Free The Stepmother: An Everland Ever After Tale by Caroline Lee

cookbook, and knew that he was trying to cook for himself and Zelle. Even if she didn’t stay with him—and after that kiss, she didn’t know anything for sure—she’d be sure that he could cook a few more meals than he could last month.
    Meri stopped mid-flapjack-flip, thinking of the way he’d held her the other day in Matthew’s Dry Goods. His hands on her shoulders should’ve been confining, concerning, the way Bernard’s had been… But instead, she’d felt somehow comforted. And then, when he’d kissed her! She blushed, and went back to fixing breakfast, well aware that Jack and his daughter were standing nearby anxiously waiting for the delicious-smelling treats.
    That kiss had been unlike anything she’d ever experienced. Not that she’d had a lot of kisses to compare it to; Bernard’s had been her first, and Lord knew that she didn’t want to remember that . But she was a doctor, practically. There had to be a medical reason for the way her knees had gone weak and she’d felt heat pooling in her stomach—and lower!—and the little sparks that had ignited on her skin every place he touched. Meri flicked her gaze over at him then, only to catch him staring back. Flustered, she tried not to drop the flapjack.
    Over breakfast, she enjoyed watching him relishing the new meal. During the first bite, he closed his eyes when he chewed, and she didn’t think he even realized it. She loved the way he could appreciate something so simple, so easy, and it made her sad to think what his life had been like since his wife died, that he hadn’t enjoyed things like fresh-made flapjacks.
    When he opened his eyes and caught her staring, he said only “Thank you.” Thank you , like that first day. He was thanking her for making something delicious that he enjoyed, and Meri felt the warmth rising in her chest and neck again. Moments like these, she wanted to vow to stay here and make him delicious treats always, just to make him happy. To receive his thanks.
    Zelle, of course, refused to taste the flapjacks. “B’cuts! B’cuts! ”
    “Come on, Princess. Try these things Meri made, you’ll like ‘em. Papa likes them, see?” Jack took another big bite, making convincing “ Mmm!” noises while he chewed. But the little girl refused to try any, banging her fork against the table and shouting “No!” again and again.
    Jack looked so lost that Meri smiled. “I’m sorry you’re not happy, Zelle, but I worked hard on the flapjacks.” She pulled the little girl’s plate towards herself. “I’m not going to make biscuits every morning. We have to have different foods.” Quickly, efficiently, she pulled the dry flapjack into tiny pieces, hoping they’d look like torn-up biscuits.
    Pushing the plate in front of the girl again, Meri smiled brightly. Zelle’s adorably perfect little lips pulled down into a pout, and she rested her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. Meri pretended disappointment, sighing hugely, and went back to her own meal. The girl would eat, or she wouldn’t.
    To her delight, after a few minutes of silence—during which the adults quietly chewed and exchanged knowing glances—Zelle finally picked up a piece of the breakfast and stuck it in her mouth, still pouting while she chewed. Her father hid his smile behind a glass of water.
    Then, before the end of the meal, Jack suddenly put down his fork. “I’m sorry.”
    She looked up, confused. “Sorry about what?” About Zelle? The little girl had almost cleaned her plate.
    “I’m sorry I lied to you. About being a doctor.”
    She smiled slightly and picked at the last of the flapjack on her plate. “Technically, you didn’t. Whoever wrote that advertisement lied about you. And as I recall, you told me that you weren’t a doctor, that very first evening.” She’d shown up at his door, asked if he was the doctor, and he’d slammed the door in her face. The first inkling that he was nowhere near the civilized man