Page 29 of Nicks and Cuts

“You have animals. I’ve seen them.”

“I have a small bit of land that I lease out to others.”

That explained how he paid the bills. A bit of money from the knives, a bit from renting land, and a bit from renting the room, and Dante had the freedom to do what he wanted.

Maybe there was a positive to being a creative…one who wasn’t existing on the hope of a lucky break but getting on with it. Dante wasn’t hustling to make things happen; he was just doing it. “Staying on an actual farm might be a bit too much…”

“You’ve grown me, so I’m happy for the arrangement to continue.” Dante’s phone alarm went off. “That will be dinner.”

“You’re still cleaning up. I’ll sort it out.”

“I won’t be much longer.”

Shannon walked toward the house, feeling a little less settled. What exactly did Dante like about the arrangement? The convenient sex?

He was enjoying that too. But it was all too easy, and he was waiting for the other boot to kick him in the ass.

CHAPTER

SIXTEEN

“There’s an empty place in the class on Saturday. Can I tempt you into the workshop?” Dante asked as he scooped up another bite of pasta bake. It was a new recipe that he’d seen online, and since he preferred meals that he could throw together and leave in the oven while he did something else, it was worth a chance.

He had not been convinced about the feta, chickpeas, and chicken, but it had come together better than he’d hoped. Not that he was about to share that Shannon was playing guinea pig.

Since he hadn’t groaned about having another roast and poked at it suspiciously, Dante was calling it a win. He knew he wasn’t the best cook, and while Shannon hadn’t said anything, it was clear when he cooked that he took more risks and was quite happy to stand there stirring a risotto for an hour.

“I don’t know.” He frowned as if trying to choose the next bite of food.

“Free.”

Shanno shook his head. “You can’t give your work away for free.”

Dante lifted his injured arm. “You did. Besides, it’s a little class, one day to make a cheese board and knife.”

“I’m not good at that stuff.”

“You’re scared of power tools?”

“No…but I’m not thrilled by the idea of being close to red hot metal. I don’t like dealing with burns.”

Dante didn’t tell him it was closer to white hot. “Bad time?”

“I’ve never liked them, but yeah, a bad time didn’t help. Everyone has things they don’t like dealing with. Some can’t handle hurt kids or vomiting, but you learn to push through it.”

“So that’s a yes to confronting your fear?”

Shannon gave him that look as if he was considering which artery to stab with his fork. He sighed. “I reserve the right to come up with an emergency so I can leave.”

Dante doubted that would happen. The act of creating something kept people entranced. “I think you’ll have fun.”

“Maybe. There’s a quiz night at the bar…the paramedics are putting together a table, but we’re short because some of us have to work. Join us.”

“I’m not a paramedic.” And he was sure quiz nights weren’t his thing.

“Ex-military…near enough. We cannot let the firefighters beat us.” Shannon smiled a little too sweetly. “I think you’ll have fun.”

“I see what you did there.” He couldn’t decide if this was some kind of sharp-edged flirting where they pushed each other or if there was something else beneath it. Had looking at rentals and thinking that he was going to be homeless put Shannon on edge…or did he want to move out and feel stuck?