Page 59 of The Hearts We've Broken
“See? That wasn’t so bad. You did better than Isa would have. She would have grumbled the entire time.” She shook her head in amusement. “Come on, let’s go. We’ll be back to the trailers in no time.”
I had to hand it to her, it was a lot quicker than I imagined walking all the way around would have been. Illegal? Probably. Practical? Meh. Efficient? Yes.
“I don’t anticipate this rain stopping anytime soon, so I probably won’t come back out tonight,” Ellison said when we got to the lot. “We’ve got an early morning tomorrow, though, anyway. We need to get back on the road.”
“All right, well goodnight, then.” I waved to her as I approached Mikey’s trailer. “See you in the morning.”
Ellison dipped her chin. “See ya.”
For someone living in the trailer year-round, Mikeydidn’t have a lot of food. It looked like he had a bunch of protein powder, whole wheat bread, and a hell of a lot of meat.
I managed to scrounge up some noodles, tomato sauce, and ground beef to make spaghetti. I knew he’d be hungry after riding, and it looked like the food vendors had packed up early to get out of the rain, so it was unlikely that he would have been able to get anything. And he needed a big meal with carbs and protein to help replenish his muscles, not instant ramen or a granola bar.
Even though it needed some tidying, the trailer was really nice. I had a hunch that Mikey really only used it for sleeping, sleepingwithwomen, and storage. In the short time I’d been around him in Silver Creek, it seemed like he was always at the gym, Colter’s place, or the bar.
After defrosting the beef, I filled a pot with water and set it on the stove to boil. While I waited, I picked up some things, leaving the questionable-looking stuff for Mikey to take care of. When the water was ready, I tossed in the noodles and started browning the meat, seasoning it with what he had: salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. I would have liked some Italian seasoning in there, too, but it didn’t look like he had any.
After adding tomato sauce, I covered the meat sauce and waited for the spaghetti to finish cooking. Right around the time that I started to drain them was when Mikey opened the door.
He sniffed the air. “What’s going on here?”
I turned around, pot in one hand, strainer in the other. “I’m making you dinner. When was the last time you cooked in here?”
He shrugged, tugging off his boots and leaving them on the step. He started to pull off his muddy jeans, too,and I spun around, a bit of water splashing out of the pot onto my fingers.
“Ow, fuck.” I hissed, immediately setting the pot down to bring my finger up to my mouth.
“What happened?” Audible panic laced in his tone, and he rushed over to me, wearing only boxers and his socks.
My eyes swept up and down his body, from his toned abs to the bulge in his underwear. Shaking my head to snap out of it, I dismissed the concern. “I’m fine. I just burnt myself.”
Mikey grabbed my hand, inspecting my fingers. “Looks like you got yourself good. Run that under some cold water. I’ll finish the rest of this.”
“It’s fine, I?—”
Before I could finish protesting, he gently set his hands on my hips, moving me aside as he grabbed the boiling pot. He drained the pasta before setting it back on the stove and reached to turn on the cold water for the sink.
“Baby, it’s going to hurt worse if you don’t do something about it.”
I tried to ignore the way the pet name made my toes tingle. Still taken aback by the entire interaction, I reluctantly ran my hand under the tap. The coolness instantly relieved the angry welt on my fingers.
“I wanted to do somethingfor you,” I whined.
“All I did was drain the pasta and mix it in the sauce. Don’t worry about it.” He handed me a bowl of spaghetti and a fork.
He dished his up next and took a seat at the table, moving the stacks of mail closer to the window to make room.
I slid in the booth on the side across from him,spinning my fork in the pasta before blowing on it to cool it down. I didn’t need to burn the inside of my mouth tonight, too.
A low groan rose from Mikey’s throat after he took his first bite. “Damn, Peach, this is some good stuff. Don’t tell Ellison, but I think you’ve got her beat.”
Warmth spread throughout my cheeks, and I brushed a strand of hair out of my face. “Thanks. It’s just a simple recipe, but it’s a good source of carbs that I figured you’d need.”
“I appreciate it. A lot. Nobody’s ever done something this thoughtful for me after a rodeo. I’m usually left to fend for myself.” He looked away for a second, as though he was embarrassed by the admission.
“I don’t mind at all. It’s the least I could do.”
We finished eating in silence. Mikey kissed the top of my hand before setting our bowls in the sink and heading toward the bathroom.
