Cherished

13

Eva squinted down at the recipe, scooping out the appropriate amount of her flour mixture into the butter and eggs.

"This isn't going to work," Eva mumbled.

"You're doing great," Rosetta said, pulling a huge roast out of the oven along with several foil wrapped potatoes. The whole kitchen smelled incredible.

Eva had slept nearly all day yesterday in Graham's bed. It was the best sleep of her entire life. The three men were gone when she woke up, and she hadn't seen them since.

She hadn't seen anybody, not Kenzie or Bri either. She wondered if they were all still upset with her. She could understand why.

The cake became a smooth batter in no time, which surprised her. She had been convinced that it was going to be a lumpy mess. She had no idea how measurements worked, but all of the little cups and spoons were already marked which had helped a lot.

Rosetta helped her pour the cake batter into a large pan. She put it in the oven.

"Howdy," Miles said, entering the kitchen. "I'm here to help set the table."

Miles went over to Eva, peering into the cake batter bowl.

"Wow," he said, dipping his finger into the remnants. "Did you make this?"

Eva nodded.

"Tastes great," he said, going to cabinet with the plates and pulling out a stack. "Will you be eating with us, Evie?"

"No thank you," she said. There was no way she could eat with so many people around. Most of the time it was hard to get herself to eat when it was just her.

"What about you, Miss. Rosetta?"

"Absolutely," she said, taking the silverware from the drawer and following Miles out into the dining room.

Rosetta came back and fixed Eva a plate to take back up to her room. She could hear everyone gathering out there, Kenzie and Bri and Miles being the loudest of them all.

"Come back to get some cake in a little bit," she said. "You worked hard for it."

Eva went the long way back to her room, choosing to eat on her balcony with the book that she had been attempting to read. It was getting a little easier, but not much.

There was a knock on her bedroom door not long after she finished eating.

"Can we come in?" Graham asked, looking around for her.

Eva nodded, surprised to find that it was Graham, Pierce, and Miles.

"We brought you some cake," Miles said.

The three of them all sat around her. There was only enough room for Miles to sit with her on the balcony, but with the door all the way open, Graham and Pierce were still close.

Graham set down a piece of cake next to her.

"We can get you a chair to put out here," Graham said.

It would have to be a pretty narrow chair. She kind of like sitting on the ground.

"Maybe a plant when it gets warm," she said quietly.

Miles beamed down at her.

"This cake is pretty amazing, Evie," Pierce said.

She felt the unfamiliar heat in her cheeks. That was twice that it had happened around them.

"Thank you. I had never baked before."

"I would've thought you were a professional," Miles teased.

"What are you reading?" Graham asked, picking up the book next to her.

"Bri had brought them up for me," she whispered.

"Do you like it?" he asked. His eyes skimmed the back of the novel.

She shrugged.

"What is it?" Pierce was intuitive. Eva realized she had never really acknowledged the fact that he went out looking for her because he thought she was hurt.

She wasn't sure how to bring it back up.

"I just haven't read since I was a child," Eva admitted.

Graham hummed a bit, setting the book back down.

"Pierce," Eva called, meeting his gaze. She was mesmerized by his chocolate eyes. "It means a lot that you went out there in the woods looking for me."

"I would do it again in a heartbeat," he said, so serious.

"Are you angry with me?" she asked curiously. The words just tumbled right out of her mouth. There was a twinge of fear, but the three of them didn't seem to react, so it immediately lessened.

Pierce shrugged.

"He was pretty pissed off," Miles said, answering for him.

"Shut up," Pierce grumbled. "I just didn't like the thought of you being in danger, and then to find out that you went willingly..."

Eva nodded. She understood. She still wasn't sure why they cared so much, but it was nice to have someone look out for her.

Graham's hand ghosted over hers. He quirked his lips up when she looked up at him.

"It's over, Evie. No one is upset now. Even if any of us do get angry, we will never direct that anger towards you. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she said, feeling breathless from having their gaze. She quietly admitted, "I think Bri and Kenzie are upset with me."

"Bri and Kenzie have been spending a lot of time volunteering at the shelter that I run in town. We've had a lot of staff become ill, and they've been filling in. It has nothing to do with you."

Eva nodded. That made sense, and she almost offered to volunteer herself, but then realized that she couldn't even manage to eat dinner with everyone in the house. There was no way she could be around people like that.

Her fear was so confusing. Even just a few days ago, being around the three of them would've been too much. Now, the thought of them hurting her had almost completely disappeared.

It did still linger in the darkest depths of her mind.