Page 33 of Off the Trail

“What?” My pulse leaps at the possibility of bad news.

“I forgot about Brooke. She texted a little while ago asking about dinner.”

I forgot, too, and feel like a heel. “She can join us here,” I say, though that’s not a practical option since our meals are probably on the way out.

“No, she says she’ll see me at home. Oops.” He looks up at me, his eyebrows pulled down in a vee. “I can’t believe I forgot about her.”

“My fault, probably,” I say, because it kind of is.

He sucks his bottom lip into his mouth as if he’s thinking about how much of the blame to throw on my shoulders. “Nah, it’s all good. It’s not like we had a set plan or anything. We were being spontaneous. Plus, she’s probably happy to have a night to herself. I’m always around. I think that’s why she’s been spending so much time out of the house lately. Sometimes it’s annoying to have a roommate who’s a sibling.”

“That’s why you’re building the new house.”

He grins. “Am I the best brother in the world, or what?”

That’s an easy answer. “Absolutely.”

The pork chops are tender, the mashed potatoes sing, the baby carrots and parsnips add a hearty undertone to the meal. We eat and groan over how good it is. “Billie, tell Gail if she ever wants to come work at the retreat, we’ll kick Nolan out.”

Billie laughs and shakes her head. “You know she wouldn’t like the commute.”

“Working from home is pretty sweet,” Blaze agrees. “Well, give her our compliments.”

“Give them yourself.” Another middle-aged woman sporting a white apron with tight brown braids coiled over her head bustles our way. Blaze gets up to give her a hug and kiss on the cheek. She eyes me. “Who’s this?”

“Shawn Camden, this is Gail Peabody.”

I stand to shake her hand. “Amazing meal.”

“Really amazing,” Blaze echoes.

“Well, it’s about time you came to dinner here. We’ve been doing this Saturday dinner for about a year now. People seem to like them,” Gail says modestly.

“I’ll be sure to spread the word,” Blaze promises.

“Saved room for any dessert?” she asks. “I’ve got two slabs of chocolate cake with your names on them.”

“In that case, definitely,” Blaze answers. “Shawn?”

“Maybe I’ll just have a bite of yours,” I say, then wince because sharing desserts is definitely date behavior. Jesus, what am I doing?

But Blaze turns to Gail. “He’s more of a caramel person.”

“Is he now?” she says. “I made a crème caramel the other night. Let me see if I can rustle you up a bowl.”

“Oh, don’t go to any trouble,” I say weakly.

“No trouble for a friend of Blaze,” she says. “You boys sit tight.”

“You didn’t have to say anything,” I say, faintly embarrassed.

“She’s thrilled you loved the meal. And you can still have a bite of my cake if you want,” he says with a little wink.

I let out a breath. Okay, if he can joke about it, maybe I haven’t fucked up too badly. Maybe this is normal for rural Maine, two guy friends getting dinner and dessert with no romance implied whatsoever. It’s clearly all in my head.

Chapter 13

Blaze