Juniper Hill (The Edens #2)(66)

“Snickerdoodles.”

“Perfect.”

I dropped my forehead to hers. No one else in the world would tell me to keep cooking. They’d look at the clock on the wall, see it was after five and realize the photographer was due here any minute, then they’d help me sweep it all away.

But not Memphis. She knew what I needed. A task. The slight disarray that made this kitchen my sanctuary. And her. I needed her.

For the first time in months, the restaurant was closed. Mondays were typically slow and I’d wanted to give the staff a day off to rest before the crazed Christmas schedule hit. That, and I’d wanted the day to clean without guests getting in the way.

Two weeks ago, right after Thanksgiving, I’d gotten an email from Lester Novak’s magazine asking when we could work in a photo shoot. I wasn’t sure if they’d want photos of the restaurant and the kitchen, so I’d made sure both were available and pristine.

Memphis and I had driven in together this morning. She’d offered to go home and give me space, but I wanted her here for this tonight. I wanted them both here.

Drake kicked and smiled, leaning my way.

I took him from her arms. “Hey, boss. How was daycare?”

“Great.” Memphis’s lip curled. “He was an angel, according to Jill.”

I chuckled. “Ignore her.”

“I know.” She sighed. “And I know this is just my insecurities showing. But I don’t like her.”

“You don’t have to. We could take my mom up on her offer.”

After Thanksgiving, my family had pulled Memphis into the fold. They loved her. They knew I loved her, even if I hadn’t said the words.

Mom didn’t like the idea of her grandchildren in daycare, so she watched Hudson most days while Winn was at the police station and Griffin was working on the ranch. She’d offered to take Drake too.

“That’s a lot to put on her,” Memphis said. “I don’t want to take advantage.”

“It’s not taking advantage if she wants to do it.” And Mom wanted to do it. She’d asked me five times in the past two weeks. It would be a longer drive for Memphis to take Drake out to the ranch each day, but we’d no longer be boxed in by pick-up and drop-off hours.

And secretly, I wanted her to do it. I wasn’t going to push, it was Memphis’s decision, but I wanted her to spend more time with my family. Because the more she was with them, the more she’d realize they were hers too.

“But two babies?” Memphis asked.

“She had six of her own. And Dad’s around to help.”

“I don’t know.” She scrunched up her nose. “I don’t want to upset Winn and Griffin because I added Drake to the mix.”

“Trust me. They don’t care.” They wanted Drake and Hudson to be buddies too.

Memphis tapped her chin. “Do you think she’d let me pay her?”

I scoffed. “Definitely not.”

“See? That feels like I’m taking advantage.”

“Tell you what . . . if you catch Jill gossiping again or she does something to piss you off once more, we tell her to fuck off. Deal?”

“Deal.”

I was guessing it would take approximately a week before Jill was history. Memphis had told me about walking into the center and hearing Jill’s comments to her coworker. It hadn’t surprised me. Small-town gossip in Quincy was as frequent as sunny days. And I’d been single for a long damn time. There hadn’t been a woman I’d wanted to date and it was known that I only hooked up with tourists who knew it would end after a night.

Until Memphis.

She’d blown into town and there would be no other women.

“Any calls today?” I asked.

“No. Nothing.” She worried her lip between her teeth.

It was driving her crazy that she hadn’t heard anything from her parents since before Thanksgiving. The assholes hadn’t bothered giving her an update, but I didn’t want her reaching out to them either. Not until they showed with a goddamn apology.

At this point, I was taking no news as a sign that Victor had paid whatever to whoever had blackmailed him. If they all disappeared, I wouldn’t be brokenhearted.

Memphis deserved a hell of a lot better for her family.

Luckily, I had the best one around.

“I was thinking about my sister today while I was driving to get Drake,” she said. “We used to go shopping together before every Christmas. It was the one thing we always did and enjoyed.”

“Spending money,” I teased.

“Yes.” She giggled. “She hasn’t spoken to me in months. I didn’t even realize how damaged our family was because we were all so good at keeping up appearances.”

“I’m sorry.” I pulled her into my side, kissing her hair.

“I’m not.” She touched Drake’s shoe. “He deserves better.”

“You both do.”

She smiled. “You’d better get going on these cookies.”

“Shit.” I laughed and gave her the baby. Then I worked with fury, mixing the dough and rolling it into balls while the oven preheated.

Memphis helped me clean up in a flash and as I stowed the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, the door opened and Mateo poked his head inside. “Your lady is here.”