Page 8 of Cruel Revenge
“We’re ordering takeout,” Landon declared, pushing his plate away as Dirk pulled out his phone.
“I’m sorry! I should have tasted it before I put it in!”
“It’s fine,” Heath and I said at the same time, jumping up to start clearing the table.
4
CHAPTER FOUR
The next morning, there was still evidence of the takeout from the night before scattered about the dining table and kitchen. Once everyone had eaten, Heath and I were too tired to care about cleaning up. Landon and Dirk snuck off before doing so. Carey had worked so hard on dinner that we didn’t eat, so no one could bring themselves to ask her if she would clean up.
Heath was making coffee, staring at the mess as I walked in.
“The boys could have handled this,” he said, frowning at it. “They keep their home quite clean and yet leave yours like this.”
“They come here to act like boys, meaning they’re going to sometimes leave the mess for us to deal with.” It was a simple fact.
“I’ve got coffee going,” he said, sighing. “Want to hand me a trash bag, and I’ll get to work?”
I grabbed two, and we made quick work of the trash from takeout. We drank our coffee as I did the dishes and he wiped down all the surfaces, making sure nothing was left behind. We were on our second cups when we finally sat down at the freshly cleaned dining table.
“Now what are we going to do for breakfast?” I asked. “I just did all the dishes from last night. Don’t particularly want to get them dirty right now.”
Heath got back up and started making breakfast anyway, but he was smart. He used only two pans to make bacon and scrambled eggs, placing two large plates in the middle of the dining table for anyone to serve themselves from. He washed those pans before he sat back down, as I waited for him to join me before eating.
“Landon and Dirk are going to be on dishes duty for thirty days,” he said simply as he made himself a plate.
“Fair enough,” I said, shrugging. So long as the dishes got done and the trash was taken out, I didn’t particularly care who did it.
We sat together for an hour before Carey stumbled into the dining area, bleary eyed from sleep, and sat down with us. Without a word, she got a plate and dished herself some food.
“Good morning,” she finally said, rubbing her eyes.
“Did you not sleep well?” Heath asked, concern for Carey overriding his frustration with Landon. I was a little concerned as well, wondering how she was possibly so tired when we all went to bed fairly early the night before.
“I was up last night reading, wanting to finish a book for class. I really liked it and couldn’t stop until I finished it.” She yawned, waving a hand to dismiss us. “It’s my own fault.”
“Ah…” I chuckled. “It happens.”
“Uh-huh,” she said, nodding as she started eating her breakfast.
Once breakfast was settled, it was time for Heath to leave. I kissed him goodbye at the door, knowing he wasn’t going far, but he was going to be hard to reach.
“Are Landon and Teagan meeting you at the packhouse to use your office there?”
“Yeah. You know I want to use my office there more, just for safety. You don’t need everything Tribunal going through your house or stomping all over your property by using the security building,” he said, touching my cheek gently. “Be safe today outside your territory.”
“I will be,” I promised, kissing him one more time. “Go on. Don’t be late.”
He nodded, then waved at Carey.
“Stay out of trouble!” he told her loudly.
“I will, Dad!” she called back. “Have a good day! Love you!”
“Love you, too!” He was grinning, then looked at me. “And I love you, too,” he said to me, kissing me back this time.
Then he left me and her at home. I looked back at her, studying the sleepy young woman.
