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“That’s okay,” I said, setting my computer on the coffee table. “It’s a little early for dinner, so why don’t you and your wolf help me make some brownies? We can have them for dessert later.”
Her eyes lit up at that, and going outside was quickly forgotten as I stood up, following Bella to the kitchen. I turned the oven on to preheat and pulled out one of the chairs at the kitchen table for her, helping her up so she could see over the counter. It took me a minute to find where everything was — bowls, measuring cups, tablespoons — but it wasn’t that big of a kitchen, and there weren’t that many drawers.
I found the box of brownie mix Luna had packed for us and pulled out the rest of the ingredients on the list: oil, eggs, and water. I opened the box and poured the brownie mix into a mixing bowl before turning back to Bella. “You want to help me measure out the ingredients?” I offered.
She looked uncertain, so I smiled. “Here, I’ll help,” I said. “First we need two-thirds cup of oil.” When Bella pointed at the bottle of sunflower oil hesitantly, I nodded enthusiastically. She picked it up and I stood behind her, guiding her hand with my own as she poured out the oil shakily. A little more than necessary glubbed out of the container and onto the counter top. Bella cringed and I just hummed, setting the bottle back down.
“No big deal,” I reassured her, reaching across the counter to get some paper towels. “We just clean up after ourselves.”
It was a bit easier for Bella to empty the measuring cups into the mix, but the eggs presented a whole other problem. Deciding I didn’t want to make Bella crack them when she was so unsure, lest she accidentally explode one and have a bad experience, I added all three eggs to the mix. Once all the ingredients were in the bowl, I held up the whisk. “Have you ever used one of these before?”
Bella shook her head and I smiled. “That’s fine. I’ll show you.”
She watched with wide eyes as I stirred, her eyes getting even wider as I handed the whisk over to her. “You can do it,” I encouraged her. “It will taste a lot better if you help, you know. And if you do that for me, I can make sure the pan is ready.”
Bella took the metal whisk tentatively, eyeing it for several silent seconds before she slowly began to stir. It clearly took a bit more effort for her, but after a few moments, she seemed to gain confidence, stirring with a bit more enthusiasm.
As she worked, I looked around the kitchen for a pan.I should have checked for that before I opened the container…
I was just starting to wonder if you could cook brownies in a bowl when I finally found a pan hiding in the lazy Susan. Breathing a sigh of relief, I took a moment to oil it before returning to Bella. The batter looked pretty well-mixed, if not a little lumpy. That was fine, though — we were making brownies, not a cake.
“That looks great!” I told her, taking the whisk and placing it carefully in the sink. “Now we can just put our batter in our pan, and then it will bake.” I showed her how to move it into the dish, and finally, the brownies were in the oven. To my surprise, when I turned back around and asked Bella if she’d like to help clean up, the little girl actually nodded. I beamed at her.
“Thank you, Bella!” I reached over to give her a one-armed squeeze before handing her a wash rag. Her drying might not have been the best I’d ever seen, but I didn’t mind the streaky dishes. The smile on her face was worth much, much more than that.
Once we’d cleaned up,Bella was content to play with the coloring books and crayons Fiona had packed while I actually made dinner and took the brownies out to cool. None of us had any idea of what Bella liked to eat — if she was picky or if liked to try new things — so everything was sort of an experiment. I didn’t have the energy to make a second meal if the first one was a failure, though, so the chicken tenders and fries in the freezer were the obvious choice.
I’d just gotten them in the oven when Eli reappeared from wherever he and Nic had absconded to.
“It’s time for us to head out,” he said. I hated how grave he sounded.
“You’re sure?” I asked, even though I knew he was.
Eli simply nodded and I sighed, dipping my head in resignation. I hated the idea of him going on this…this…I don’t know, mission, really, without me. He was hardly alone — he’d have Remus and Nic and whoever else was coming from Remus’ pack. I imagined the man would bring his beta along at the very least. Eli was also a perfectly capable alpha, but…I’d never had anyone else’s help on a case before. It was one thing to work with someone, but sitting around and waiting while someone else did the work?
It made me so uncomfortable, but I knew that if I went with them, I’d be nothing but a liability. I might have been feeling a little better — I didn’t feel winded every time I went up and down the stairs, and no longer felt like I had the joints of a ninety-year-old human anymore — but that didn’t mean I was healed. Even if silver hadn’t been involved, they’d managed to fry my pacemaker’s battery. Having that replaced took, well, healing time. If something happened to Eli — or his family, for that matter — because I was stubborn and couldn’t take care of myself, I’d never get over it.
“Be careful,” I finally said.
He nodded again, leaning in and hesitating. I rolled my eyes, the corner of my lip twitching as a smile threatened my otherwise somber expression. I leaned up and kissed the side of his mouth. “You can have more if you come back in one piece,” I teased.
Eli raised his brows, some of that familiar sparkle returning to his cool blue eyes. “Is that a promise?”
“Only one way to find out,” I replied in a sing-song voice. Eli simply laughed and nodded, pausing long enough to say good night to Bella before he slipped back outside.
I sighed, listening to the car pull out of the driveway and the silence that followed. Eli had said that Clay and Jaxon would remain close — out of sight, but nearby. I wasn’t that concerned about my safety, but I supposed it was good he was thinking of those things, especially for Bella’s sake.
I glanced back into the living room, but she was still coloring away. I decided to leave her be, waiting to call her for dinner until the kitchen timer went off.
After dinner,I turned on the TV. Naturally, it had every cable channel available, as well as more on-demand movies and shows than I knew existed. I didn’t want to charge anything to Remus’ account — not when he was already letting us stay in his house — and eventually, I found several Disney movies for free. They were the classics, and after a moment of browsing, I settled on101 Dalmatians.
“You ever see this one before?” I asked, nestling in next to Bella on the couch as she mashed the last brownie remnants into her mouth. I eyed the crumbs falling every which way and fought back a sigh.I’ll have to make sure that gets picked up before we leave.
She shook her head and I nodded, making myself comfortable against the armrest. “I think you’ll like it.”
Bella snuggled up to me a few moments later once the brownie was gone, licking the last molecules of flavor off her finger before settling in with wide eyes. Even though she was young, she turned out to be a great movie buddy — she didn’t say a thing during the entire film. I’m not even sure if she blinked. I hoped that meant she was enjoying it.
Once the movie was over and the credits rolled, she finally tore her gaze away, reaching up with one hand to rub at her eyes. I checked my phone and smiled to myself — it was probably well past her bedtime, but she had had a pretty long nap in the middle of the day. I sat up slowly, trying not to jostle her too much. “Ready for bed?” I prompted.
