corset and stockings, but do I pass?”
“Yes, you look pretty. Something smells good.”
“Oh, thank God,” Nina breathed. “Honestly, it’s been so long since I cooked anything that wasn’t mostly processed I was afraid I might have forgotten how.”
An hour later, satisfied she’d not forgotten how to cook if Tammer’s reaction was any indication, Nina put the last dirty dish in the dishwasher. She wiped down the counters then plated two heaping servings of cobbler and ice cream and set them on a tray with a carafe of coffee and two mugs. Content for the first time in months, she joined Tammer in the den where he was lounged on the couch with one arm draped behind his head watching ESPN.
“That’s the rest of what I smelled?” he asked, sitting up and eyeing the tray while rubbing a hand across his belly. “My God, woman. I come over here much and I’ll have to double my run route.”
“If I promise to be a little healthier with the fare, will you come back?” Nina asked, handing him his bowl then taking hers and sinking to the floor beside his leg, looking up. “I enjoy eating with someone. Eating alone gets pretty old.”
“You don’t have to change how you cook, sweetheart.” Tammer ran his free hand over the back of her head. “I’ll come back. I promise.” He smiled at her then took a bite of his dessert and mumbled over a full mouth. “Oh hell yeah, I’ll be back.”
“This is one of my favorite desserts. I usually make it on holidays, but I figured when’s the last time I had a holiday with anyone so why not drag out the big guns for an ordinary week night supper.” Nina set her bowl down realizing she hadn’t eaten a full meal in so long it didn’t take much to fill her up. “If you ask me, if baseball can go on nearly all year long, football should be afforded a longer season, too,” she said, watching some pitcher for Pittsburgh warm up at spring camp.
“You like football?”
“Mostly college, but yeah.”
“And who would I find you rooting for if I came by on a Saturday afternoon in the fall?” Tammer asked, licking his spoon then taking a sip of the coffee Nina handed him.
“Roll tide,” Nina said with a smile.
“Not an Alabama fan,” he groaned. “Don’t you know real football players are corn fed?”
“Nebraska, huh?” Nina laughed. “I’m an Alabama alum. They have one of best public relations programs in the country.” Taking Tammer’s now empty dish, she took her coffee mug and readjusted to settle between his legs and pull her knees up. “It helped that I got a scholarship. USC is actually number one in that department, but they didn’t offer what Alabama did, so roll tide .” Nina gave a fist pump. “When in Rome.”
“Where was home before you made the big move?”
“You can’t tell by my accent? Get real.” Nina laughed. “Care a guess at which state in the Deep South I hail from?”
“Mississippi?”
“Not quite that deep. South Carolina. The greater Charleston area. Joel and I grew up together in a small town, population less than a thousand. We were high school sweethearts. He joined the Corps and I went to college.”
“His accent’s not that thick.”
“He adapts. Isn’t that what makes special ops men unique? They’re ability to adapt? His has slowly receded while mine just seems to linger. Some days it gets heavy.” Nina sighed and shook her head. “We actually separated for a while because the long distance thing was so damn hard.” Tammer started running his fingers through her hair and Nina leaned back into his touch, closing her eyes. “You’d have thought I’d have learned long before I said I do .”
“Do you have regrets?”
“No. Just a tired heart. Waiting wears a person out,” Nina admitted.
“What about family?”
“I’m the youngest of five. And by youngest I mean way younger.” Breathing deep, she relished the feel of Tammer kneading her nape. “Mama was forty-seven when she had me.
“Yes, you look pretty. Something smells good.”
“Oh, thank God,” Nina breathed. “Honestly, it’s been so long since I cooked anything that wasn’t mostly processed I was afraid I might have forgotten how.”
An hour later, satisfied she’d not forgotten how to cook if Tammer’s reaction was any indication, Nina put the last dirty dish in the dishwasher. She wiped down the counters then plated two heaping servings of cobbler and ice cream and set them on a tray with a carafe of coffee and two mugs. Content for the first time in months, she joined Tammer in the den where he was lounged on the couch with one arm draped behind his head watching ESPN.
“That’s the rest of what I smelled?” he asked, sitting up and eyeing the tray while rubbing a hand across his belly. “My God, woman. I come over here much and I’ll have to double my run route.”
“If I promise to be a little healthier with the fare, will you come back?” Nina asked, handing him his bowl then taking hers and sinking to the floor beside his leg, looking up. “I enjoy eating with someone. Eating alone gets pretty old.”
“You don’t have to change how you cook, sweetheart.” Tammer ran his free hand over the back of her head. “I’ll come back. I promise.” He smiled at her then took a bite of his dessert and mumbled over a full mouth. “Oh hell yeah, I’ll be back.”
“This is one of my favorite desserts. I usually make it on holidays, but I figured when’s the last time I had a holiday with anyone so why not drag out the big guns for an ordinary week night supper.” Nina set her bowl down realizing she hadn’t eaten a full meal in so long it didn’t take much to fill her up. “If you ask me, if baseball can go on nearly all year long, football should be afforded a longer season, too,” she said, watching some pitcher for Pittsburgh warm up at spring camp.
“You like football?”
“Mostly college, but yeah.”
“And who would I find you rooting for if I came by on a Saturday afternoon in the fall?” Tammer asked, licking his spoon then taking a sip of the coffee Nina handed him.
“Roll tide,” Nina said with a smile.
“Not an Alabama fan,” he groaned. “Don’t you know real football players are corn fed?”
“Nebraska, huh?” Nina laughed. “I’m an Alabama alum. They have one of best public relations programs in the country.” Taking Tammer’s now empty dish, she took her coffee mug and readjusted to settle between his legs and pull her knees up. “It helped that I got a scholarship. USC is actually number one in that department, but they didn’t offer what Alabama did, so roll tide .” Nina gave a fist pump. “When in Rome.”
“Where was home before you made the big move?”
“You can’t tell by my accent? Get real.” Nina laughed. “Care a guess at which state in the Deep South I hail from?”
“Mississippi?”
“Not quite that deep. South Carolina. The greater Charleston area. Joel and I grew up together in a small town, population less than a thousand. We were high school sweethearts. He joined the Corps and I went to college.”
“His accent’s not that thick.”
“He adapts. Isn’t that what makes special ops men unique? They’re ability to adapt? His has slowly receded while mine just seems to linger. Some days it gets heavy.” Nina sighed and shook her head. “We actually separated for a while because the long distance thing was so damn hard.” Tammer started running his fingers through her hair and Nina leaned back into his touch, closing her eyes. “You’d have thought I’d have learned long before I said I do .”
“Do you have regrets?”
“No. Just a tired heart. Waiting wears a person out,” Nina admitted.
“What about family?”
“I’m the youngest of five. And by youngest I mean way younger.” Breathing deep, she relished the feel of Tammer kneading her nape. “Mama was forty-seven when she had me.
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