Run to Ground(53)

“T, you’re on egg duty. Ty, please cut up some fruit.” She’d learned not to give Ty any task that involved actual cooking, unless she wanted to test the smoke detectors. Again. “Dee, set the table, please.” Dee gave Viggy one last belly scratch before standing. “Wash your hands first.”

Although she headed for the sink, Dee gave Jules a chiding look. “Viggy is a very clean dog.”

“I’m sure he is.” Pulling out a couple of slices of bread, Jules popped them into the toaster. The loaf was already two-thirds gone, she noticed. Her stomach gave a nervous twinge. The five of them went through food so fast. Maybe she could add another few shifts at the diner to her schedule. “But I’d rather skip the dash of dog hair on my eggs, thank you very much.”

Dee laughed and collected the plates. As she set the table, she sang quietly to herself. Ty and Tio were having a conversation about eggs. Only Sam held his silence, keeping his gaze focused on the cooking bacon.

Jules sent a quick glance in Theo’s direction and had to quash a smile when she saw how bewildered he appeared as he looked around the crowded room. He was probably telling himself exactly the same thing she’d been repeating in her mind: this was a bad idea. That was just too bad, though. He was hers for breakfast, and she was going to take all the Theo-time she could get.

* * *

Staying was a bad idea.

Theo had no idea why he’d agreed, why he’d even come inside this strange, handyman’s nightmare of a house, rather than just grabbing Viggy and leaving. It’d been over twenty-four hours since he’d last slept, and everything was starting to get a disorienting halo. He blinked several times, trying to normalize his vision, but then he gave up. Nothing but several hours in bed was going to fix him.

Then why was he here, watching the chaos of this family in their clown-car of a kitchen? Jules looked over her shoulder at him and smiled, and he knew exactly why his dumb ass hadn’t left immediately.

Clearing his throat, he offered, “I can help.”

She gave him an appraising look from those narrow, too-sexy-for-his-own-good eyes, and he felt as if she could see his soul-deep exhaustion. Although he expected her to refuse his help, she offered him a plate piled with several slices of toast. “You can butter.”

Accepting the plate, the butter, and a table knife, he glanced around, looking for enough counter space to create a station. Apparently seeing his dilemma, Jules waved him over to the spot next to her—the spot right next to her. He hesitated long enough for her to notice, and she raised a questioning eyebrow. With a soundless sigh, he wedged in beside her. They were close, so close he could feel heat radiating from her side, could smell her scent—vanilla and spice. He recognized it from when she’d lean in to put his plate in front of him at the diner, and he caught himself moving closer to get a better whiff.

“Jules,” Dee said, bringing Theo back to the present situation. He jerked back, as far away as he could get from Jules in the narrow space they were sharing, and buttered toast with much more focus than the task required. “If you were an animal, what kind would you be?”

Tilting her head, as if she was thinking, Jules finally answered, “A bird.”

“Good answer!” Dee sounded pleased. Glancing at the girl, Theo wondered at her resiliency. Just yesterday, they’d been forced to run for their lives. Now Dee was cheerily setting the table and daydreaming aloud. Theo was impressed by her ability to bounce back. Personally, he felt more like a deflated basketball. He wasn’t sure he’d ever bounce again.

Spatula in hand, Tio made a humming sound. “What kind of bird? A hawk?”

“Not a hawk,” Jules said definitely, adding another two slices to the toaster. “I couldn’t eat mice.”

Dee nodded. “Because they’re so cute?”

“Uh, right.” Jules shot Theo a sideways look that made him have to hold back a snort of amusement. It startled him that she’d almost made him laugh, especially after the past grueling hours. “And because eating mice is gross.”

“You’re right.” Dee paused between placing forks next to each plate to make a face. “So what kind of bird?”

“A robin?” Jules suggested.

Ty fake-retched. “You’d eat worms but not mice?”

“Good point.” Sending Theo another amused glance, Jules tried again. “What about bluebirds? Do they eat bugs? Even if so, I pick a bluebird. They’re so bright and flashy.” Theo liked how she would look at him, as if they were sharing an inside joke.

“Just the males,” Tio piped up, scraping scrambled eggs into a big serving bowl. “The females are a dull grayish-blue.”