Page 92 of One Kind Hand

She backed him out of the bedroom then took his hand to lead him to the kitchen. “Food first. Fuck second.”

“Fine.” He opened her refrigerator, but when he bent to peruse the shelves and gave Charlie a prime view of his denim-clad ass, she nearly rearranged that plan. Only her stomach rumbling again kept her on course.

“Here’s where room service in a fancy suite would be handy,” she said, coming to look over Austin’s shoulder.

“There’s plenty to work with in here. Let’s see . . .” He considered the contents for another moment then took out a package of cheddar cheese, a bottle of maple-smoked barbecue sauce, bacon, leftover chicken, lettuce, and a tomato. “What do you have for bread?”

She opened the freezer and waved a hand at their choices. “Whole wheat, sourdough, and white.”

“Grab the sourdough.”

She did as he asked then bent to a lower cupboard and extracted her panini press.

When she set it on the counter, Austin gave her a wide smile. “Wonderful.”

They assembled BBQ-bacon-cheddar-chicken sandwiches and melted them to perfection. Charlie pulled out some plates and added tortilla chips and pickles to their meals then carried both servings over to the couch. “We’ll be more comfy over here.”

Austin carried over two bottles of beer and joined her, setting them on coasters that had choppers on them. “Where does one get chopper coasters?”

“From one’s best friend when one’s best friend loses a bet.”

“I have to hear this one.” He reached for his plate and Charlie loved that Austin was as comfortable dining on culinary masterpieces in the luxurious interior of Wicked Gates as he was eating sandwiches on her aging couch in her small home.

“I said Isabel’s dog, Blaze, wouldn’t be able to resist an unattended hotdog,” Charlie said. “For some reason, she was convinced he would be. Completely ridiculous. I mean, I know some guys who couldn’t resist an unattended hotdog, never mind her pooch who is first of all, curious about everything, and secondly, hungry all the time.”

“So you set up a test?” Austin took a bite of his sandwich and Charlie’s stomach demanded she do the same. Whether it was because the sandwich looked good or Austin eating the sandwich looked good, she couldn’t quite say for sure. Maybe it was a little of both, but that was the best sandwich she’d ever eaten.

“We did. I even allowed the hotdog to be placed on a high counter.” She motioned to the coffee table. “Not something low like this.”

“That was more than fair of you.”

“I thought so.” She sipped her beer. “Well, it only took Blaze a minute and a half to get a whiff of that hotdog, jump up on his hind legs, and swipe that hotdog right off the counter. What’s crazy is that Isabel was genuinely surprised.” She shook her head. “I love the woman, but c’mon.”

Austin laughed. “And the reward for you being right was these coasters?”

“Yup, plus the ability to have I-told-you-so rights for the rest of that month. Man, did I make use of those rights too.”

“I’m glad you have Isabel and Eugene.” Austin rested his bare foot on the edge of the coffee table, looking relaxed and at home. A far cry from what he’d looked like this morning when she’d flown over the water.

“It seems as if your sisters are there for you when you need them too.”

“Yeah. They are. I just wish they’d find a path for their lives.” He licked barbecue sauce off his finger and Charlie wondered if she strategically covered herself in BBQ would he do the same to her. “On the other hand, though, Summer had found a path with her music and it led her down a dark tunnel none of us knew about.” He drew in a deep breath and let it rush out.

“But the music business is a tough path.” Charlie rubbed his forearm. “And Summer was relatively young to have all that success.”

“Success her manager should have been managing better so Summer wouldn’t have been overwhelmed.”

“Your remaining sisters saw what happened with Summer though,” Charlie said. “So it’s likely they’ll be more aware when they do decide on a path.”

“If they decide.” Austin shook his head. “Of course I make it easy for them not to decide with all the support I give them.”

“You’re a good brother.” Charlie squeezed his thigh. “And you’re not the sort of guy to suddenly cut off your sisters, but I got a . . . I don’t know . . . a vibe off Morgan. I don’t think she’s as immature as you think. Maybe that’s true of your other sisters too.”

“Perhaps.”

Charlie reached for the TV remote. One of Austin’s movies came up on the screen without her searching. “It’s like my TV knows I’m obsessed with you.”

Austin put his plate back on the coffee table and angled to face her. “Obsessed? Really? Tell me more.”