Her Sheriff Bear by Meg Ripley

Author:Meg Ripley [Ripley, Meg]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shifter Nation
Published: 2021-04-20T16:00:00+00:00

12

“What’s wrong?”

Cassidy turned around to see Owen looking at her. His eyes were a bright blue that he definitely hadn’t gotten from his father, but they were just as piercing. Owen was gazing straight into her soul, seeing the storm there. “Nothing. I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Owen hauled himself up onto one of the stools at the breakfast bar. He hadn’t yet hit his grown spurt, and Cassidy suspected that was why she often found herself thinking of him as much younger than he really was. His father had obviously raised him in a somewhat sheltered life. He wasn’t like some of the other kids she’d seen lately, who had their noses buried in cell phones and hardly knew what life was unless it took place on a screen.

“Of course.” Cassidy forced a smile as she chopped ham for a casserole.

Owen didn’t look like he believed her, but he gestured with his chin toward the cutting board. “Whatcha makin’?”

“Just ham and noodle casserole. It’s a recipe I found a long time ago, and I really like it. It’s got ham, cheese, noodles, and a bunch of green peppers and onions.” She swiped the chopped ham off the cutting board and into a pan, where it would be sauteed alongside the vegetables.

“What’s a casserole?”

The question made her want to laugh, even though she knew he was serious. This child had been raised solely on cheeseburgers and frozen pizza, it seemed. “Well, it’s a dish that’s all together in one pan. You’ve probably talked a bit in school about balancing what you eat, making sure you get a some of each food group, right?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Owen swiped a slice of green pepper from a nearby bowl.

“Basically, instead of all those foods being separate, you put them all together in one big dish.” Cassidy’s smile was becoming more genuine as their conversation continued. Owen was so sweet and curious. She really liked teaching him things. There was a good chance that she wouldn’t get to do that for much longer, but she focused on seasoning the meat and tried to let that go. She needed to enjoy this while she could.

“But you have four different pans,” Owen pointed out.

“You don’t miss a thing, do you?”

The boy shook his head, quite serious, even though Cassidy was on the verge of laughing with pleasure at his astuteness. “Dad says you have to watch what’s going on around you. He says you have to really pay attention, or else things catch you by surprise. I like surprises, but he says they’re not always a good thing.”

“He’s not wrong.” Unbidden, a flash of the life she’d tried so hard to leave behind swam up in front of her eyes. Owen was right, but he was also wrong. Sometimes things happened that you didn’t expect, but you couldn’t always predict them simply by paying attention. She cleared her throat. “This pan is for cooking the meat and veggies. This one is for making the cheese sauce, and this one is for boiling the noodles.

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