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They all watched the pot for a few minutes then Cody pronounced, “It’s time for this one to come out.”
“How do you know?” Stacey asked.
“When it turns red.” Jean’s tone implied that anyone should know that.
Cody picked up tongs, reached into the pot and pulled out the lobster. Giving it a gentle shake, he placed it on the paper. “Don’t touch. It’ll still be too hot.” He opened the bag of tiny potatoes and dumped them in the pot. “Jean, let’s go get the other two.”
His daughter didn’t hesitate, slipping her hand into her father’s larger one. It was a sweet picture, one that Stacey had never experienced with her own father. Shaking off the morose thought, she watched them return with the second pot. Was Jean afraid she might lose her father like she had her mother? What was the real story about Cody’s wife?
They returned and set the trap down. She and Lizzy considered the lobsters. One of them was missing a claw.
“What happened?” Stacey asked no one in particular.
“They get in fights when sharing space.” Cody picked up the lobster. “This one lost.” He unceremoniously dropped that one and then the other into the water.
Once again Lizzie covered her ears, and Stacey joined her. Cody was wearing one of those spectacular smiles she rarely had a glimpse of. The one that made her stomach flutter. When the lobsters were done he lifted them out. He then dumped the water, saving the potatoes. Those he poured out onto the paper. “Stacey, would you please get the butter?”
She did and placed it on the paper as well. He sat on the ground and the girls joined him around the paper “table.” Stacey took her spot. Cody reached for the cans of drink and handed one to each of them. Next, he picked up one of the lobsters, removed its head then, using the knife, sliced it down the middle of the back. Pulling the meat from the tail, he halved it and gave a piece to Jean and the other to Lizzy.
He picked up another and waggled it at her. “Do you want to do the honors or shall I?”
“Let me have a try.” Stacey reached for the lobster.
“Figures. Is there anything you won’t try?”
Stacey looked directly at him. “I try to stay open to new things.”
He raised a brow, his gaze not leaving hers as he handed her the lobster.
She clenched her jaw as she twisted the head off, following his example. Handing the body to Cody, she waited while he sliced it open and returned it.
“Here, dip it in the butter.” Jean pushed the bowl toward her.
Stacey did as Jean suggested then put the white meat into her month. “Mmm...” A rivulet of butter ran down her chin. “Wipe.” She waved a hand in a give me, give me motion.
“Be still and I’ll get it.” Using a napkin, Cody caught the stream before it dripped onto her jacket.
Her gaze jumped to his. Her breaths came in jerks as if she had been running. Among all the men in the world, why did this one affect her so? Why did she let him? It had to stop. “May I have my own napkin?”
Cody pulled back as if rejected. Dismay filled her. She hadn’t meant to sound so harsh. But they were becoming too easy with each other. She was being sucked into his world. Even worse, she liked it. But she didn’t belong here. Had no experience with a real family.
Reaching beside him, he snagged a napkin and thrust it in her direction.
“Thanks.”
“Daddy, my hair is getting in the way.” With a messy hand Lizzy pushed the mass of hair that had slipped from the band.
“Scoot around this way and I’ll fix it for you,” Stacey offered.
“I’ll get it.” Cody moved to stand.
“Stacey can do it.” Lizzy turned her back to Stacey. Cleaning her hands with her napkin, she brought the girl’s hair under control.
Lizzy twisted around and studied her with unnerving intensity. “You’d be a good mommy.”
“We already have a mommy,” Jean announced in a flat tone.
The painful silence was broken when Cody said, “Girls, you need to eat. It’s getting dark.”
The rest of the meal revolved around finishing it. Done, they all pitched in to clean up.
Amazed, Stacey watched Cody roll what was left of the meal and any garbage in the paper and throw it on the fire. The rest of the stuff he dropped into the pot, including the empty drink cans. “Best clean-up job I’ve ever seen.”
Looking pleased with her praise, he confessed, “I’ll admit this is the easiest meal I cook. Jean, Lizzy, grab an armload and head for the house.”
The girls did as he requested and were soon on their way up the path.
Stacey picked up the pot. “You’re making great memories for them.” What had made her say or think something like that? She knew nothing about making family memories, especially good ones. There were only a few in her childhood that would even measure up to the worth-remembering mark. Still, it was nice to know that even though the girls didn’t have their mother, they could still have a happy life. Cody was doing all he could to make that happen.
