Page 37

“With cheese.”

“Yes.”

“How did you know I love grits?”

He sets the tray on the gazebo table. “You’re Southern and you asked for salt.”

I stare at him, overwhelmed by cheese and the fact that he cooked as though feeding me mattered.

Ezra leans toward me. “He also makes them with too much butter, which is the correct amount.”

I pick up a spoon and take one bite. The grits are creamy and salty, rich with sharp cheddar, black pepper, and butter. The eggs are soft. The sausage is savory enough that my omega makes another happy internal clap and possibly an external wiggle.

Theo watches me with a guarded expression. “Good?”

“The word good is too small. These grits deserve pageantry and recognition.”

His ears turn slightly red.

Ezra points his coffee toward me. “I have been saying this for years.”

“You have not,” Theo says.

“I implied it heavily.”

We eat in the cool shade while the water moves beside us. Heat lingers in my body, but it’s gentle for now, warmed by food, Theo’s purr, and the comfort of both men close. Theo sits across from me, one boot hooked under the bench as though ready to stand if I sway. Ezra stays at my side, shoulder brushing mine every few bites.

After breakfast, I reach for my notebook.

Theo’s eyes narrow.

“Three notes,” I promise.

“Five,” Ezra counters. “For morale.”

Theo looks at him.

“What? I’m pro science when science isn’t in the way of her breakfast.”

I write carefully.

Ezra remains solid after heat intimacy.

Moving water appears to support duration and density.

The stone glowed after touch and during heat. Need photograph or rubbing of museum artifacts for comparison.

Gazebo plaque: J. Vines 1898. For the road home.

The stone rests on the railing beside my notebook. A damp mark blooms slowly through the page beneath my last line.

I freeze.

The wet shape spreads no larger than my palm. Three short lines appear first, delicate as water trails. Then a partially open circle forms beside them, faint and unfinished.

The channel keeps moving, quiet and bright.

“That just appeared?” Theo leans forward.