Chapter 18
Lily
I hold the plate under the spray and watch the soapy bubbles roll off the ceramic, down the drain. My shoulders slump and my feet ache.
"Just a few more plates..." I whisper to myself.
Just a few more plates and I'll be able to go to bed.
Today was tough for me. I was in and out of the bathroom, puking for most of it. I spent hours sitting on the porch with Mini when really, I should have been in bed. Cooking dinner was the worst. I tried my hand at Mini's meatball recipe and the pungent odour of the raw beef cooking had my stomach roiling. To make matters worse, none of us were able to eat the thing because on Jakob's first bite, he discovered that meat was still raw and uncooked inside. He and Mini laughed it off, poking fun at my lack of cooking skills as he whipped up some scrambled eggs with ham and toast, but I still felt horrible about the whole thing.
I spin around at the sound of feet slapping against the kitchen floor.
"Hey," I say to Jakob as I set Mini's favorite teacup in the dish drainer.
He eyes me observantly. "You okay?" he asks with a concerned expression.
I smile. "Yeah. Been standing on my feet a little too long. That's all."
"Leave the rest of the dishes," he tells me, "I've got them."
I glance back at the pot with burnt pasta stuck to the bottom. "I'm almost done."
"Lily..." he says in that commanding tone that always gets me to back down. I don't know what it is about that cadence that gets me to submit every time.
With a sigh, I turn off the pipe and wipe my hands on a towel.
"Now, sit," he commands.
I make a big show of dropping into one of the kitchen chairs. "Happy?"
He smirks, dropping into the seat next to me. My heart grows fluttery having him this close. A nervous giggle bursts past my lips. His face becomes stoic, though and I immediately feel silly.
When he leans forward and pulls my puffy pregnant-lady foot into his lap, I grow edgy. "What are you doing?"
"Stop wiggling, Lily." He braces my foot firmly, pressing hard circles into my soles. His fingers are literally pulling the tension from my foot.
My head lolls to the side. "Oh..."
"Is that good?" He looks across at me, his eyes softer than I've ever seen them.
I bite my lip to keep from smiling too hard. I like the big, surly jerk of a farmer. But I like this guy, too. He's compassionate and kind and dare I say, sweet. He's been incredible since he found out I'm pregnant. I feel guilty that I expected him to be cruel, to fire me, even. I was wrong. He's been more than my boss. In his gruff way, he's been a friend. I guess there are still good guys out there. Not every man is Trevor.
"It's perfect," I whisper with a smile as he switches feet. "Thank you." I close my eyes and relax into his touch. "Nobody's taken care of me like this since I was a child."
My mother never had the time to dote over me. Honestly, she needed some affection herself. But when I'd get sick, she'd crawl into bed with me and read my favorite stories, then sing to me until I fell asleep. I remember faking illness on many occasions just to get her attention. I want to be better than that. I want my child to feel my love every day of the year.
Jakob doesn't say anything but his movements halt for a brief moment. When I look over at him, his eyes are hooded and needy.
"I should probably stop," he says huskily as he deposits my foot back on the cracked linoleum floor. He rises up and turns toward the hall.
"Jakob?" I call out after him.
He pauses, half-glancing over his shoulder.
"Thanks for being so good to me."
His wide shoulders straighten as if a weight just rolled off and he holds his head higher. Oh, what a man! He nods curtly without a word and then he continues on his way.
And now he's more than a good-looking guy I like to get a rise out of. He's so much more.