He shook his head solemnly. “A chef guards his recipes carefully and a shared secret must be respected.”
She gaped at him, outraged, and he chuckled. “You have to paddle in the shallows before you can swim in the deep.”
“Are you saying I’m not a good enough cook for the secret?”
“If he doesn’t, I will,” Tom said. “Mom always said she’d tell you if you held a dinner party and cooked it yourself.”
Piper pouted and Tai wanted to kiss the pout right off her face. He’d never seen this side of her and it was adorable. Who would have thought such a smart, confident woman would sulk when it came to her family?
He glanced up and noticed Casey was staring at his plate, eating slowly. The poor guy was probably feeling left out. It was the first time he’d met Tom’s family as well. “Where do you work, Casey?” he asked.
Casey looked up. “I’m a marine biologist. I’m currently studying the sea-grass meadows in Galveston.”
Tai had no idea what that entailed, but the guy lit up when he spoke. “What do you need to study?” he asked.
Both Tom and Casey beamed at him. Casey launched into the details of his latest study, which related to pollution levels in the area.
Tom added more detail and Tai discovered Tom was also a marine biologist and they’d met on the job.
When the dishes were cleared, Ashlin brought the mousse to the table and Tai dished it up.
Silence fell as they ate it, with the occasional comment on how good it was.
Tai warmed. He loved providing food people relished: it made his heart sing and gave meaning to his work. Not only was he providing sustenance, but also something they enjoyed.
“I’m going to get so fat if I keep dating you,” Piper said when she was finished. She kissed his cheek. “Thank you. That was fantastic.”
“It was,” Ashlin said as she scraped the bowl to get every last bit. She glanced around the table and then said, “What the hell, we’re all family,” and lifted the bowl to her mouth and licked it clean.
The others laughed, but Tai froze, his heart pounding.
Family.
Was it so easy to be accepted into Piper’s world, into her life?
Tai had had to prove himself time and time again wherever he went. There were always chefs at restaurants who had thought less of him until he proved he cooked better than any of them. The restaurant business was highly competitive and he’d risen through the ranks very quickly.
He’d forgotten what it was like not to have to prove himself.
His tribe wouldn’t accept Piper that easily.
“Maybe you should give that recipe to me,” Michael said. “Then I’ll have her completely under my control.”
Ashlin snorted. “As if.” She stood and cleared the bowls. “Anyone for coffee?”
Chapter 14
It was late by the time they left. Conversation had shifted to what Tom and Piper had been like as children and Ashlin had got out the photo albums. They had spent seven years in Western Australia and Piper pointed out Libby in some of the photos. Libby was in so many, she must almost have been part of the family. When he commented on it, Tom said, “She was. She and Piper used to drive me crazy mothering me. It was great when she moved to Houston.”
“We have Libby, Adrian and Kate around for dinner every couple of months,” Ashlin said.
Here was a strong family, a strong community really, if he took into account Piper’s other friends – George and Elle, Imogen and Chris, Libby and Adrian. They were there for each other.
He wasn’t sure if there were still any of his family photos left from before his father had died. There certainly hadn’t been many taken afterward. His mother had drifted away and he had been too angry to chase her.
But seeing Piper with her mother, he had to wonder what it would be like to be that close, to actually laugh with his mother or tease her. He couldn’t remember what his mother’s laugh sounded like.
“So what’s your verdict?” Piper asked as she started the car.
He pushed aside his sadness. “You were a cute kid.”
“Thanks. I was talking about my parents.”
“They’re lovely. I can’t wait to cook your mom’s shrimp bake recipe.”
Piper huffed. “I can’t believe she gave that to you.”
He had the recipe tucked into his pocket. He’d have to make it for Piper sometime soon. “Tom and Casey were nice too.”
“He was, wasn’t he? I have a suspicion Casey is going to be the one. They looked so in love, didn’t they?”
He nodded. There had been something special between them.
They pulled up at her apartment and Tai followed her inside. It was becoming a habit for him to stay the night there. He liked spending time with Piper and the shorter commute to work, but it wasn’t a relaxing space. Piper was messy and the traffic noise was constant. Plus she didn’t have a garden, and he liked to connect with nature regularly.
He’d have to convince her his place was better – though at least they could be alone here.
If he wanted to he could take her clothes off in the kitchen and have her over the kitchen table without anyone walking in.
Grinning at the idea, he proceeded to make it a reality.
***
Piper woke on Monday morning and stretched, groaning as her muscles responded. Last night had been amazing. Tai had fit in so well with her parents and when they’d got home, he’d shown her other possible uses for a kitchen table.
She grinned.
“You look like you’re up to no good.” Tai’s voice was low and sexy.
Piper turned her head to find him watching her. Her skin heated. “I was thinking about last night.” It was amazing that a single look from him could turn her on. The intensity of his gaze struck deep at her core.
Tai smiled. “Your parents were nice. I see where you get your urge to help. Your whole family does good things.”
Piper paused and adjusted her focus to her family.
She hadn’t ever thought of it that way, but now she did she realized both her father and brother worked tirelessly to help the environment, and her mother was involved in a number of women’s charities and mentoring programs. And though she’d always wanted to help people, she hadn’t actually done anything like the rest of her family. She needed to find something to do. She wanted to feel fulfilled in her career, to feel as if she were improving someone’s life.
She wanted to be able to look in the mirror and know she’d done something good.
Which meant she had a lot more thinking to do.
***
Piper’s phone rang as they arrived at the Wooden Spoon.
“I’ve got about twenty thousand dollars in items for the auction,” Imogen told her.
Piper’s mouth dropped open. They’d been talking about the auction last week and their list of ideas had been impressive, but Imogen had actually come through with the goods. Piper hadn’t dreamed so big. “That’s fantastic.”
“Libby and some of her friends are donating signed books and the chance to appear in their stories, Adrian is going to give a small, private concert to a bidder, and George has arranged a few memorabilia things to auction off. Is Tai going to give cooking classes?”
They’d talked about it but he hadn’t made a decision. “I’ll check and call you back.”
She hung up and went into Tai’s office. “Imogen is a miracle worker,” she said. She listed all the things they had to auction. By the time she was finished, Tai’s jaw had dropped. She smiled. “Have you decided about those classes?”
He blinked and closed his mouth. “Yeah, I’ll do them.” He shook his head in disbelief. “I never expected this.”
Neither had Piper, but she wasn’t going to knock it back. “It’s amazing what can happen when you work at it.”
“And when you know people,” Tai said.
He was right. It would have been a lot harder without the contacts they had.<
br />
“A couple of chefs have agreed to cook meals for people in their own homes as well.” Tai flicked through the notes on his desk and handed her a list of names with the details. “And I’ve got some artwork to sell from the rez.”
“This is great.” They’d definitely raise enough for a school bus if people bid fiercely for the items. “I’ll give George a call and ask how he’s going with the concert. If we lock in a date we can start advertising.”
“Where will we advertise?” he asked.
“I’ll ask Patti from the Age to do a piece. She’ll be able to tell me the other places to advertise and of course George will have contacts too.” Excited at the prospect this was all coming together, Piper left the room again.
A youth center would mean so much to people like Bradley. The thought of him made her pause. It had broken her heart to hold him while he’d cried the day before. He needed more than a youth center. He needed someone who loved him – he needed a whole family who cared, not just a few people who couldn’t always be there for him.
Checking the time she saw he’d be at school already. She’d call him this evening.
She sighed. It was a difficult situation without an easy solution. She had no idea how many more children on the reservation needed a little bit more encouragement or a place to hang out while their parents were working. It was tough. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be working so hard to provide everything you could for your children, and not being able to be there when they needed you.
Tai ducked his head in. “Want to go to the movies tonight?”
Piper sat back, surprised. “Sure. What’s on?”
“Don’t know. You decide. I’ll be finished here by five.” He left.
It was a nice idea. They hadn’t done anything remotely date-like in their few weeks together. It would be great to do something normal.
She brought up the local theater website. She had no idea what kind of movies Tai liked. Was he an action adventure guy, did he like comedy, thriller or romance? She didn’t know much normal stuff about him at all. What was his favorite color? Did he like dogs or cats? Was he a rock, jazz, pop, heavy metal or traditional music fan? She would have to ask him.
Reviewing the list of movies, Piper wrote down a few she would be happy with. They all began about the same time so Tai could make the final decision later. Then she rang one of her favorite restaurants and booked a table for two. If they were going on a date, she wasn’t going to let Tai cook. He deserved a break. With that organized she focused on the cookbook.
Piper spoke to Eyota for half an hour, discussing the best way to approach members of the tribe for their stories.
“Some of our older members don’t trust white people,” Eyota explained. “It won’t matter that you’re there for Tai. They remember clearly their treatment, the way the white man tried to suffocate our culture, and this will feel the same way to them.” She paused. “I’ll come with you when I can, but I hope you have a good memory as some won’t like you recording them or taking notes.”
Piper hadn’t considered that aspect of the project. As a reporter she occasionally had people who didn’t want to talk to her, but most wanted their five seconds of fame.
The research she’d done so far had uncovered a history of oppression, forced migration and poor treatment by American settlers. She would have to earn the Queches’ trust.
They arranged to meet the next day and Eyota would organize the interviews. “It might take a couple of days. You can stay with me if you like.”
“Do you have enough room?” Bradley was already staying with her.
“Of course.”
“That would be lovely.” She hung up and wrote down her interview questions.
***
At six o’clock Piper picked Tai up from his house. She’d been home to pack a bag for her trip to the reservation and to get ready for their date night. Her next-door neighbor had agreed to look after Moggy while she was away.
Tai was still in the shower when she arrived so Piper sat in the kitchen and chatted to Adahy.
“When’s your single coming out?”
“Next week,” he said, grinning. “I can’t wait. It’s going to be amazing to hear it on the radio.”
Piper remembered getting her first byline in a paper. She imagined it was a similar feeling.
Tai came out, dressed in jean shorts and a black shirt. The top button was undone, showing a hint of his chest, but it was enough for Piper to imagine pressing her lips against that spot. She cleared her throat and said, “Ready to go?”
“Yeah.”
Piper drove them to an Italian restaurant she’d always loved.
“Good choice,” Tai said when he saw it. “This is one of my favorite places.”
“Do you eat out much?”
“Hardly ever,” he said. “I’m either at the restaurant or at home cooking for Adahy and Rayen.”
“You must really love cooking,” she said.
“I do.” He smiled at her as the waiter showed them to their table. “Ka’ sa’ taught me when I was eight. It was something for me to do, something else to think about … Anyhow I loved it. It was all a big mystery, working out what flavors went with what and figuring out how long I had to cook things. There was never any doubt I would become a chef.”
“How did it happen?” she asked.
“I was cooking at one of the food vendors at a powwow in Houston. A chef came, tried one of my dishes and insisted on being introduced to the person who had made it.” He grinned. “He took me on as an apprentice straight away.”
“How old were you?”
“Sixteen.”
“Do you still keep in contact with that chef?”
He shook his head. “The man was a tyrant. He taught me some fantastic techniques but he also taught me how not to treat my staff. I was pleased to finish with him.”
They ordered their meals and drinks. Piper took a breadstick out of its packet. “So where did you go next?”
He named the restaurant. “The head chef there was so much nicer but I didn’t learn a lot about food there. He was the first person to provide dinner for his staff.”
“That must have been great.”
“Yeah. I didn’t have a lot of money then.”
“Did you go home much?”
He shook his head.
It must have been hard. After growing up in the reservation community and then to be thrown into Houston with no family or friends. “You must have been determined.”
He gave her a wry smile. “Ka’ sa’ says stubborn. It was difficult at first. As an apprentice I lived above the restaurant where I worked and Chef took the rent out of my pay. I knew no one, so when I wasn’t working, I was studying to finish high school. After that I studied business because I wanted my own restaurant one day.”
“It didn’t take you long to achieve it.”
“Stubborn,” he said again. “When I finished my apprenticeship I moved to a one-bedroom apartment and shared with whichever apprentice needed a place to stay. I gave them the bedroom and slept on the couch, but they paid half the rent. We ate at the restaurant and I was frugal.”
Piper couldn’t imagine living like that. She’d moved out of home when she’d gone to college, but her parents had paid for it all. She’d waitressed for extra spending money. It made his successes all the more extraordinary.
Dinner was served and she asked, “What did your parents think about you moving out of home so young?”
He’d mentioned Eyota but had never mentioned his parents. Would he tell her about them?
Tai was silent for a long time. “Mom was thrilled it got me out of the rez and into a steady job. She wanted me to succeed.”
It was the first time he’d mentioned his mother. “She must be proud of you.”
“Maybe.” He took a mouthful of his carbonara and avoided her eyes.
The closed Tai had appeared again. Piper acknowledged the sting of rejection. He
didn’t want to share his family with her, when she’d been so open with him.
Tai swallowed and sighed. “We’re not very close. After Dad died she had to work a lot. Ka’ sa’ raised us.”
Wanting more, Piper asked, “Where does she work?”
“She’s just been made a senior manager at Walmart.”
“Do you see her much?”
He shook his head. “Between my work and hers we rarely find time. She lives on the other side of Houston.”
He didn’t seem to mind, which was odd, considering how close he was with his grandmother, Adahy and Rayen. She didn’t push it. Instead she asked, “When did your dad die?”
“I was eight.” He pulled on his braid. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
He was shutting her out and it hurt more than it should. She reminded herself they’d only been dating for a few weeks. Perhaps it was too early to go into past hurts. She didn’t need to know everything about him.
But she wanted to know. She wanted to learn everything about him.
Forcing a smile on her face, she asked, “Which movie do you want to see?”
***
It turned out Tai was a comedy and action adventure fan. They decided on an action film and grabbed some chocolate from the candy bar before they went in.
As the lights went down Piper couldn’t concentrate on the movie. She needed to review things. She’d known Tai a month. During that time she’d reassessed her career, introduced him to her family and he’d met her friends. They’d discussed what she liked to do and he’d even heard myriad stories about her childhood.
She’d also been there for him when Jerry died.
And in return she’d met none of his friends, he’d told her the minimum about his parents, and while she knew his culture was important to him, she knew little else.
She sighed. Perhaps she was being unfair. She had met most of his family, and been to the reservation, which he clearly didn’t share with just anyone. Plus she’d known from the beginning he was a private person.
But still it hurt.
Maybe he wasn’t as invested in this relationship as she was.
Until she figured it out she needed to rein in her emotions and treat the whole thing more casually, because right now her feelings were galloping ahead toward an ill-defined goal shining in the distance. Just because they’d been spending every night together didn’t mean Tai was serious about her. She needed to remember that. She wriggled in her chair to get comfortable and concentrated on the movie.
The Texan Quartet (Books 1-4) Omnibus Page 98