Page 44 of The Fortunate Ones
I didn’t even remember falling asleep. One minute we’d been lying there, talking, holding hands, and the next the sun was setting and my back was reminding me I was nearly fifty years old.
Diego climbed to his feet with a stretch. “Need help standing?” he asked, amusement twinkling in his eyes. He didn’t call me an old man, but it was a near thing.
I playfully scowled at him before climbing to my feet because I wasn’t that pathetic, thank you very much.
“How long were we out for?” I asked, twisting this way and that.
“A couple of hours.” He sounded as surprised as I was. Rest wasn’t easy for Diego, and while he tended to nap more than sleep through the night, it didn’t usually happen outside like this.
I checked my phone. It was a little after five, almost time for dinner. Most nights, Mav and I alternated cooking, since Skye and Brooks couldn’t be trusted near a stove on their own, Diego usually needed to be dragged out of his office for family dinners, and Luca still thought food magically appeared, freshly preparedand ready to eat. His chef still came in a couple of times a week, but since Mav and I both enjoyed cooking, we tried to do it as much as possible. Luckily, it was his turn tonight because I was out of it.
“C’mon, let’s head back to the house and see if Mav started dinner yet.”
CHAPTER 17
MAVERICK
I keptmy back to the boys as I got the beef ready for the stew I was preparing, but I had my full attention on them. Matty was showing Everett how to cut vegetables while chatting casually with him.
Everett seemed a lot more settled than he had been last night. Matty had made the right call in asking us not to pressure him for answers immediately. His shoulders were no longer glued to his ears, and he’d lost a bit of that wild look in his hazel eyes.
“Thank you for showing me how to do this,” Everett said in a quiet voice. “I used to bake with Mama before she died, but no one ever showed me how to chop vegetables. Mama was afraid to let me use the big knife. And then after, well . . . I was only allowed to work.”
I slammed the pot down on the stove with a little more force than I intended, causing both Everett and Matty to jump.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. Matty raised an eyebrow in question, but I dipped my head, letting him know I was fine. I doubted he believed me, the kid was way too fucking perceptive, but he turned back to Everett anyway. I barely knew the guy and I was ready to dig up his aunt and uncle and kill them again. I shookmy head, trying to get my shit together. I was already taking this job too personally. Like with Matty, there was something about Everett that had me latching onto him as more than a client.
“I didn’t learn until recently, too,” Matty added, tone light. “We always had chefs growing up, and at boarding school, there was a cafeteria that cooked our meals. I spent some time in Finland before moving here, and the guy I was living with, he, um, showed me some stuff.”
It amazed me how Matty could compartmentalize like that. The guy he’d lived with had eventually sold him off without a second thought, but Matty had brushed past that, only mentioning the positive. I guessed it made sense. I wasn’t sure Everett was ready to learn about that.
“Anyway,” Matty continued, “since I’ve been here, Maverick and Wes have taught me a lot. I really like it. It’s relaxing.” Matty grinned, looking a lot more like the teenager he was than he typically did. All these damn kids had to grow up too fast. “No matter what he says, don’t let Brooks cook. Last time he tried, he forgot he was making spaghetti and nearly killed us all.”
I snorted, though it wasn’t an exaggeration. All the water had evaporated and the pasta had been a disgusting, charred mess glued to the bottom of the pot before the smoke detector had finally gone off and Luca had come in to investigate. Brooks had been outside throwing knives, having completely forgotten he had been cooking.
“Really?” Poor Everett sounded kind of terrified. “Was he punished?”
Before I could even think about how to answer that, Matty responded, “Not the way you’re thinking. Trust me when I tell you that you do not want details about their relationship, but no one would ever hurt Brooks. Or any of us.” Matty’s voice dropped. “You’re safe here, Ev. I promise.”
Everett made a soft sound in the back of his throat, and it took everything in me not to turn around. I thought he had forgotten I was in the room, and I didn’t want to ruin the moment by reminding him.
The beef seasoned, I scraped it into the pan I had heating to sear it, trying to be as quiet as possible. My mind was going in a million different directions, which was unusual for me. I didn’t like it. I could understand why Brooks was often so unsettled if this was what his brain felt like all the fucking time. It made me want to go find him, hug him, and then put him on his knees until his brain got quiet.
Tattooed arms wrapped around my waist. I relaxed, turning away from the stove to greet Brooks.
“Hey, brat. You psychic or something? I was just thinking about you.”
Brooks made an adorable face of confusion, his lips all pouty. I kissed them.
“Better have been good things. Or sexy things. That would be okay too.”
My eyes darted to the boys, who had finally finished cutting the veggies and were bringing them over to me so I could get them prepped. “Maybe a little bit of both,” I told Brooks before gently pulling away from him so I could take the cutting board from Matty.
“Thanks.” I looked at Everett, who was hanging back. “Do you want to add them to the beef?”
He chewed on his lip, contemplating like I had asked him to solve the nuclear crisis or some shit. “I’m allowed?”
“‘Course.” Matty handed Everett the tray of veggies with an encouraging smile. The kid’s hands were shaking as he grabbed it. He took very careful steps toward me and then waited for instructions.
