Titus: Book Two of the Cantrell Brothers Series

Chapter Thirty-Seven

This is a re-write.

It was the day right before Jane and Tobias's wedding, and Titus was almost finished with packing all of his things into his duffel bag when his phone began ringing its shrill tone from where it was placed on the nightstand.

He chuckled at the name that appeared on the screen but slid the call bar over all the same. “Yes, Anna?”

“What do you want for breakfast?” she asked him, her voice echoing from the kitchen up the stairs and into his room just as it did through the phone.

It didn't take him any thought before he answered, “Pancakes with a lot of egg.”

“Good choice,” she answered. “Are we gonna eat here?”

“Do you have any idea how hard it is to eat pancakes with syrup while I'm driving? Well, I'll tell ya. It's pretty damn hard.”

“I could feed 'em to ya.”

“Seriously? You'd end up stabbing my face.”

“Not if I use a plastic fork.”

He chuckled. “The material of the utensil does not matter, my dear. I'd still get stabbed.”

“Whatever,” she said, laughter in her voice. “I wanted to eat here anyway.”

After they both said their good byes despite the fact she was just downstairs in the kitchen, Titus put his phone into his sweatpants pocket and hoisted the duffel bag over his shoulder. The scents of thick, pancake batter and sweet syrup assailed his nose, especially when he sat down at the aisle table, watching Anna as she made pancakes just the way he liked them.

With her back turned to him, she looked just like she had exactly twenty-one weeks ago when she had been about a day pregnant. Her waist and shoulders were slim yet held an inner power that he had seen firsthand when she had milked some of the cows or had done some of the ranch work. Legs and arms toned from all of the time she spent at the gym, she was just as beautiful as she had been five months ago.

She turned to him then, holding the spatula as three good-sized pancakes cooked on the pan. “I wouldn't stab you.”

He rolled his eyes playfully at her, feeling a grin stretch across his face. “Let's be real here. Before we even got into Colorado, I'd be blind in both eyes.”

“That's just 'cause the suspension on the Ford is shot to hell.” Anna stuck her tongue out at him before turning around to flip the pancakes that had dark dots inside them.

“Are those blueberries?” Titus's mouth watered at the mere prospect of blueberry pancakes.

“Yes,” she said more to the pan than to him. “Most of the blueberries are good, and as long as ya put enough syrup on 'em, they'll be alright.”

“They'll be great.”

“I hope so.” Anna slid the maple syrup bottle toward him, a plate of three pancakes coming next.

As she cooked and he ate, they discussed their travel plans and driving shifts for the sixteen-hour long driving trip. She sat next to him with her two pancakes, and he helped himself to his third serving before eating his fill and washing all of the dishes. Anna followed shortly after, placing her rinsed dishes into the dishwasher and then heading back into her room to change into some traveling clothes.

“Ready?” he asked right next to her closed door.

“Yeah,” her muffled voice replied right before the door opened and she stepped out with a pillow and a bag full of her things.