Raven couldn’t imagine a more beautiful spot to live, or to tell her grandmother’s best friend everything she’d lived through in the past ten years.
Even if Cade was tagging along for the ride.
Chapter Six
He who blows on the fire will get sparks in his eyes ~ German proverb
He knew better than to jump to conclusions. But when he’d stepped inside and had seen his grandmother crying with Raven standing over her, looking guilty, he’d done just that.
Now, after hearing that she’d just informed his grandmother of her grandmother’s passing, he wanted to give the two of them some time to catch up before starting the night.
After opening the wine and dropping it and two glasses off outside, he returned inside to finish dinner prep.
He wasn’t the best chef, but he did know how to make the basics. Especially anything that went along with steak.
He’d baked some potatoes and loaded them on a platter along with fixings, including bacon strips, cream cheese, cheese, and onions. Then he pulled the grilled veggies off the grill. Since the sun had gone down and the summer night had turned a little chilly, he set up the table inside. He stepped outside and let Raven and his gran know that dinner was ready.
Both of them looked more relaxed and happier than they had before, which put him more at ease as well.
“Did you two have a good time catching up?” he asked as he pulled out the chair for his grandmother.
“Yes.” She touched his arm as she sat. “Thank you for inviting Raven tonight. It’s just what I needed,” his gran said. “I think it’s what we both needed.” She glanced over at Raven. The smile Raven gave her in response had him tensing again.
Damn, why did she have to look so incredibly hot tonight? And what was with that skintight skirt? Those legs. Had he ever seen sexier legs before? Not in years, he determined as he ate while half listening to the conversation.
She’d straightened her red locks and had on a lot more eye makeup than when he’d seen her in the store. The darkness around them somehow made her crystal eyes more haunting.
He couldn’t figure out why he was being pulled closer to her the entire evening. He started relaxing and forgetting his original mission. At one point, he even started daydreaming about what she would taste like. What her body would feel like up against his.
“Well.” His grandmother stood up suddenly, pulling him out of the fantasy. “I think it’s about time I head home.” She touched his shoulder. “I’ll leave you two young kids to enjoy the pie I made. You should take it out on the deck and light a fire in that new firepit you got last week,” his grandmother suggested.
He stood up suddenly, “Gran, I’ll—”
She nudged him. “Do as your told.” She narrowed her eyes at him. She walked over and hugged Raven. “Enjoy the rest of your evening. Thank you for letting me in,” she said softly.
Raven kissed his grandmother’s cheek. “Thank you for listening.”
“Night,” his gran said. She walked to the door, pulled on her coat, and left.
“You don’t have to stay,” he said, turning to Raven. Her eyebrows shot up and an almost offended look crossed her eyes. “I mean, if you don’t want to,” he added quickly.
“I could eat pie,” she said after a moment.
“Pie it is.” He nodded, then started taking the plates from the table.
She helped him by grabbing the silverware and glasses.
“Want more wine with the pie?” he asked her.
“Do you have coffee?” she asked, setting down the wine glasses by the sink.
“I do. I’ll deal with the dishes later.” The pie was warming in his oven, where his gran had placed it after she’d arrived earlier. He opened the cabinet that held his dishes and pulled out two small plates and mugs.
“Pick your poison.” He motioned to his single serve coffee maker and the tray of coffee selections right next to it.
“Organized, aren’t you?” She glanced at him and then scanned through the coffee selection.
He thought about it and realized that over the past eight years he’d lived there, he had become organized. He had never really been a tidy sort of person. But after a while, he’d just fallen into that pattern.
“It helps, especially when you get the wrath of your grandmother and mother if you aren’t,” he joked.
“What kind of pie is it?” she asked him, glancing over her shoulder.
He walked over to the stove and glanced inside. “Blackberry,” he answered with a smile. It was his favorite flavor of pie, and his gran made it for him all of the time.
She made some French vanilla coffee, and he decided to have some of the same. She stood by while he made his own cup.
“Cream?” he asked, walking to the fridge.
“If you have it.” She waited and poured some cream into her mug.
When he started to pull the pie out of the oven and cut slices, she jumped in.
“Why don’t you head out, start that fire? I can cut us some slices and bring them out.” She motioned towards the back door.
“There’s a tray there.” He nodded to the cabinet, then pulled on a jacket that hung by the back door and disappeared with Blue right on his heels.
He didn’t feel weird leaving her in his house alone. He would think about it later, since the last time he’d had a woman in his home was Julia almost a year ago.
Even then, he and Julia had only dated for a few short months. When she’d grown too clingy, he’d backed off. Completely.
The more he’d gotten to know Julia, the more he’d realized they had nothing in common. She’d been a nice package, but after a few weeks, he’d started to see bits of her real self. The woman was as ugly as it came. She was not only privileged, but she was also spoiled.
On their one-month anniversary, she’d gotten upset that he hadn’t remembered and bought her something to mark the date.
He normally would have, but he’d been busy that week dealing with the controlled burns. He’d been tired and overworked and it had been the last thing on his mind. She hadn’t let him forget it and for the following anniversary, he’d taken her out for a nice dinner and had brought her flowers.
Apparently, it hadn’t been good enough and she’d caused such a stink that they had parted. Shortly after that, she’d hinted that she’d like to get back together with him, but after seeing her true self, he’d stepped away for good.
“Oh, it’s still nice out,” Raven said, stepping outside with the tray in hand.
He stood up and took it from her, then set it down on the small end table.
“Yeah, we didn’t really need the fire, but it’s nice still.” He motioned for her to sit, then handed her a plate and her coffee before sitting beside her with his own plate.
“You have a very nice place,” she said. She took a bite of the pie. “Oh my god. This is amazing.” She waved her fork.
“Yes, on both counts. I purchased the lot and built the home after finishing the rebuild on my mother’s home,” he said easily. When she remained silent, he glanced over at her. It hadn’t even occurred to him that she would feel uncomfortable talking about rebuilding after the fire. “Does it bother you?” he asked, turning slightly towards her.