Page 78 of Timid (Lark Cove 2)

“Want to get out the syrup and butter?” I asked. “These are about done.”

“You bet.” He took his coffee into the living room along with our supplies and put it all down next to the plates I’d already set out.

I didn’t know how he could sleep through the noise I made in the kitchen each morning, but I figured it was because he was simply dog-tired. He’d gotten here late last night after closing down the bar.

I’d opted for a night at home instead of keeping him company, and I’d been surprised that he’d had to stay until closing for an early-October Thursday. When I’d called down to the bar to check on him around midnight, he’d told me there’d been a group of bow hunters who’d come in looking to unwind after a long, unsuccessful week of hiking in the mountains. I’d been dead to the world when he’d climbed into bed sometime around three.

Luckily, neither of us had anywhere to be this morning so we’d slept in and were having a late breakfast.

I took the final pieces of french toast out of the pan and shut off the stove. Then I gathered it all up and took it into the living room,

setting our food on the coffee table, which doubled as my dining room. I settled into the couch next to Jackson and served him up five pieces.

I’d made ten because I knew he’d be hungry. That, and because I still hadn’t figured out exactly the right egg-to-bread ratio for two people.

“Well?” I asked after he’d slathered his toast in butter and syrup and shoved a huge bite in his mouth. “What do you think?”

He grinned, his mouth full as he spoke. “Love it.”

“Good.” I smiled, cutting up my own bite.

I’d been on a mission to teach Jackson about breakfast over the last month. One morning, not long after he’d started sleeping with me, I’d asked him about his favorite breakfast foods. He’d just shrugged, saying that breakfast had never been a big deal and he mostly ate cold cereal.

I didn’t do cold cereal. And breakfast was a big deal.

Everyone deserved to wake up to the smell of bacon and warm syrup.

So I’d taken it upon myself to make breakfast a special meal for him. I didn’t make us feasts every day, mostly just eggs and some kind of meat—his muscles required protein. But once a week, I’d make something new. So far, his favorite was my biscuits and sausage gravy. He’d loved my crepes too.

There would be no more granola bars, Pop-Tarts or Frosted Flakes if I had anything to say about it.

“Are you working today?” he asked.

“Yeah. I need to go in for a little while and pay some bills. And I want to make sure everything on my checklist is done for winter.”

We’d had a few cold nights this past week where the temperature had dropped to nearly freezing. The last thing I needed at camp was a broken water pipe, so I was going to triple-check that we were prepped for snow.

“You don’t have to be at the bar until four, right? Want to come with me?”

He shook his head, swallowing a bite. “I can’t, babe. Sorry. Thea wants me to come down to talk about a few things.”

“What things? Is she okay?”

“She’s good. I’m sure she just wants to go over some numbers. She likes to bore me to death with the bar’s finances at least once a month.”

I giggled. “Don’t ever let my mother know how much you hate accounting, okay? It would crush her.”

Jackson laughed too, forking another bite. “Nah. Betty loves me no matter what.”

He wasn’t wrong. Mom was overjoyed that he and I were dating. Dad was too. They were both trying to let us have our space, but I’d definitely noticed a change in their routine.

Our weekly dinners, the ones that had always been on Saturday nights, were now more fluid. If Jackson was working on Saturday, they rescheduled to a night when he was free, even when I’d offer to just come over alone. And those two had eaten more meals at the bar over the last month than they had in the past year combined. One or both had a constant “hankering” for pizza these days.

I actually thought it was kind of endearing how much they loved spending time with Jackson. I loved spending all my time with him too.

“After I get done at the camp, I’m going to do some cleaning and laundry. But then I’ll come down and keep you company for dinner.”

“Sounds good,” he said. “I’ll be there whenever you come down.”