Emily gave him a grateful, sweet smile, but Krew gave him a concerned glance. “You okay?”
Caleb grinned. “Your mamaisthe best cook in the world.”
Krew shrugged. “Told you. Was your mama the best cook too?”
Caleb sputtered on the drink of water he’d just taken. “No. She was a horrible cook. She hated it. She’s the best mom in every other sense, but it was rough, as the only homemade meals I got were what the chef made for us.”
“Ooh, poor spoiled rich kid had to survive on what the chef made,” Emily teased.
Caleb smiled. “Does your grandma cook?” he asked Krew. His grandmothers had both passed, but he had good memories of Grandma Jewel cooking for them.
“Does Meemaw cook?” Krew gave him an incredulous look. “Meemaw is the best cook in the South. It’s worth riding on that boring airplane just to eat Meemaw’s hushpuppies and her sausage gravy with biscuits and her pecan pie.” For the first time, Krew sounded Southern. “Mama, can we go visit Meemaw again?”
Emily smiled tenderly at her son and pushed his hair off his forehead. “Not soon, sweet honey child. We were just there.”
Krew slumped and focused on his food.
“Tell me about the rest of your family,” Emily requested of Caleb.
Caleb happily complied, starting with Joshua and Jade and working his way down. Emily asked lots of questions, and Krew became interested in the conversation, hearing about how crazy he and Seth used to be together. Then Krew got distracted with videos of Seth’s motocross and snocross races and stunts that were recorded on Caleb’s phone.
Caleb leaned back, finished with all the delicious food, and stared at Emily while Krew screamed out that Seth had done a double backflip before he scrolled to the next video.
“What?” she asked, self-consciously tucking a curl behind her ear.
“You are so beautiful,” he said.
“Thank you kindly, sir,” she said in a slightly mocking, very Southern voice, but he knew it was just because she didn’t want to act cocky about his compliment.
Yet he wasn’t ready to tease. “Having you here, cooking for me, being part of my life …” He cleared his throat. “It means the world to me.”
Her dark eyes brightened. “I wish we could be like this every night.”
“Me too.” He waited, then dared to ask, “What are we going to do?”
She pursed her lips and her eyes got serious. “I’m going to talk to Jeff tonight. I’m going to fight to be free of him.”
It was all Caleb could do to keep his seat. He wanted to run to her, pluck her off her chair, swing her in the air, and kiss her. He settled for an approving smile. “Thank you.”
“Pray for me,” she said quietly.
His gaze went from her beautiful face to her adorable son, who was still engrossed in Seth’s videos. He knew exactly what she feared. “I will.” He’d never prayed so earnestly as he would tonight for Krew to be safe and for Emily to be free. He loved her. The three of them were meant to be a family. He’d never wanted anything like he wanted them in his life. It would work out. It had to.