“Youdoget all the food, kid,” Duke said dryly. “You get a few different dishes in every meal. But Wanda won’t be here every day, so I had Cook make her a bit of everything.”
“That’s really kind of you,” Nat said, humbled.
Duke’s gaze darkened in a way that said,I didn’t do it to be kind.
Nat blushed. Duke’s answering smile made his stomach flip.
“Here, would you like to try some of Wanda’s food?” Nat said when the kids continued to stare. Wanda was smushing pumpkin into her face. “Be warned, though: It doesn’t taste quite likeyourfood.”
Teddy and Mallie held out their spoons; Nat portioned out some pumpkin for them.
“Ugh,” Teddy said when he tasted it. “It tastes like nothing.”
Mallie made a face too. “I’m not jealous anymore.”
Nat laughed quietly. “I haven’t had the chance to cook Wanda some seasoned food. Spices are expensive! So she’s used to eating blander food, and Cook knows this because I told her yesterday. But now that I have a job, I’m hoping to introduce her to some tasty food.”
Duke growled. When Nat looked at him, Duke seemed surprised, as though he hadn’t expected himself to make that noise. “If you need help with food, don’t hesitate to ask me,” Duke said. “Or if you need help with anything at all.”
He dropped his pointed gaze to Nat’s belly, and Nat blushed.
Teddy and Mallie nudged each other and giggled.
Before Nat could react, Wanda smacked her spoon. It went flying across the kitchen, sending bits of egg and pumpkin everywhere.
“Sorry!” Nat scrambled to clean it up.
“It’s fine,” Duke said. “Save the cleaning for later. She’s going to do that a lot more before she’s done.”
“Food fight!” Teddy cried.
“No food fights,” Duke said firmly. “Not unless you’re the ones cleaning up.”
“Aww,” the kids said.
“They could have a food fight in the backyard,” Nat offered quietly. “If you use seeds and food that’s safe for birds and other animals, they’ll bring their friends and come clean up for you.”
“I like Mr. Nat,” Mallie said.
“Me too,” Teddy added.
Nat ducked his head. And Duke watched him consideringly, all the way through breakfast.
15
A THREAT
A chat messagepopped up in the corner of Nat’s screen.
Duke B.:Do you have a few minutes to spare?
Nat W.:Right now?
Duke B.:Finish up what you’re doing. Have Hubrie take over for a bit. I want you in here when you have nothing urgent on your plate.
Nat W.:Ok.
Nat wanted to hurry through the meeting notes he was putting together, but he forced himself to slow down. As much as he wanted to rush to obey Duke, he knew he would only end up making mistakes if he did.
