Katie and Savannah immediately flinched and looked up. Their spoons crashed to the table.
Lissa got to her feet and pulled out a chair for him. She patted the seat. "Here, sit down. The food's ready."
Jack eyed all three of them warily, noticing the quivering smiles that hovered on their faces. They were having fun; he could feel it in the air. Longing spilled through him and twisted up his insides. He wanted so desperately to join them. Stiffly, trying not to look at their smiling faces, he moved to the table and sat down.
Lissa hurried to the kitchener and dished up supper. Then she returned and set the plates down.
Jack stared down at his
plate in confusion. Three eggs, all with broken, overcooked yolks and blackened edges, were lined up alongside three crusty, burnt pancakes. There was a low layer of smoke clinging to the crockery plate. "This is supper?"
She gave him a bright smile and sat down at the opposite end of the table. "Bon appetit."
On either side of him, the girls tried hard not to giggle. They did not completely succeed.
Jack frowned. "It's breakfast."
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Lissa looked down at her plate. "Is it?"
He slammed a fist down on the table so hard, the salt and pepper rattled. "Goddamn it, Lissa, you know it is. You're serving breakfast for supper."
She blinked innocently. "I thought I just woke up." She glanced at the girls. "Am I wrong?"
Jack lurched to his feet. "I can't take any more of this. Not today." He started to leave, but as he turned, his stomach rumbled loudly.
"Stay, Jack," she said quietly. "You're hungry."
Slowly he turned back around. She was smiling up at him, but this time there was no taunting curl to her lip. She was simply smiling. There was a silent invitation in her eyes that clawed at his self-control and made him want to stay.
He was pretty hungry, he told himself.
Before he was aware he'd made a decision, he was lowering himself onto the chair once again. He scooted close to the table. Careful not to look into her dangerous eyes again, he kept his gaze riveted to the food on his plate.
"I know what you're thinking," she said.
He snorted. "Yeah?" Reluctantly he looked up, met her gaze. "What?"
"You're thinking you've got to be pretty hungry to eat this food."
He smiled before he could stop himself.
"See?" she said in a voice so quiet, he knew it was meant for him alone. "It doesn't hurt a bit."
He felt himself pale. The easy smile slid off his face. He looked into her warm brown eyes and felt a stab of longing. "You're wrong. It hurts like hell. Now, let's eat ... breakfast before it gets cold."
Lissa glanced down at her smoldering eggs and grinned. "I think we've got plenty of time." * * *
Plf
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After the supper dishes were done and put away, Tess went outside and sat on the porch swing. Holding Caleb in her arms, she rocked gently back and forth, staring across the darkened fields to the tarnished, moonlit water far below.
Caleb gurgled playfully and squeezed her finger in a red-fisted grip.
Tess laughed quietly, gazing lovingly down at him. "Hey, kiddo, that's quite a grip you have."