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“I’m sorry,” she said.
“It’s alright,” Chuck said. He was holding something.
“Oh my god. Is that…?”
“For you.”
He leaned in and passed her the chipped, yellow enamel cup.
She sniffed. Freshly brewed coffee. Yum. “I don’t deserve this.”
“No such thing as deserve,” Chuck said. “We all just get what we get.”
Another deep sniff, and then she raised the mug to her lips. “That’s the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.” It only took a moment before she was blushing. “Not that I put a lot of things in my… okay, I’m making this worse, aren’t I?”
“So much worse,” Chuck teased.
“You saved me.”
“Lucky I found you.”
“Chuck, you’ve gotta know… sometimes I do stuff like this.” Her shame bubbled up, but somehow, she fought her way through it. “It’s not your fault. That’s what I want you to know. I didn’t drink all that booze because of what happened at the stables. I did it because I’m a fuck-up.”
He shook his head. “Young lady, that’s against the rules.”
She tried to get her addled brain to think back to the list of rules they’d come up with together. “Is it?”
“Putting yourself down is banned. And cussing is double-banned. Zero tolerance from now on.” He crossed his arms.
“Okay.” She wanted so badly to call him Sir. Or Daddy. Would that be weird?
With your history, of course it’s weird.
“Good. We’re looking forward now, not back, alright? The past is the past.”
Was he reading her mind? “That would be nice.”
“Good. Now, time for some breakfast.”
“Wait, you built this place?” Millie managed to get the words out between shoveling mouthfuls of savory sausage, rich scrambled eggs, and ultra-crispy bacon into her hungry mouth.
“With my dad. I always had a thing for being close to nature.”
“Oh yeah! I remember! What did you use to call it? Forest swimming?”
Was he blushing? “Forest bathing.”
Chuck, when she’d known him as Charles, would occasionally go off into the woods for a long weekend. He’d return happy and calm.
“My dad used to take the piss out of you for that.”
“Take the piss?” Chuck raised an eyebrow.
“It’s English for teasing,” she grinned.
“Is that right?”
“So you and your dad built it?”
