Charmed by the Cook’s Kids by Melinda Curtis

Author:Melinda Curtis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-03-09T15:51:39+00:00

* * *

“THERE’S A STORM blowing in.” Ivy stared up at the sky from the front windows of the Bent Nickel.

She looked lonely to Cam. Or perhaps it was Cam who was feeling alone. He wanted to talk about what had happened at the Parkers earlier that afternoon. With the boys in the back seat on the return drive, he and Ivy hadn’t said much of anything, a trend that continued through the afternoon when a school bus full of seniors on a day trip stopped in town, keeping them busy.

Well, Cam hadn’t been busy. He’d taken down his sandwich-board specials before they’d gone to the Parkers and hadn’t put it back up when they returned. He’d supervised R.J. in the making of French fries.

Nick snored softly on his beanbag. R.J. played checkers in the dining room with Roy.

“That smells good.” Ivy entered the kitchen and took a peek at his pork chops. Her T-shirt proclaimed Cooking Is a Professional Sport. The funny thing was that she worked as if it was true. “You don’t need to make us dinner every night.”

“I certainly need to tonight.” Not to mention Cam was in need of comfort food, too. He wasn’t sure what to make of the Parkers or whether they were just plain cruel. Kids shouldn’t be ignored. He wanted to hug those two brave boys until he was reassured they’d never go through that again.

Ivy did more than peek at his dish. She took a fork and moved a chop to rest on its fat, making it spit and hiss. “There are five pork chops here.”

“You’ve been paying attention to Eli’s math lessons.” Cam grinned. He liked teasing her. Her smile reassured him that the Parkers hadn’t broken her or the boys. “Actually, I made one for Roy.” He’d prepared Roy’s vegetables in the steamer with a light, buttery seasoning even a picky eater wouldn’t complain about. “Can you get me a box? I see his checker game is almost over.” And the old man would want to head home before the storm hit.

Ivy went into the pantry. “I’d like to go on record as saying what you did was risky at the Parkers’ today.”

“Don’t defend them. I saw how small you made yourself when we turned down their driveway.” He spared her a smile as she returned and set the open food box on a nearby counter. He’d never seen anyone physically withdraw into themselves the way she had. He’d wanted to tell her to turn the car around. And then, when Jarvis flipped over Nick, he’d almost run up and knocked him down. “The vibe the Parkers give off is... Well, I shouldn’t talk out of turn about your in-laws.”

“Former in-laws.” Ivy knotted her knuckles together. “And you have better intuition than I had. Intuition like that would have saved me an ugly marriage. All that plastic. The white-glove ritual.” She shuddered.

“But it would have cost you two great kids.”

“True.”

Thunder rumbled on the mountain.

“Roy, I’ve got something for you.

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