Page 79 of Dark Endures

My body aches from lying in one spot for such a long time. It needs a long slow stretch, but that would be too awkward with him watching. I stand up and the blanket I forgot about falls to the ground. Maddox grabs it before my brain can even process that I need to pick it up.

“Are you cold? Would you like to use this while you eat?”

And get that incredibly soft blanket dirty. “No, thank you.”

He frowns and places it on the arm of the couch I was sleeping on.

“What’s for dinner?”

“Comfort food.” He lifts the lid on two massive bowls of potato soup, two chicken pot pies, and the biggest slice of apple pie I’ve ever seen.

There’s no way we should be able to even come close to finishing all that food. But I’m sure going to give it a try.

“What would you like to drink?”

Beer would go amazing with this meal, but I’m far too sleepy to drink. I’m liable to say something I’ll regret later. “Water would be great. Thank you.”

The creamy potato soup calls to me first. I give it a little stir and scoop up the perfect bite of potato, onion, and sausage. “Hmmm.”

“Good?” Maddox opens a glass bottle of water and sets it down in front of me before opening his own and sitting down.

It takes all my decades of ingrained manners to stop piling the food down my throat and answer him. “Delicious.”

We eat in companionable silence for a long time. It’s hard not to stare at Maddox.

Why did I have to end up with a boss who looks like him and, even worse, is kind and thoughtful? It would be so much easier to avoid staring at him if he was neither of those things.

“Maddox.” A teenage boy storms into his office.

Is that his brother?

They look nothing alike, but that doesn’t mean anything.

“I’m busy,” Maddox snaps out.

The boy actually looks where we’re sitting. “Oh.”

“Go away, Everett.”

It seems Everett doesn’t listen very well because he walks right over to our table, pulling up a chair as he does.

“Hi, I’m Everett Jaymes.” The boy holds out a hand like we’re being formally introduced.

“Nice to meet you, Everett. My name is Mindy Peters.”

He leans forward. “So are you dating Maddox?”

I laugh at the ridiculousness of that question. Like Maddox would date a woman like me. “No.”

“Are you one of the grown-up kids?”

Huh? That makes no sense.

“Everett.” Maddox’s tone is scary.

“I’m just being friendly. I’ve never met Mindy before and I’ve met everyone on The Street. What do you do around here, Mindy? You don’t look like you’re in security or business.”

The kid is precocious and not in the least bit scared of Maddox. They’ve got to be related. “I take care of the snakes.”

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