the Broken Road

Chapter 8

Lev listened for the sound of voices as he trudged up the stairs but the only thing he heard was the hum of the dishwasher.  Where was everybody?

He could care less about his Dad or Jody and right now the twins weren’t a priority.  Mostly, he just wanted to know what happened to Tay.  He’d woken up disoriented and when he finally realized whose bed he occupied he’d been disappointed to find her gone.  A glance at the clock told him it was pushing ten, so he knew breakfast was long over.

How she still managed to get up so early to take care of his family after yesterday, particularly last night, amazed him.  Though, if he got paid to make them breakfast he’d probably drag his butt out of bed too.

Still, she hadn’t slept well and he could only imagine how tired she must be.  He smiled to himself at the memory of Tay falling asleep in his arms.  He’d never allowed anyone to get that close to him before, but with her it felt completely natural and undeniably right. 

Eat your heart out, Alex.

He crested the stairs, his eyes panning across the kitchen and then to the dining room, spotting Tay sitting alone at the ridiculously long table.  Her eyes were focused on the laptop in front of her, scanning whatever page she had open.  A small tablet lay in front of her but the pencil in her hands slid in and out of the messy bun piled atop her head instead of actually writing anything down.  A mug sat next to it all and he grinned, assuming it was a cup of coffee.  He could still smell the hint of brewed beans lingering in the air.

She obviously hadn’t showered but she’d at least changed out of the t-shirt and shorts she used as pajamas before serving breakfast.

Despite the fatigue evidenced by the puffiness of her eyes, Lev thought she looked beautiful.  She had no idea he stood there watching her, but he liked it that way.  He got to see the true Tay, the things she did or said when she thought no one was looking.

She was too focused on whatever she studied to notice him so he finally cleared his throat, bringing her eyes snapping to his in surprise.

“No room service today?”

She grinned and motioned to the kitchen with her pencil.  “Sorry, the hired help is exhausted and has too many other thing to do that she’ll actually get paid for.  There’s plenty of leftovers though, so help yourself.”

“You could’ve come back to bed when it was over.  I would’ve shared,” Lev offered, shuffling into the kitchen.

He heard her give a derisive snort. “Gee, thanks, seeing as how it’s my room and all.”

Lev rifled through the fridge, finding and reheating leftover pancakes and bacon, before joining Tay at the table.  “So, what is so important that you have to get done today?”

She glanced briefly at his plate, taking in the food, before looking back at her computer screen.  “Well, where would you like me to start?  By the time Stu and Jody left with the girls, I had an impressive list compiled.”

Lev raised his eyebrows, wondering what they wanted her to do.  “I thought you were on vacation.”

She sat back with a sigh, finally looking up to meet his eyes.

“I am.  Unless they need me for something.  One of our renos ran into a snag.  Turns out the tile we ordered for the flooring in the kitchen and all six of the bathrooms is on back order.  So, unless we want our schedule to be shot to you-know-where, I’ve gotta come up with an alternative fast.  On top of that, Jody wants me to clean today as well as go shopping for the week.  She’s got a bunch of fresh fish on the menu and she wants tons of fruits and veggiess.  I’m going to be running all over the freakin’ place.  A-n-d-. . . .”