Page 60 of Feels Like Home

And the low chuckle when he heard me suck in a deep breath after he stretched his arm across the back of the couch wasanother.

“Payback could be brutal,” I murmured tohim.

“Oh, I’m counting on it,” he whisperedback.

So, this morning when I woke up, I decided Operation: What Goes Around Comes Around will commence after Bri and Grady arrive. I figure I’ve been wearing far too many clothes on this trip and my skin could use a little kiss from the sun. When we go outside a little later, I think I need to lie out by the pond. In myswimsuit.

It might not be the most unique of paybacks, but I’m using what’s in myarsenal.

But until then, I have a couple of hungry boys on myhands.

“Help me make the marinara sauce for the lasagna tonight? Bri and Grady are coming up early, and I’m sure they’ll be hungry. Then you guys can have a snack or something to tide you over until lunch. You know, since we ate breakfast a whole hour ago,” I ask them both, noticing they smirked at my use of the word snack. So childish, I’msure.

“Sure.”

Shrug.

Smile.

Fourteen-year-old boys. Talking my earoff.

But nevertheless, we all get towork.

I give them each a job, and minutes later the three of us are working so well in the kitchen one would think we’d done it a million times. I show them how to chop the onions and garlic, and they laugh at the tears streaming down their faces before sautéing thevegetables.

They help me brown the hamburger and sausage, open the cans of tomatoes, measure out spices. They work hard and ask questions wherenecessary.

So often, when I’m with the boys, Andy is with us. For obvious reasons. This time alone with them is just what I needed. Especially with everything that’s been happening lately. Between Bri getting closer to graduation and Heather being, well…Heather.

“Thank you for showing us this, Christine,” Aidan saysquietly.

“Yeah. It’s actually kind of fun,” Reeceadds.

“Did you not expect it tobe?”

“Not really. I mean, it’scooking.”

“It’s not just cooking, though. It’s creating and providing and learning a skill you’ll need for the rest of your lives. Trust me, one day you’ll be thanking me that you have these recipes to fall back on. The girls love a guy whocooks.”

“Is that right?” Andy’s deep voice cuts in. I look toward the sound and see him leaning a shoulder against the wall, watchingus.

I nod my head and narrow myeyes.

“You got backearly.”

He pushes off the wall and saunters across the tile floor in mydirection.

“Doesn’t take much time to grab bait. I see you guys found something to keep you busy?” he asks, his eyesblazing.

“Yeah,” I croak out. “Boys helped me with the sauce for the lasagnatonight.”

“Isee.”

“Lots of cooking,” I say nervously when his eyes seem to be readingeverything.

“So it seems,” hemurmurs.

“Wanna try the sauce, Dad?” Aidan asks, snapping the moment that was becoming electric betweenus.

---