Page 99 of Juniper Hill (The Edens 2)

Memphis walked in with Drake on her hip. Her smile dropped as she saw the mess on the prep table, then her eyes softened. “You’re nervous.”

“I’m nervous,” I admitted, my shoulders falling. And now, instead of a clean kitchen, I had a half-started batch of cookie dough. “I’d better clean this up.”

“No, don’t.” She walked over and stood on her toes, tugging at my coat so I’d bend and give her a kiss. “Make whatever it is you’re making.”

“Snickerdoodles.”

“Perfect.”

I dropped my forehead to hers. No one else in the world would tell me to keep cooking. They’d look at the clock on the wall, see it was after five and realize the photographer was due here any minute, then they’d help me sweep it all away.

But not Memphis. She knew what I needed. A task. The slight disarray that made this kitchen my sanctuary. And her. I needed her.

For the first time in months, the restaurant was closed. Mondays were typically slow and I’d wanted to give the staff a day off to rest before the crazed Christmas schedule hit. That, and I’d wanted the day to clean without guests getting in the way.

Two weeks ago, right after Thanksgiving, I’d gotten an email from Lester Novak’s magazine asking when we could work in a photo shoot. I wasn’t sure if they’d want photos of the restaurant and the kitchen, so I’d made sure both were available and pristine.

Memphis and I had driven in together this morning. She’d offered to go home and give me space, but I wanted her here for this tonight. I wanted them both here.

Drake kicked and smiled, leaning my way.

I took him from her arms. “Hey, boss. How was daycare?”

“Great.” Memphis’s lip curled. “He was an angel, according to Jill.”

I chuckled. “Ignore her.”

“I know.” She sighed. “And I know this is just my insecurities showing. But I don’t like her.”

“You don’t have to. We could take my mom up on her offer.”

After Thanksgiving, my family had pulled Memphis into the fold. They loved her. They knew I loved her, even if I hadn’t said the words.

Mom didn’t like the idea of her grandchildren in daycare, so she watched Hudson most days while Winn was at the police station and Griffin was working on the ranch. She’d offered to take Drake too.

“That’s a lot to put on her,” Memphis said. “I don’t want to take advantage.”

“It’s not taking advantage if she wants to do it.” And Mom wanted to do it. She’d asked me five times in the past two weeks. It would be a longer drive for Memphis to take Drake out to the ranch each day, but we’d no longer be boxed in by pick-up and drop-off hours.

And secretly, I wanted her to

do it. I wasn’t going to push, it was Memphis’s decision, but I wanted her to spend more time with my family. Because the more she was with them, the more she’d realize they were hers too.

“But two babies?” Memphis asked.

“She had six of her own. And Dad’s around to help.”

“I don’t know.” She scrunched up her nose. “I don’t want to upset Winn and Griffin because I added Drake to the mix.”

“Trust me. They don’t care.” They wanted Drake and Hudson to be buddies too.

Memphis tapped her chin. “Do you think she’d let me pay her?”

I scoffed. “Definitely not.”

“See? That feels like I’m taking advantage.”

“Tell you what . . . if you catch Jill gossiping again or she does something to piss you off once more, we tell her to fuck off. Deal?”