Free Dancing with Deception by Kadi Dillon

still appreciate the heavenly aromas. She wished she had a memory to compare the smell too but she couldn’t ever remember her mother stepping foot into the kitchen. Odd that now that made her feel as though she was missing out on something.
    “Have a seat. Breakfast will be ready in a minute.”
    Rebecca took the chair across from Jess who was reading through a newspaper. “I don’t usually eat breakfast.”
    “Oh, all right. I’ll be sure to only give you one then,” Rose smiled while she buttered a waffle.
    Rebecca’s lips twitched at the sweetly delivered command. Maybe she could just this once.
    Jess looked up from her paper. “Is that because you’re in ballet?”
    “Partly. I also don’t cook very well so I just don’t bother.”
    Rose’s eyes widened in dismay. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. After we eat, I’ll show you how to make pancakes. They’re simple and nutritious. As long as you flip them before they burn, they’re pretty much a sure thing.”
    Down for anything, she agreed as if she had a choice. However calm and quiet Rose may have been, she struck Rebecca as a steam roller.
    “Jess, did your brother take something with him to eat before he left this morning?”
    “No, just coffee. I told him you’d be angry. He actually thought I would cover for him.” Jess folded her newspaper up and laid it on the table. “He should know by now I’m a snitch.”
    “Gideon left?”
    Jess looked at Rebecca. “He had to meet a client.”
    “For the boat business?”
    Always willing to brag about her boys’ accomplishments, Rose put breakfast on the table and sat down beside Rebecca. “The client’s name is Henry Jefferson. He called late last night and is in desperate need for a boat. Gideon went to meet with him. It sounds like a big job.”
    “Why didn’t he just go buy a boat from a dealership?”
    “Avery Boats are the best,” Jess said proudly. “Colin and Gideon customize them down to the last cup holder. They even installed a beer bottle opener in one of the boats for a client. They do wonderful work.”
    Rebecca found herself fascinated with the Avery brother’s. “Just the two of them?”
    “Charles helps but he’s out of town. He’ll be home tonight.” Rose scooped syrup out of the bowl and drizzled it on her waffle. She looked pointedly at Rebecca’s empty plate. When Rebecca forked up a waffle, Rose nodded and continued. “You’ll love Charles. He goes on an annual fishing tournament and usually does well. He wasn’t having any luck when we talked last night,” she said to Jess.
    “Anyway,” Rose continued. “Charles helps the boys with the labor. Gideon ropes in the clients, and Colin designs the boats. Jess keeps the books.”
    “And Mom keeps us all fed.”
    Rebecca smiled and ate another bite of waffle, almost sighing in delight. She wished it wasn’t so delicious. She made a mental note to run an extra mile or so this morning. And she would go running whether she had to sneak out and take off alone to do it. She couldn’t miss a workout. Her muscles were still screaming from the extra time at ballet the previous night.
    Colin sauntered in a few minutes later and loaded up a plate. Easily picking up the thread of their conversation, he began telling Rebecca about some of the process to boat building. He told her how they cut and shaped their own wood, sanded and painted the body of the boat. He explained the difference between the types of boats and their different functions.
    “Of course,” he concluded as he polished off his plate of waffles, “I’m a sailboat man, myself. I like a leisurely sail on a clear day just fine. Gideon likes the speed.”
    “You get plenty of speed when you race.”
    “Well, now that’s different.” He grinned over at his sister. “There’s more to a race than speed. You have to know what you’re about.”
    “And how to kick some ass,” Rebecca blurted without thinking. She covered her mouth