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“Why aren’t you going? Didn’t you and Shianne have fun at the Bourbon Ball?”
Spencer shrugged. “It was alright, but we’re not that compatible.”
Aidyn chuckled. “Okay. I’ll be ready in about a half hour or so.”
They entered the house together where Adelaide sat at the counter talking to their new cook and housekeeper, Helissa.
“So, you actually like cooking?”
Helissa was middle-aged but slender. Her hair was dark with gray streaks running through it, though she had it pulled back and twisted into a bun at the nape of her neck.
“Yes. I enjoy cooking. I’ve been doing it my entire life. I take it you don’t like cooking.”
Addy shrugged. “Not really. But then I’ve never really cooked. We’ve always had a cook at home. My mom’s a doctor and worked a fair amount and my dad is an operative like us here, so there were times he was gone too.”
Helissa nodded and continued to cut carrots. She turned as they entered. “Hello. Supper will be ready in thirty minutes.”
Aidyn nodded and grinned at Adelaide. “Did you come up with a name yet?”
“I’m still waiting for your input.”
Aidyn waved his hand, “Feel free to go one without me. I’m not creative in that way. My kids one day will be named One, Two, and Three.”
This made the room laugh. All of them.
Addy shook her head. “I hope your wife will be more creative than that. Poor little kids.”
He shrugged and went back to his bedroom to pack his laptop case. He’d purchased Elena a pair of fingerless gloves today that had a mitten top she could pull over her bare fingers if she needed to warm them. He wanted to give them to her tonight. Hopefully she’d be able to come down the mountain, otherwise on his way home he’d tuck them under the vines at the big tree.
Pulling his laptop case strap over his shoulder, he moved through the house. He still enjoyed the way it was set up. Their rooms were all separated throughout the house. So that when they married, like Tate and Lara, and they’d want to live on site for a while, there’d be some privacy. His room was at the east side of the house, which suited him because it was closest to the foot of the mountain. He wondered if Elena would ever come here. He stopped in the dining room at the thought of her sitting at the table with him and it gave his stomach a flutter. Shaking his head, he turned and walked through the kitchen and out to his truck to stow his laptop with his gift for Elena.
He swallowed as he laid his hand over the case where her gloves were tucked away. His feelings were so jumbled up about her. He barely knew her but she called to him. He knew she lived a hard life and that hurt his heart; he lived in this nice home while she lived in a cabin in the mountains. Not that that was bad, but it wasn’t plush.
Her clothing was rudimentary but clean. Her hair and skin were soft and that was the contrast. She lived a simple life but didn’t act like it. And she smelled like lavender and...more.
And he liked kissing her. Her lips were soft and molded to his perfectly. Her body fit his in all the right ways. But he knew he had to be careful, so she wasn’t a target up there. He didn’t know if she had a way to protect herself.
ChapterEighteen
Elena strode to the brewing area in the morning and began setting up the still they used. It had been pieced together over the years as parts broke on it. It worked and did what it was supposed to do. Basically, she’d take the mixture she’d boiled down yesterday and pour it into the still, bits at a time. She’d heat it up and boil it then as it cooled the condensation and vapor would be captured. She didn’t have a copper pot, which was ideal, so she used copper components to remove the sulfur-based compounds from her elixir.
It was painstaking the way they did it. Kent had told her they had modern apparatuses they used in larger facilities in the outside world. She didn’t have access to that, so she maintained the old-fashioned way, the way she was taught, and hopefully Craig would always find her useful. If not, she’d need to find a way off the mountain and survive differently.
She poured some of her mixture into the still then started the fire under it to begin the boil. She felt eyes on her but refused to look around. Then she heard his voice.
“Morning, Elena. Glad to see you started this morning.”
She took a deep breath and plastered on a smile before turning to see Craig standing a few yards away from her.
“Morning. Need to get an early start so the first batch can be finished later today.”
She didn’t wait for him to answer and made herself look busier than she was. The way he stared gave her the creeps.
She scooped more of the liquid from the large kettles into a pail and slowly poured it into the still as it heated. Craig watched her for a long time.
Finally, Theresa approached from her right. “Morning, Elena. What can I help you with today?”
“Morning, Theresa. I have laundry to do today if you don’t mind.”
