Five women from the shelter attended the next morning’s class at the restaurant. After a warm welcome, Holly told them what they would be preparing that day, as usual. She assigned stations, as usual. She dispensed ingredients, as usual. Everything was as usual as far as she was concerned.
“Something’s different about you today,” Madalyn said.
Holly stopped to look at her. “What do you mean?”
“Not sure. But something’s different.”
Holly tried to shake off the words, but her heart fluttered, as if it wanted to give her away. Because Madalyn was right. She was different. Jed’s kiss yesterday had changed her. She felt more hopeful, more carefree, more alive, more . . . something.
“Are you in love?” Willow asked from Holly’s right side.
She turned her head. In love? No. That wasn’t possible. She cared for Jed. She was attracted to him. His kiss had thrilled her. But love?
Willow watched her with a steady gaze. “With Jed Henning.”
I love Jed. She tried out the words in her head. Do I love him? No, it’s too soon, even if I wanted it to be true. And I don’t want it to be true. Do I?
“He’s a good man, isn’t he?” Willow prompted.
“I think so. I mean yes, I’m sure he is a good man.”
“Is he a man who loves his family? Would he do anything for them?”
“Yes, I believe he would. Family’s what brought him to Boise.”
“Then I’m glad for you.” Willow lowered her eyes to the mozzarella cheese and grater before her.
Laughter from the opposite end of the worktable drew Holly’s attention, and soon after she moved away from Willow’s side to answer a question from one of the other women. But in the back of her mind, she didn’t forget her own question: Is it possible I love him?
Every moment of her time with Jed yesterday had been special. The hike. The weather. The kiss. The early fast-food dinner they’d shared before going home. Even their parting words before each had returned to their separate living quarters.
Am I in love with him?
Even if it was love, could she trust those feelings? Didn’t the Bible say the heart was deceptive above all else? She’d been in love with Nathan and that had ended in disaster. Nathan had given her plenty of clues to let her know something wasn’t right between them, that he wasn’t the man she’d believed him to be. She’d seen and ignored all those clues because she’d loved him. Or thought it was love. How could she be sure of what she felt for Jed?
Slowly, she became aware that the kitchen had fallen silent. Then she realized her students were all looking toward the back entrance. She followed their gazes—and there stood the man at the center of her thoughts, the door closing behind him. Her pulse quickened.
Sorry, Jed mouthed.
Feeling ridiculously happy to see him, her doubts evaporating, she walked across the kitchen. She didn’t need to define her feelings, she decided. She could simply enjoy them.
“Didn’t mean to intrude, but curiosity got the better of me.” He smiled that slow smile of his. “I wanted to see what you’re doing with these lessons. Or am I banned because I’m male?”
She wished she could kiss him. Instead, she faced the small group of women. “Anybody object to Jed joining us?”
Shaking heads confirmed what she’d suspected. Perhaps it helped that they’d all met him on Saturday in the Lighthouse common room.
She faced Jed a second time. “There’s an apron over there.” She pointed. “And you can wash your hands in that sink.”
“I’m here to watch.”
“No one just watches in my class.” She gave him a sassy smile, feeling happier by the second. “Apron, sir.”
Someone behind Holly laughed. She suspected it was Willow, but she didn’t look to see if she was right. It was more fun to watch Jed’s expression as he tried to decide whether or not to comply with her command. In the end he did. However, there was a mischievous look in his eyes that said he would be thinking up an appropriate payback for the future.
Once he donned the apron and washed his hands, Holly led him to a spot at the work counter. Handing him a knife, she said, “Your job is to slice the mushrooms really thin. And don’t cut yourself.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “You think I don’t know how to use a knife?”
She didn’t answer him. Instead, she directed her comments to the whole kitchen. “Since there are six of you now, let’s break into groups of three, and each group will complete the lasagna recipe. We should have plenty of the ingredients. I’ll get the extra bowls and pans we’ll need.”
* * *
Jed was surprised how much he enjoyed the next hour and a half. He’d spent so much time at work that he was lucky to know where the kitchen in his home was. He was used to takeout and delivered meals and rarely prepared anything more than coffee. But he hadn’t lied. He could slice, dice, and chop when required.
While the lasagna baked in the oven, four of the women cleaned up the counters. Jed washed the dishes and utensils, and Willow dried them. No one rushed with their duties since they had a forty-five-minute wait. Small conversations took place around the large room, the sound pleasant.
“Do you like to cook too?” Willow put the last of the dirty items into the dishwater.
He shrugged. “I enjoyed this morning. But it isn’t much fun to cook for one. I don’t see making a recipe like this for myself.”
“I know.” A shadow passed over her face. Then she smiled softly. “But my little boy is growing up, so when I leave the shelter, I won’t be cooking for one. AJ loves lots of the things Holly’s taught us to make, and he’s got a healthy appetite.”
“Mom says Chris and I tried to eat her out of house and home when we were little.”
“Chris is your brother.” It didn’t sound like a question.
“Yeah. My kid brother.”
“You’re close?”
He let a bowl settle back to the bottom of the suds-filled sink. “We were, once. I’d like us to be again. That’s why I’m in Boise. To see if we can figure things out.” A few weeks ago, that would have been mostly a lie. He’d come to Boise because he was forced to. He’d come to try to save his company. But the words weren’t a lie now. He really did want to figure things out with Chris, if his brother would give him the chance.
“It isn’t easy, figuring things out.” She spoke softly, almost to herself.
“No. It isn’t.”
“I hope it works out for you. I’ll bet your brother does too. Whether or not he knows it.”
“Thanks.” He held out the rinsed bowl to her, and she took it with the towel in her hands.
The oven timer chimed, putting an end to their conversation.
“We’ll let it cool about ten minutes,” Holly said as she removed the pans of lasagna from the oven, “before we cut into it. To lower your costs when making this recipe, you can use frozen spinach instead of fresh. And even if you’re making it for only one or two people, you can cut it up in single-size portions and freeze it for later. If you do that, be sure you use airtight containers. That will keep it good for up to about three months.”
Willow leaned closer to Jed. “Looks like you can make it for yourself after all.” Then she moved away.
Smiling to himself, wondering if he ever might make lasagna in his kitchen back home, Jed let the water out of the sink, then rinsed away the last of the suds with a spray of fresh water. Holly joined him before he’d finished.
“What did you say to Willow?”
He raised an eyebrow in her direction.
“She hardly talks to anybody. Even to me. But she sure seems to have warmed up to you.”
“Huh. Don’t think it was anything I said. She seems like a nice girl.”
Holly leaned closer and lowered her voice even more. “Should I be jealous?” The teasing lilt was back.
“No need.” He wasn’t teasing. “She can’t hold a candle to you.”
Holly blushed, and it made him grin.
“Isn’t it ten minutes yet?” Madalyn asked. “We’re ready to try it out.”
Jed and Holly turned from the sink, and while Holly headed toward the cooling lasagna, Jed wondered if she noticed the knowing looks on the faces of the other women.