“I was just thinking the same thing. I’ll pitch in and help with the cost. I know how important it is for you to have them here.”
Collin’s quiet for a moment, and then clears his throat. “Thank you.”
I reach over and grip his shoulder. “We got them. You’re my family and that means so are they. It might take some time, but we’ll get them back here for you.”
“You’re my brother, Hutch. Even if I can never bring them here, I’ll always have you and Mama Kathleen.”
“Always.”
“Come on, let’s go and keep Red company. She’s probably in her head and while she won’t say it, she needs us to be there.”
He’s right and I stand, surprised when he hugs me. We’re not really touchy feely guys with each other, but I hug him back. Tonight is a big deal for both of us.
Daisy is pulling ingredients out of cabinets when go inside. No one else is around so I assume they either went downstairs to join the team or they’re off on their own. Either way, I’m glad it’s quiet. Daisy seems to appreciate the quiet more than most.
“Hey, you good if we hang out?”
She nods and we both take a seat at the kitchen island. She has her ingredients spread out next to the mixer she’s moved over to the island.
“What kind of cake are you making?” Collin leans over and inspects what she’s got sitting out.
“Apple spice cake. There are fresh apples in the fridge so I thought I’d use them and replace them tomorrow. No name on the bag, so I’m not sure who’s they are.”
“I’ve never had that before.”
“It’s my Nana’s recipe. She taught me to make it when I was eight or nine.”
“Mi abuelataught me how to make churros when I was six. I remember standing on a stool so I could see what she was doing. Some of my best memories are cooking withmi abuela.”
“If you have to do a vegetable only diet, I’ll try to find some Mexican vegetarian recipes for you. If you want.”
She sounds so unsure of herself and I hate it.
“If you do the cooking, then yup, your bestie wants. Don’t tellmi abuela, but your cooking rivals hers.”
She smiles slightly and starts putting ingredients in the mixer. We’re quiet as she puts the batter together and Collin licks his lips when she asks him if he wants to clean the bowl while she pours it into two waiting pans.
“Bro, you know there are raw eggs in that batter?”
“Don’t judge me.” He happily takes the bowl and starts scraping out what’s left and shoves it into his mouth. Gross.
“I’m judging.”
Daisy laughs as she puts the pans in the oven and then starts to clean up. Once that’s done, she looks around and it’s apparent to anyone with eyes that she’s still unsettled.
“Did you listen to the voicemail?”
She shakes her head and opens the fridge. “Are you still hungry?”
“I can eat,” Collin says and puts the now empty bowl into the dishwasher. “You cooking?”
She nods and starts poking through the fridge. “What sound good?”
Collin smacks his lips together. “Whatever you want to cook sounds good to me.”
Daisy smiles. “I think you’d eat if everything around you was burning down.”
“Never pass up free food.”
