into each of them, as Beckett comes back in and opens a cabinet.
"Where are your glasses, Selah?" he asks.
"Oh! I forgot," I say, moving over to him and opening another cabinet. "I can get everyone a drink. I don't have many options but-"
He takes the glasses from me and I blink at him in surprise. "Water is sufficient, and I'll handle it, no worries," he says, going over to my fridge.
We work together to get everything on the table, then call Helen and Edison over. They take their seats, and Beckett pulls out a chair for me to sit. I say a quiet, "Thank you," before sitting down and scooting in. He sits down next to me and watches me as I pick up my fork.
"Thank you for having us over, Selah. And thank you for taking care of Edison while.." Beckett's voice trails off as he glances at Edison. "While I made my way here."
"It was no trouble at all. Edison is an amazing boy," I say smiling over at him. "Please, everyone go ahead and eat."