he grabbed a coffee pot and flawlessly poured a few cups.
“What are you doing?” she blurted.
“I made breakfast.”
“Wow, Tim,” Lucy said, moving to the table and taking a strip of bacon. She crunched on a bite. “It’s good.”
“Don’t touch my bacon.” He pointed the spatula at her.
She laughed and chomped again, moving back toward the room. “I’ll be back.”
He glowered after her. “Ye should walk the plank, lassie.”
Another joke from their beach days. Lucy laughed.
If Kensi had imagined herself in this scene just days ago, she would have been floored. Not that the man shouldn’t know how to handle making breakfast, but he truly owned it.
She poured herself a cup of coffee and moved next to him. “You didn’t have to do this.”
It was impossible not to notice how attractive the man was. Sure, he wasn’t the teenage boy she’d been in love with, but he had this casual way of looking content. Of course, he was built now. More than built. Last night, it hadn’t been much of a match for him to beat her in a race.
A lot more match than it had ever been for Jeff, she surmised.
Dang it. She didn’t want to think about her ex.
“You okay?” Tim asked as he flipped another pancake.
“Fine.” She moved to the condiment tray, which was filled with assorted coffee fixings, and took two creams and a sugar. “Well, at least now I’m okay. Thank you for everything yesterday.”
Tim dismissed the gratitude, waving the spatula in the air. “No biggie. Listen, I just got off the phone with Darla. She says everything has been quiet, but I’m going to go check in on people and make sure everything is good. I also need to stop by the hospital and check in on Phil.” He beamed. “His wife had a baby last night.”
“Phil Saint?” Kensi asked. Phil was a couple years younger than she was, closer in age to her brother Brooks. But he’d been in and out of the beach house with the rest of them in the summers.
“Yep.”
Kensi laughed and took a bite of pancake. “That’s good.”
Tim grinned wider. “It may or may not be your mama’s secret recipe.”
Kensi started. “What?” The recipe had been almost as legendary around the Stone house as the conquistador’s gold.
“It’s good, right?”
They were delicious. “Trey never said anything about this.”
“Ava found it in some boxes with the journals. Trey said you’ll get it for Christmas.”
“Christmas?” Kensi looked around the kitchen. “Where is it?”
Tim smirked. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
She shoved him.
He laughed. “If you want it, you could go to dinner with me sometime this week. Maybe I’ll give it to you.”
She froze. She didn’t date. By now, that was more or less a rule. Sure, guys asked her out, but it never felt right.
He nudged her. “Sorry. I don’t know why I even asked that. I …”
It got awkward.
“Never mind.” Kensi turned and spotted a recipe book on the counter. A cursory glance at the contents showed her that the recipes were all nicely categorized. She shuffled through them, searching for the word pancake.
“Not gonna find it in there. Trey told me you were good at sniffing things out, so he made me memorize it if I was to use it.”
Enraged, she whirled back to him. “Are you serious?” Her brother would be just the kind of person to do such a thing. “The cretin!”
Tim hooted with laughter. “You should see your face.”
She moved into his space. “I am not a violent person, Tim, but so help me, if you don’t tell me Mama’s recipe, we’re going to have a rumble.”
“A rumble?” Matt called out as he walked into the room, his hand in Tatum’s. The little girl was still holding the cat. “Sounds like a place we should avoid, Tatum. What do you think?”
The little girl grinned at them. “I’m hungry.”
Kensi glared at Tim, who seemed to enjoy tormenting her. He picked up a strip of bacon and handed it to Tatum. “Your name’s Hungry?”
“No.” Tatum grinned. “It’s Tatum.”
“Oh no, I think it’s Hungry.” Tim patted the cat, then turned back to everyone. “Grab a plate, ladies and gents, and let’s eat up.”
Kensi was flummoxed, and she truly did want to exact violence for the culinary secret. “Just tell me the recipe.”
Tim chuckled as he finished the pancakes on the grill. “No way, José.”
Somehow, she resisted the urge to punch him.
“You know you want to punch me in the shoulder just like you used to. Hey, if it will make you