Page 46 of The Huckleberry Bookshop

Chad, who’d been hanging his jacket in an enormous entryway closet, turned her way. His face became expressionless, locking her out just like he had on that first day in the dietary clinic. He turned back to the closet, carefully shutting the doors. “My sister.”

“I didn’t know you had a sister.”

“I did.”

“Oh.” She looked back at the photo, noting the joy, the closeness.

Did.

This young girl was gone.

Athena glanced back at Chad, but the stiffness in his shoulders made it clear he was done talking. “I’ll be in the kitchen.”

She shut herself in the powder room, wondering what had happened to his sister. She thought of Meddy and how devastating it would be to lose her.

Chad’s sister in a wheelchair.

Her own mother in hers.

Did she and Chad have more in common than she’d realized?

The photo shoot he had been at for parents of children with special needs had to be related to his sister somehow. The man was a never-ending mystery, a tired soul who locked everything in instead of wearing it on his sleeve.

She flushed the toilet, reading the sign above it. Go ahead, make yourself comfortable. No, not that comfortable. Keep your clothes on. Don’t make things awkward.

A bubble of laughter broke free before she could contain it. She could have guessed that Chad would be all about encouraging people to take their clothes off in his apartment. Especially the fairer sex.

As she stood at the sink, she looked up, taking a moment to realize the small, opaque glass light above her was actually a skylight, allowing the city’s lights to filter in. She washed her hands, then gently touched a couple of polished stones on a narrow shelf below the mirror. A black opal that reminded her of a mood ring, ready to shine with streaks of different colors. A plain gray pebble shaped similar to a lopsided heart. And her favorite, which held a fossilized leaf imprint.

Did Chad collect cool-looking rocks in his pockets when he went out on a walk, taking them home?

She exited the bathroom after drying her hands on possibly the plushest towel she’d ever laid fingers upon. Following a clattering sound, she passed a spacious living room with cozy-looking couches piled with worn, sun-faded cushions.

To her right she found Chad, standing with his back to her in a dazzling kitchen of her dreams. A white quartz gigantic island sat in the middle, and a half a dozen stools lined up on the sitting room side. There were no walls between the two areas and she could only imagine how amazing the natural light must be during the day.

The beautiful island top was bare, the usual assorted junk that tended to accumulate on kitchen counters strangely absent. However, built into the island’s side were three shelves, where a dark brown basket spilled over with miscellanea. Everything from phone charger cords, papers and other common necessities nobody knew how to organize.

Below that was a haphazard stack of cookbooks. The top one looked well-thumbed, the edges stained, the book puffed up because of wrinkled pages. The cookbook was hers, and it was not, by the looks of things, being used as a doorstop as she’d erroneously assumed.

She gently pulled it from the pile, keeping her eyes on Chad, who still had his back to her as he filled a glass at the sink. To his left and right was a who’s-who lineup of kitchen gadgets and electronics. An air fryer, mixer, blender, slow cooker, bread machine… Everything you could buy and plug in seemed to be there. And they were no longer perfectly pristine, either.

Athena flipped open her cookbook and skimmed the margin’s handwritten notes. It was clear why Chad asked such intelligent questions during their video filming.

Chad Mullens cooked. And he used her recipes.

She didn’t know this man at all.

And for some reason, she really liked that idea.

Mullens said nothing as Athena gently closed her cookbook and set it back on the shelf.

“Thought you might be thirsty,” he said, sliding a fresh glass of water toward her.

“Thanks.” She perched on a stool, taking in his kitchen. “Nice and big.”

“Are you talking about my kitchen or something else?”

She choked on a sip of water, then sent him an exasperated look. He could have sworn that beneath it a smile was fighting to break through.

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