response team – so she knew he was among the best
of the prison’s correctional officers. It was a distinction that
had earned him hours of searching the county in heavy gear during
the brutal heat that past summer.
Grey nodded, seemingly mollified by
her faith in his work. The barest hint of amusement struck Kerry,
though she was still overwhelmingly embarrassed.
“Guess it’s just too soon after
everything that happened for me to surprise-cook turkey bacon for
anyone,” he said.
“You shouldn’t be cooking anyway.”
With her fear under control, she was suddenly aware of how
ridiculous it was that Grey had been cooking. “You’re supposed to
be resting. What were you thinking?”
“I just wanted to say thank you – you
know, return the favor. I would’ve been stuck in the hospital all
night if not for you. You saved my bacon. Pun intended.”
She snorted, couldn’t help it. “I’m
taking over breakfast from here. Just sit down and try not to burn
anything.”
In truth, she was glad to have an
excuse to escape his presence. Ever since he’d walked in on her
freaking out, she’d felt woefully exposed – like all her crazy was
showing through, and she couldn’t cover it back up while he was
still looking.
Alone in the kitchen, she’d have a
chance to regroup – pull herself back together.
A split second of solitude was all she
got. Instead of staying put and resting on the couch, Grey followed
her into the kitchen.
“I already made the bacon and put on a
pot of coffee. Eggs too – they’re on that plate, under the paper
towel.”
Kerry surveyed the breakfast buffet
he’d laid out on the counter. It was really … something. “Grey, are
you normally this bad at cooking, or do I need to take you back to
the doctor?”
Good lord, breakfast looked like it’d
been prepared by a well-meaning six year old. The bacon was still
sizzling in a hastily turned-off skillet, charred black, and the
eggs… When she whisked the paper towel off the plate, she
discovered a gelatinous mass of pale white goo that was burnt
around the edges, like a ghost of the scrambled eggs he’d tried to
make.
The coffee, to his credit, looked and
smelled great.
He raised a hand to the back of his
neck and rubbed, frowning. “I guess it’s pretty bad, isn’t
it?”
“What did you do to the eggs to make
them colorless?” They looked like they’d been painted
white.
“I know how into healthy eating you
are – I figured you were one of those people who only eats the
whites. So I removed the yolks … mostly.”
“Oh. Actually, I eat the whole
egg.”
“Damn. So much for my manly
intuition.”
“Is that a thing?”
“Apparently not.”
“Well, it was nice of you to think of
that.” Actually, it was one of the most considerate things she
could remember anyone ever doing for her. Now that she knew, she
looked at the colorless eggs in a new light. “Here, let’s eat – I
bet the eggs are fine. I just thought they looked weird before I
realized it was only the whites.”
“They’re burnt.” He said it like he
was confessing some sin.
“Only a little.” She divvied up the
charred delicacies onto two plates and poured two mugs of
coffee.
They ate in silence for a good minute
or two.
It was Grey who eventually broke it.
“Is it just me or…”
Kerry pasted a smile firmly onto her
face, preparing to praise his cooking no matter what he said. She
still felt guilty over her bad cooking comment, especially since
he’d gone out of his way to make things in a way he’d thought she’d
prefer. Breakfast was burnt, nearly flavorless and weirdly gritty,
but she wasn’t about to admit it.
Grey met her gaze over the little
kitchen table. “…am I an awesome cook?”
She nearly choked on her latest
mouthful of egg whites, had to wash them down with an enormous,
mouth-scalding swig of black coffee.
“I thought the food looked crappy,”
Grey continued, “but it tastes better than it looks.
of the prison’s correctional officers. It was a distinction that
had earned him hours of searching the county in heavy gear during
the brutal heat that past summer.
Grey nodded, seemingly mollified by
her faith in his work. The barest hint of amusement struck Kerry,
though she was still overwhelmingly embarrassed.
“Guess it’s just too soon after
everything that happened for me to surprise-cook turkey bacon for
anyone,” he said.
“You shouldn’t be cooking anyway.”
With her fear under control, she was suddenly aware of how
ridiculous it was that Grey had been cooking. “You’re supposed to
be resting. What were you thinking?”
“I just wanted to say thank you – you
know, return the favor. I would’ve been stuck in the hospital all
night if not for you. You saved my bacon. Pun intended.”
She snorted, couldn’t help it. “I’m
taking over breakfast from here. Just sit down and try not to burn
anything.”
In truth, she was glad to have an
excuse to escape his presence. Ever since he’d walked in on her
freaking out, she’d felt woefully exposed – like all her crazy was
showing through, and she couldn’t cover it back up while he was
still looking.
Alone in the kitchen, she’d have a
chance to regroup – pull herself back together.
A split second of solitude was all she
got. Instead of staying put and resting on the couch, Grey followed
her into the kitchen.
“I already made the bacon and put on a
pot of coffee. Eggs too – they’re on that plate, under the paper
towel.”
Kerry surveyed the breakfast buffet
he’d laid out on the counter. It was really … something. “Grey, are
you normally this bad at cooking, or do I need to take you back to
the doctor?”
Good lord, breakfast looked like it’d
been prepared by a well-meaning six year old. The bacon was still
sizzling in a hastily turned-off skillet, charred black, and the
eggs… When she whisked the paper towel off the plate, she
discovered a gelatinous mass of pale white goo that was burnt
around the edges, like a ghost of the scrambled eggs he’d tried to
make.
The coffee, to his credit, looked and
smelled great.
He raised a hand to the back of his
neck and rubbed, frowning. “I guess it’s pretty bad, isn’t
it?”
“What did you do to the eggs to make
them colorless?” They looked like they’d been painted
white.
“I know how into healthy eating you
are – I figured you were one of those people who only eats the
whites. So I removed the yolks … mostly.”
“Oh. Actually, I eat the whole
egg.”
“Damn. So much for my manly
intuition.”
“Is that a thing?”
“Apparently not.”
“Well, it was nice of you to think of
that.” Actually, it was one of the most considerate things she
could remember anyone ever doing for her. Now that she knew, she
looked at the colorless eggs in a new light. “Here, let’s eat – I
bet the eggs are fine. I just thought they looked weird before I
realized it was only the whites.”
“They’re burnt.” He said it like he
was confessing some sin.
“Only a little.” She divvied up the
charred delicacies onto two plates and poured two mugs of
coffee.
They ate in silence for a good minute
or two.
It was Grey who eventually broke it.
“Is it just me or…”
Kerry pasted a smile firmly onto her
face, preparing to praise his cooking no matter what he said. She
still felt guilty over her bad cooking comment, especially since
he’d gone out of his way to make things in a way he’d thought she’d
prefer. Breakfast was burnt, nearly flavorless and weirdly gritty,
but she wasn’t about to admit it.
Grey met her gaze over the little
kitchen table. “…am I an awesome cook?”
She nearly choked on her latest
mouthful of egg whites, had to wash them down with an enormous,
mouth-scalding swig of black coffee.
“I thought the food looked crappy,”
Grey continued, “but it tastes better than it looks.
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