Page 37 of Anything for You
With another cackle, I jogged across the expanse between our houses and turned back when I reached my own front door. “I’ll never tell you!” And then I ducked inside before I could say anything to condemn myself further.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Dorian
Bear and I spent yesterday wandering around the farm taking care of small tasks to keep busy.
Mostly, we dealt with peculiar issues Pedro and Connor had mentioned, and I suspected maybe they were thanks to our pesky neighbors. Another fence post knocked down where it’d been sturdy for years. A few apple trees on one side of the small orchard picked clean and a few branches broken, almost like kids had hung on them and broken them off. They needed repairing, pruning properly, and cleaned up.
No reportable offenses, but a hassle, for sure. And it kept me busy.
At least, my body spent the day doing that. My mind passed the hours by reliving every second of my time with Dove the day before, playing those last few minutes on repeat.
Her wry smile, the embarrassed flush to her cheeks, and the way she literally ran out of my house laughing… what was she doing to me? Someone had pumped pure adrenaline into my bloodstream based on the way my pulse raced whenever she came to mind.
Also, why had she gotten so intense after washing the dishes? I had a long way to go to fully understand her, but I didn’t mind the mystery.
I’d also found a letter this morning when I stepped out on the porch.
Dear Dorian,
Thank you for tea and the delicious food. You are truly a gifted baker and cook. In your last letter you asked if I have any allergies—all clear here. As for aversions, the only thing I don’t enjoy is eggplant, and by that I mean the actual vegetable eggplant, not the insinuation an eggplant emoji implies.
I’m off to work or I would start this over, but I’ll trust, as you have so generously in the past, that you can pretend I said nothing about eggplant emojis and focus on the food. Eggplant is slimy, tastes gross, and makes my throat feel scratchy. Other than that I love it and would eat it all the time.
I don’t expect you to feed me, just to be clear. But I’d also be a fool not to make sure you know I’ve loved every bite of food you’ve made that I’ve had a chance to try, and I have no doubt that’ll continue.
Happy Sunday,
Dove
Stapling my thoughts to the food-centric matters and not her side quest into suggestive emojis, I brainstormed a number of dishes I could make that would be easily shareable and reheatable in case she got home late or at an odd hour, as she often seemed to.
This morning, I’d arrived at Saint Security for the weekly all-hands. I didn’t always attend these meetings, but I’d been feeling the itch to show my face and put in some time. Technically, I was on the books with Saint as a part-time employee, but I rarely worked twenty hours a week for them.
This afternoon, I’d need to repair a fence that’d been knocked down on the eastern border of the property so Pedro and Connor wouldn’t have to spend any more of their time on it this week. If I pitched in, it’d be done in a few hours.
As Wilder and Bruce wrapped up the meeting and the overseas Saint employees signed off of their virtual teleconference screens, everyone greeted me with enough enthusiasm to make me feel welcome, but not so much I felt the urge to run. Granted, it’d been a long time since I’d felt the desire to truly turn and leave after arriving somewhere, but I appreciated how no one tiptoed around me. They said hi, good to see you, whatever, and then they moved on with their lives.
Except Kenny, of course, who always had an extra little twinkle in his eye. But this morning, Elizabeth had slipped her hand into his and they’d snuggled into chairs side by side and he’d only glanced over at me with a big goofy grin on his face twice.
“Glad to see you’ve emerged from the castle,” Kenny said, patting my back.
“Happy to see you, too.”
And I was. They’d been over for tea a few days ago, but Kenny and Liz would be heading out on a honeymoon soon, Luc had a busy assignment coming up, and Beast had largely been tucked away with his family lately. Adam stopped by here and there, but now that I wasn’t in dire straits, he tended to text or call.
“Stone, good to have you. Can I pass you an assignments list?” Bruce asked, casual and friendly as always.
Still, my gut clenched. “Of course. First, I have an issue I wanted to bring to your attention.”
His brows rose. “An issue?”
Tristan, Wilder, and Doc sidled up right as Kenny, Elizabeth, and Luc joined the growing huddle.
“Possible issue. The commune that shares a property line with my farm is potentially escalating. They’ve been making overtures, for lack of a better term, and I thought it might be wise to have them on the radar. They weren’t involved in the events with Elise, but I’m getting a sense that wouldn’t be far off for them anymore.”
Some of this had to do with the dumping and other small things we’d noticed around the property. And some of it had to do with a gut feeling.
