Page 55 of Mountain Struggle

One could get used to this kind of food.

Tess realized she was starving. She loved Damien’s stir-fried rice, cooked with copious amounts of soy sauce.

Something pinged, and Damien’s eyes went to the laptop open on the counter beside him.

“Shit,” he breathed. “I’m sorry. We still haven’t been able to identify the car,” he explained.

Tess understood from his expression that it was a bit like finding a needle in a haystack.

The doorbell rang.

“There’s Jamie,” she said, going to the door. The boy ran inside and hugged Tess tightly.

“Tess!”

“Easy, buddy,” Damien said, unwrapping the boy’s arms from around her waist.

“Are you okay, Tess?” John asked. His deep, wrinkled eyes were full of concern.

“I’m okay,” she said, smiling.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Jamie,” John said.

“We’re having dinner soon, Dad. Why don’t you eat with us?”

“I would, but I’m meeting Sebastian and Kris for dinner tonight.”

Tess smiled. Dinner seemed to be code for poker in John’s world—she doubted the men were planning on eating much.

Damien stepped out of the house. “Stay inside and lock the doors. I’ll be back in a minute, I’m going to speak with Gael and Kat.”

A couple minutes later, Gael and Kat left for the night. A patrol car would drive by later on that night to make sure everything was okay.

“Wash your hands, Jamie, and come back to set the table, please,” Damien asked. Jamie ran off towards the bathroom.

“How can I help?” she asked.

Damien moved the stool next to him with his foot. “Sit down and rest, Tess. We’ll take care of it today.”

He handed her a glass of flavored sparkling water. It was her favorite flavor, and her eyes filled with tears to realize he’d noticed.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Damien’s concerned expression made her cry even harder. She wiped the tears quickly, looking in the direction Jamie had disappeared in, taking in two deep breaths until she felt slightly more in control.

“I’m okay,” she said.

Just then, Jamie came running into the combined kitchen and living room area.

“Are your hands clean?” Damien asked.

Jamie raised them high in the air, as if Damien had a cleanliness meter.

“Spotless,” Damien confirmed. “Grab the placemats, please, Jamie.”

Jamie set three placemats on the dining table, then went to the drawer to pick up napkins and cutlery. The plates were too high for him to reach, so Tess got off the stool and handed them to him, along with three glasses, which she gave to the boy one at a time. Finally, the boy admired the table. Tess could see him counting carefully to make sure he hadn’t missed anything.

“Great job, pumpkin,” she said, ruffling the boy’s hair affectionately.

“Can I try some?” Jamie asked, clambering onto the stool next to hers and reaching for her glass.