Free Hitched by Erin Nicholas Page A

itself. Then she stubbornly pushed those thoughts away. She couldn’t do a thing about that from here, and her dad certainly knew his way to the grocery store if he needed something. What he’d get once he was there was anyone’s guess, but she couldn’t do anything about that from here either. Frozen pizza wouldn’t kill him. Thank god he was working for Sophie at the Brewsters’ landscaping business. He’d gone to work for the Brewsters after his accident, and having Sophie and Josh look out for him during work hours gave Allie a lot of relief. But there were twenty-four hours in a day.
    Allie glanced toward the living room and the staircase to the bedroom. She could quickly text one of her brothers. Or call her dad. Or see if Mrs. Paulsen could take a casserole over.
    Dammit .
    She gripped the counter, closed her eyes and counted to ten. For god’s sake. She didn’t need to do any of those things.
    She needed to do something here . For a change she was going to cook for a man who didn’t need her to, for a man who could fend for himself very nicely. Doing something for someone because she wanted to do it instead of because she had to do it would be a welcome relief.
    Newly determined, Allie started opening cupboards, inventorying the pots and pans and utensils as well as the food.
    As she went, she decided to pull things out and rearrange to put things in a more logical place for use. Gavin probably didn’t think about this stuff—and she was willing to bet he’d never used his crepe pan—but if she was going to be staying for a while, it made sense to make the kitchen as user-friendly as possible.
    She was just fitting the beater into the mixer for the snickerdoodles she’d decided to make when she heard, “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”
    She swung around to find Lydia staring at her from the doorway that led down another hallway she hadn’t investigated yet.
    “I’m making Gavin cookies.” Allie pushed the beaters into place and plugged the mixer in.
    “No you’re not.”
    Allie looked at the flour, sugar, eggs and butter sitting on the countertop. “Uh, yes I am.”
    Lydia came into the room, her cheeks pink, her eyes glittering. “ I make Gavin cookies on Fridays. He still has chocolate chip left from a few days ago.”
    “Well, these are snickerdoodles and he likes them better than chocolate chip,” Allie said, cracking the eggs into the bowl.
    Lydia’s eyes widened as she watched. “He does not. He loves my chocolate chip.”
    Allie cut the stick of butter into squares and dumped it in the bowl.
    Lydia gritted her teeth.
    “Chocolate chip are his second favorite,” Allie agreed. “But snickerdoodles are number one.”
    “You’re not making cookies. This is my kitchen. I cook for Gavin.” Lydia folded her arms.
    “This is your kitchen?” Allie asked. She measured and added the sugar and Lydia gasped.
    “ Yes . I take care of Gavin. I clean the house, answer the clinic phone, shop for groceries, cook and bake.”
    Allie looked at the girl, realization dawning. Lydia had a crush on Gavin.
    That could be…complicated.
    She set her spoon down. “I’m just trying to stay busy. I’m going a little nuts.”
    Lydia cocked an eyebrow that said she was pretty sure Allie was already there.
    Allie gave her a frown. “Anyway, I just need something to do until Gavin gets back. I’m just going to finish these and—”
    “No, you’re not.”
    Allie blinked at her, surprised. “Yeah, I am.”
    “No.”
    Allie picked up the mixer. “Yes.”
    “This week is Rice Krispies bars,” Lydia said stubbornly.
    “Fine. Make Rice Krispies bars. I’m going to make these.” She put the beaters into the bowl and pushed the on switch. The mixer whirled for five seconds before stopping. “What the…” She looked up to find Lydia holding the end of the cord where she’d pulled it from the outlet.
    “You’re not making those. Give me the bowl.”
    Allie frowned. “No