“Your eyes give everything away,” he said gently.
Something about his tone, about being alone in the kitchen with him after a long day on her feet, intensified the growing intimacy between them. She wanted to know Billy, and he wanted to listen.
She’d been feeling so isolated—surrounded by loved ones and yet still alone. Nobody seemed to notice how she was frantically paddling to stay afloat. How close she felt to breaking sometimes. How often she dreamed of different places and different things.
But in walked Billy, and somehow he’d seen. He’d listened and heard. It was a simple connection, but it did so much to make her feel better. Getting to know him, she’d begun to sense how happiness was there for her to find, she just craved a partner to share it with. Not a man to hold her up like Damien tried so desperately to do, but someone to stand with her, by her side.
“Tell me,” he whispered.
She heard the care in his voice and knew she couldn’t stop herself from sharing with this man if she tried. She missed her brother—was racke
d with worry for him. Sometimes she hated her sister, and got so angry with Dad, so frustrated with Mom. But here was Billy, waiting, wanting to know what she was thinking. Wanting to know her.
She let out a long sigh, letting it all go. “I told you about my brother. The thing is, he always knows how to handle Dad. ” She had to stifle a stab of guilt. “He’s a good man. Dad, I mean. His stroke…it was hard for him. But still, he drives me nuts. He’s so old school. Take the whole ‘Ladies’ Night’ thing. I mean, should I be offended? That I can only cook if it’s Ladies’ Night?”
She risked a glance into his eyes, half expecting him to brush it off. Damien would have brushed it off. But instead, Billy’s brow was furrowed in thought.
“Don’t let the man offend you,” he said. “He’s from a different generation. It’s a chance for you to cook, and you should take it. Let me guess, it’s been Bear’s way or the highway all these years. Am I right?”
“I suppose you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out. ”
“And his dad ran the lodge and tavern before him?”
Sorrow sighed. “I see where you’re going with this. ”
“Do you?” he asked gently. “Think about it from your father’s perspective. I’ll bet the things he’s able to do—hell, the things your mom lets him do—have changed since his stroke. Changed a lot. He was once the master of his universe, and now I bet your mom doesn’t even let him out of her sight without a cell phone in his pocket. ”
It was true, and it gutted her. “Yeah, that’s pretty much the whole of it. ” She’d only been thinking about her own perspective. She stared at the floor, ashamed of her selfishness. Dad’s stroke. It’d changed him, but the changes had come about so slowly, it was something she hadn’t considered, not like that. “He worked timber when he was younger—he was once a pretty physical guy. ”
“I know his type. Change is hard for a guy like him. But aging is something that happens to every man—if they’re lucky. ” Billy tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and the sweep of his finger sent her blood pounding. “Besides, he’s in for a big awakening. Wait till Bear realizes that Ladies’ Night draws every male in Sierra Falls just for a taste of your cooking. He’ll see. As it is, I think he’s floored by how much business you did tonight. More people jammed into that tavern for dinner than I ever saw on Sully’s watch. ”
Billy’s hand still hovered by her cheek, and she fought the urge to turn into his palm, leaning into his warmth. How had he done it? With just a few words, he’d made her feel more sensitive to her dad and better about herself, all at the same time.
What else could a man like that do, what else could he make her feel?
His hand was right there—just one slight shift of her head, one step closer to his body, and she’d take this conversation to a whole different place. What would he do if she did?
The door swung open. It was her sister. Laura froze at the sight of her and Billy, standing so close to each other in front of the sink. The blood pounded in Sorrow’s cheeks.
Laura waggled her brows in a way that she found intensely annoying. “Kudos, kiddo. Your pasta was a hit. Even I loved it. ”
Sorrow turned her back and pretended to finish up some chore by the sink, rinsing out a sponge that didn’t need rinsing. Waiting for breathing to be not so difficult. “I thought you didn’t do carbs. ”
Laura reverted to her high school big-sister voice. “Shut. Up. ” She put a stack of dishes in the sink, nudging Sorrow as she passed. “I don’t eat a lot of pasta. But I did have some of yours. Duh. ”
Sorrow gave her a grudging smile. “I’m honored. ”
“No, seriously,” Laura said in a more adult tone. “It was fantastic. Better than anything I ever got in North Beach,” she added, referring to San Francisco’s Italian district, but then she put the tease back in her voice. “Isn’t that right, Sheriff?”
Billy smiled, not taking the bait. “I’ve been to North Beach a time or two myself. Your sister’s right. ”
“Wow, okay. ” Sorrow put the sponge down and turned to face Laura. Now she really was blown away. “Thank you. Both of you. ”
Laura winked. “And someone else is here to taste it. ”
She recognized that wicked look. She should’ve known that Laura’s sweetness came with a price. “Who?” Sorrow asked blandly.
“Damien’s here,” Laura said in a voice dangerously close to a singsong. “He’s getting a game of pool going with that Neanderthal, Eddie. I told him you’d be right out. ”