Jake

“Come on, monkey bear,” I said to Jamie. I held her above me as if she were flying as I walked to the front of the house.

Her giggles were the highlight of my day.

“Let’s wash up,” I said, putting her down before I pushed open the door.

A smell so sublime assaulted my nose and my stomach growled in delight. My father sat contentedly at the counter. The woman behind it stole my breath when her honey-brown eyes lifted and met my own.

“Hungry?” she asked.

Seeing her confused which appetite I wanted to feed.

“Yes, ma’am.”

I took off my hat. I hung it on the ancient coatrack Dad had made for Mom many years ago.

“Why don’t you two get cleaned up and I’ll make a plate for you?” she offered.

Jamie must’ve been hungry because she darted down the hall. I stayed and watched Honey a few moments longer. She stirred something inside me that I had no business feeling.

I finally followed Jamie all the way to the back where the addition of another master suite had been built for me.

The pitter-patter of my daughter’s feet signaled that she’d beaten me back to the table. Upon my return, I found Honey kneeled in front of her.

“What’s that, sweetie?”

As Jamie stuttered her way to an answer, based on encounters Jamie’s had with strangers I was ready to step in if she criticized my daughter in any way. Though I wasn’t surprised when she didn’t look at all annoyed that it took triple the time for Jamie to construct a sentence than the average person. Instead her face was open with a welcoming smile for Jamie.

“Sure thing,” she said, and pinched Jamie’s cheek.

I walked over to the counter, but Honey shooed me away.

“You go sit down. I’ve got this. This is what you pay me for.”

“Actually, I don’t pay you to wait on me,” I said dryly.

Honey’s smile dipped for a second before it returned full force.

“Well, then, let’s just call it good manners. Where I’m from, if someone comes in after working hard, it’s polite to let them take a load off. If that means serving them, it’s fine with me.”

She made me a plate piled high with meat and mashed potatoes. Hunger won over what she’d called good manners. I dug in and had to suppress a groan. The woman could cook—so much so I didn’t mind the leafy green vegetables on the plate. Jamie was eating like she’d been starved for months.

Silently, I berated myself for being a poor substitute for Mom. Since she’d been gone, I’d done my best to cook for us. But seeing her voracious appetite back in force, I silently missed Mom—and was thankful for Honey.

After Jamie had seconds, a heavenly smell drifted from the kitchen. I watched as Honey pulled out a pan with something scented with vanilla.

She spied me watching her.

“Sorry, I didn’t have time to do anything fancy. It’s just pound cake. I hope you like it,” she said.

Odd thoughts—like proposing marriage—popped into my head.

“If you won’t say it, boy, I will,” Dad said. “Martha, forgive me.” He stared at the ceiling for a second before staring at Honey again. “Will you marry me?”

Honey blushed as she laughed, bringing out the golden hues in her eyes.

“It’s nothing. My grams taught me all I know.”

She sliced up cake and added a scoop of ice cream on each plate before serving us. If she kept this up, I’d put on more than a few pounds in the coming weeks.

When we were finished eating, Jamie took our plates to the kitchen. It’d long been a routine that those who didn’t cook had to help in the cleanup.

“I like her,” Dad said to me, with Honey several feet away.

I tried my best to ignore him. The sounds of Jamie’s laughter drifted from around the counter. Honey had created a heap of bubbles in the sink.

My chair scraped across the floor, and Dad gave me a raised brow. I ignored him and stomped toward the kitchen, not totally sure why I was pissed off.

“Jamie and I can handle the dishes,” I announced.

There it was. I’d been jealous.

“It’s okay,” Honey said, giggling with Jamie and not even looking at me. “We’ve got this.”

I folded my arms across my chest. Though I’d been tired and not doing the dishes sounded appealing, housekeeping hadn’t been in her job description.

“I can help.”

Worn out from the day, I sounded more surly than I’d meant to. She turned and glared at me outside of Jamie’s view.

“Well, then. Why don’t you dry?”

Honey sounded annoyed but she swung a wet plate in my direction. Water droplets rained down on me. She slapped it into my open palm and then turned a sweet smile back to my daughter, who giggled.

I grabbed a towel and dried.

They chatted, and I shouldn’t have been angry that she got along well with my daughter. But I hadn’t had to share Jamie with anyone other than my folks. What was going on with Honey was different. I felt like I was being replaced, which was dumb considering she’d hadn’t been here a day yet. Clearly, I needed sleep so I could rein in my emotions.

After we finished the dishes and all the leftovers were put away, I sent Jamie off to get ready for bed. Dad had eased into his worn leather recliner and was out.

“Can I talk to you for a second?”

Honey wiped her hands on a towel. “Sure.”

I walked to the back door and held it open. She breezed by and the scent of wild honeysuckle wafted from her. I closed my eyes a second before following her out onto the covered back porch.

She turned and folded her arms across her chest.

Annoyance was written all over her face. “So, sugar, should I pack my things? And by the way, did Jamie tell you that you had a woman come by looking for you?”

For some messed-up reason, her anger toward me was a total fucking turn-on. I stepped in her direction, wanting to kiss that frown right off her face. Luckily, I stopped my feet from moving as her expression changed. She looked almost confused, as though she could sense my sexual frustration from just standing in her presence.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Jamie called my name. I turned around to find her standing behind me with a book in her hand. She hadn’t had enough time to take a bath, but there was worry on her face. My gaze bounced back to Honey and then to Jamie. Was she afraid Honey would be fired within hours like the last few we’d hired?

Turning back to Honey, I said, “We’re not done with this conversation.”

Jamie’s stuttered “Daddy” had me refocusing on her, so I left to figure out why she needed me. She was my priority, not Honey.