Skyborn (Dragons & Druids #1)(39)

“That smells amazing,” Keegan said, standing.

“Is that hollandaise?” Logan asked in shock, peering over the counter and into my pot.

I nodded. I didn’t like talking much when I was in the kitchen. It messed with my Zen. Cooking was therapy for me. My mom and I would cook everything from scratch sometimes, making an entire two-hour meal without saying more than a few words. We just worked intuitively around each other like old friends.

My heart pinched at the memory as I dropped my eggs onto the frying pan and began using a glass to cut perfect circles of the hash browns. They were going to have to be in place of my English muffin since we didn’t have any.

I instructed Nadine to line up the plates and then started an assembly line, laying two circles of hash browns on each plate, a sunny-side up egg on each hash brown, a woven bacon square, and then a drizzle of hollandaise over everything. By the time I was done, I looked up to find the entire pack staring at the food, drooling. Even Sophie, who was back from her run, looked impressed.

“Bon appétit,” I told everyone, and then they all pushed forward to grab a plate.

The second the moans started, I couldn’t help but smile. I had cooked for my mom, a few friends from college, and an ex-boyfriend, but never a big group like this.

“You’re so fired,” Keegan told Sophie with a mouthful of food.

Sophie gave him the middle finger, but her half smile made it lighthearted.

Dom had come in from his watch station outside and grabbed a plate, mumbling his thanks to me. I saw at least six guns peeking out of his jeans and boots and strapped behind his shoulders. This man was seriously packing.

Logan was finishing his last bite when he lifted his head to me. “Where did you learn to cook like this?”

I swallowed and then shrugged. “My mom was an avid cook and had a full garden. We grew fifty percent of what we ate. After she got sick, I learned most of my tricks from cable TV.”

He nodded. “So … what’s for dinner?”

Everyone laughed, myself included. But the feminist in me rose up then. “I’ll tell you what: I’ll cook every meal for the next two weeks, but only if the boys watch and learn. We can split the cooking. I’m nobody’s maid or chef.”

“Oh snap!” Sophie said from the couch. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Logan grinned at me. “You’re on.”

Sophie raised a hand. “But seriously, trust me, Nadine should be exempt from this little learning experience. Poor thing is kitchen challenged.”

Nadine laughed. “Screw you.”

Sophie just shrugged. “True story, girlfriend.”

I could see now what Logan meant about Sophie being a good friend once she had your back. I didn’t think we were anywhere near “friends,” but it felt good to have normal banter. No druids, no magic weird purple fire, just a friendly game of “teach the boys to cook.”

Logan stood, stretching, giving me a peek of the tan torso underneath his shirt and the muscles he hid there. Once you had seen someone naked you couldn’t really un-see it. The crunch of gravel, and then a car door slamming, brought me back to the present.

“Alright, it’s time to train,” he told me, and I groaned. So much for friendly banter.

There was a knock at the door. Keegan wiped his mouth quickly and smoothed his hair.

I furrowed my brow in confusion, until Keegan answered the door and I saw what the fuss was about.

Danny, Keegan’s ex-boyfriend, the same guy I saw at Eva’s club, stood on the other side. He was holding a to-go coffee cup and wearing a cute cable knit sweater.

“Keegan,” Danny said in a monotone voice.

Keegan nodded. “Thanks for coming.”

Danny’s eyes narrowed as if he wanted to say more, but he looked beyond Keegan to the rest of us and decided against it.

He waved. “Hey, everyone.”

The pack welcomed him from the doorway as Logan sidestepped Keegan and put one hand on Danny’s shoulder. He walked him out onto the porch, and nodded that I should follow.

“Cooper and Gear, you’re on dishes,” Keegan ordered, watching Danny and Logan walk out onto the gravel driveway and towards the barn.

Gear groaned.

I went to pass Keegan and follow them, when curiosity got the best of me.

“What’s he doing here?” I whispered.

Keegan sighed and his cheeks puffed out. “I made a call that was best for the pack. You need to train, and Danny is a strong sorcerer.”

My heart ached for him then, to have a relationship and then break up because you didn’t want to reveal your friend’s secret—only to have it revealed later. My heart also ached for myself. Because the entire pack thought I was half sorcerer and I wasn’t.

“Thanks,” I told him, giving his bicep a squeeze. It spoke big of his character that he would do that for me, for the pack.

He nodded to me and then looked again at the door. “He wore my favorite sweater. Fucker.”

I chuckled. Hell hath no fury like a lover scorned.

I made my way across the gravel lot and into the large dusty barn, where the guys were talking in low voices. “I can’t believe he didn’t trust me enough with this. I mean, I would have taken the oath before. I didn’t need to be paid like an employee just to keep your pack’s secrets.” Danny was giving Logan an earful.