I don’t want Kyle to see my crying again. She returned the hug, and then stood to grab a tissue. She gave her nose a good blow and dabbed at the last of the tears. Lena poured herself a glass of water and downed it before she heard the sound of laughter coming from the back yard. She walked to the door and looked at the man and boy walking up the back path with a small hairy dog running in front of them pulling on a sparkly lead.
“Well, that’s rather flash accessories for the country, don’t you think?” She leaned on the doorframe, her arms folded, and let the dog walk up to her to sniff her feet. Lena crouched down and held out her hands. If only you could see how funny you look little dog.
“He came with a wide assortment of ‘accessories.’ Most of them sparkly and all of them screaming snobbery and money too. Poor dog didn’t know what it was like to get his feet wet or run wild in the paddocks with another dog. He is getting better though, I have to admit.”
The country will do that to you. “Hey, Spencer. Nice to meet you.” The small tufts of dark hair on his ears wiggled and she burst out laughing. Spencer turned and bolted back to Adam who scooped him up in his hand, tucking the little dog into his body.
“Scaredy cat. This guy is afraid of his own shadow. I even have to feed him inside because of the crows. They’re interested in his food and he lets them take it, not even a growl of protest.” Adam brushed his hand over the dogs head and received a lick on the hand for thanks.
“He is pretty cute though.” Lena moved away from the door and walked back to the kitchen.
Chapter 7
Adam leaned back in his chair and rubbed his stomach. Fan-bloody-tastic. “Oh my goodness. That was superb. Lena, you have to cook for me again. Hell, cook for anyone, just don’t give up, please.” What a loss that would be.
All eyes turned in her direction. “What? Come on guys, give me a break. I don’t have a restaurant anymore, have you all forgotten that?”
“Mum, you could start doing your take in dinners again. I can help.” Kyle looked at her with hope in his eyes.
“Buddy, what did I promise you? I was going to be the mother who made it to parent teacher interviews and volunteered at the school lunch room once a month. That won’t happen if we start up a business again.” She reached over and grabbed his hand. “I’m going to be there for you from now on regardless of what I choose to do, and I’m not in any hurry to make that decision either.”
“I hear you’re cooking for the café?” A looked passed between her father and Adam as he mentioned what she was doing for Gail.
“Just on a temporary basis. Gail’s cake lady left town in a hurry and she knew I was back. I could hardly let down my best friend, but that doesn’t mean I’m starting my own business again.”
Make her an offer. “I know it’s not my place to say anything, but if you ever get the urge to have a cook fest, I’m a hungry bachelor who can’t do more than the basics. I’ll gladly pay you to make me a meal every now and then.” Please say yes.
Lena glanced at her father and then at her plate. Wrong choice of words by the look of it.
Had he overstepped the boundaries? The last thing Adam wanted to do was make her feel uncomfortable. “Let me help clear the table.” He pushed back his chair and helped her clear away the dirty dishes.
“We have mud cake for dessert or some hazelnut gelati I thought I’d try.” Lena took a stack of dessert plates from the cupboard and handed them to Adam. The gelati was in the freezer and she took it out and placed it on a wooden board before putting it in front of her mother.
“Papa, can you slice the brioche for me please?” Lena took cake forks out of the drawer and returned to her seat.
Bread? “Explain this to me please.” Adam looked between the brioche and the frozen hazelnut gelati, confusion in his mind. Who eats ice cream in bread?
“This is how we eat it. Only commercial shops use cones for gelati. At home we prefer to make a kind of ice cream sandwich. Try it, its delish.”
Okay. He grinned and waited for his dessert. When Ben handed it over to him, he sighed. “This looks so good, but I think I’m going to have to take up jogging if you start trying to feed me up like this.” Realizing what he’d just said, Adam grinned and apologized. “I didn’t mean that to sound as though I’m expecting this on a regular basis regardless of my earlier comments.” But I won’t complain if you do either.
“I didn’t take it that way, but I know you come here often and share a meal with my parents. Don’t stop on my account.”
Spencer stood on his hind feet and pawed at Lena’s leguntil she reached down and picked him up. He rewarded her by licking her chin before turning around to gaze over the table.
Spencer! “I forgot to warn you. He has terrible manners too. Apparently he has a sweet tooth.” Adam bit into his gelati sandwich and groaned. Not sharing his with the dog, no way.
Lena laughed at his obvious pleasure before she broke off a small piece of brioche from the plate her father passed over and held it out to Spencer. He sniffed it and took it delicately from her fingers.
* * *
The memories came flooding back when Lena walked into the school office with Kyle in tow on Monday morning. For once she was there under her own steam and not on teacher’s orders.
“Lena, well I
