Page 44 of Country Contract

“Is your sister ever here?” I ask Silas as I work through a cup of vegetable soup and fresh bread. It’s divine and everything I needed after this chilly day. The herbs are robust, and thevegetables taste fantastic. I wonder if they get their ingredients from Harrison’s family farm.

“Cece? She’s here in the morning cooking and helping out, but she has her own stuff going on in the evening. She wants to open an art and dance studio, but we already have something like that at the rec center. I don’t pry too much.”

“I like a girl with ideas. Well, let her know I’d like to meet her, compliment the chef on another five-star meal.” I say as I rip a piece of bread and dip it into the broth.

“We call that garbage soup, you know,” he states, unimpressed.

I pause before tossing the bread into my mouth, holding it between my fingertips as I decide if I want to continue eating or not.

“Why?”

“Because she makes that when she doesn’t know what to make. She says it’s a hodgepodge meal or something like that.”

“Well shit, if this is just tossed together, I bet the rest of her cooking skills are impossible to beat. You think if she opens a dance studio, it will fail?”

“No, I think her idea is great. She’s already the dance instructor at the rec center and often has to fight for the space. I just don’t want her dumping money into anything. She’s young.” Silas dries a few more cups and starts putting them away. He’s made an effort to talk to me each time I’ve been here before this visit. Tonight, he’s a little more reserved. I find myself having to pull the conversation out of him.

“She’s lucky to have such a great big brother.” I pull out my phone to read for leisure as I eat, assuming our conversation is done.

Meg: I’m not cyberstalking your future husband or anything, but he was seen at Tiffany & Co. today.

Me: You are cyberstalking, and it’s likely a gift for a girlfriend he already has to make sure she doesn’t get mad about his upcoming business proposal.

Meg: Oh, that would be juicy, and then she would be all like, OMG I love it. I will never leave your side. Then you’ll come back, and your future hubby will be all, I can’t see you anymore, Harlow is the girl of my dreams. Then she’ll slander him on the gram. It will be epic.

I roll my eyes. The imagination on this one.

Me: My life is not some daytime soap.

Meg: Seems like it these days.

Me: You’ll never guess what I did yesterday.

Meg: Is this a Facetime kind of thing?

Me: Probably.

INCOMING CALL: MEG

I decline the call.

Me: I’m out to eat right now. I’ll call you when I get back to the house.

Meg: I’ll be waiting ;)

When I look up, I notice Silas typing away on his phone too, a mischievous smile on his face.

Looks like he’s talking to someone important.

I read a self-published thriller written by an indie author. I like to pick these books up on my e-reader. I think supporting them is great, plus I’ve reached out to a few and now they’re working with West Media. It’s cool to see indie authors’ dreams come true.

Lost in my book, I barely register Silas dropping off another drink in front of me—a spiked coffee with a cookie.

“You guys have cookies?” I ask, quirking my head.

“No, my sister made those for me, but I think they’re good with coffee.”

It’s an oatmeal cookie with cranberries and white chocolate, and it pairs with the coffee just as perfectly as he led on.

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