Kate Sherwood - Dark Horse 02 - Out of the Darkness (44 page)

It feels a bit weird to be in someone else’s house when everyone else is asleep, and Dan feels like he’s sneaking around. He’s trying to be quiet, and that’s pretty stupid, because the house is well soundproofed and he’s nowhere near the bedrooms, but it’s still the only way he feels comfortable.

All that changes when he steps into the kitchen.

 

“Morning, Dan!” Tat sings out, and all three dogs charge over to greet him.

He gives a few quick pats before crossing over to the coffeemaker, which Evan had set on the timer the night before. He takes his first blessed sip of coffee while scrutinizing Tat and her somewhat dubious activities. “Morning, Princess Tatiana. Uh… what’s up?” It’s her house, after all. It isn’t Dan’s place to tell her what she can and can’t do, but….

“Yeah, uh….” She looks at the counter in front of her, almost covered with a wide variety of ingredients and cooking tools. “Possibly I got a little carried away.”

Dan moves a little closer. “Yeah? What are you working on?”

“Breakfast! But, you know, Jeff makes excellent waffles, and he showed me how, and Tia makes great muffins, and I got
her
to show me how, and Evan’s really good at French toast, and I got
him
to show me how, and so I felt like I kind of had to make all of them, or else someone’s feelings would be hurt. You know, like I didn’t like their specialty enough to make it. And then, that stuff’s all good, but it’s pretty much all carb-y sweetness, so I thought we should have some bacon and eggs….”

Dan nods. “You know, Tat, I don’t see my specialty represented. I’m a bit hurt, actually….”

She squints at him, obviously ninety percent sure that he’s kidding but ten percent worried that he might not be. “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen your specialty.”

“Oh, yeah, it’s pretty tricky. I mean, lots of people eat Count Chocula, but I think it really makes the meal when you eat it with chocolate milk.” He nods seriously. “And I like to put the bowl on the floor and stand on a stool and pour the milk from really high, so it gets all frothy. That’s my secret trick.”

Tat smiles. “Darn, we don’t have the ingredients for that. I’ll make it for you next time you stay over, okay?”

Dan appreciates her approval of his sleeping arrangements but doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it; that’s not the way they play. “Well, the first time maybe I’d better help you, okay? It’s harder than it sounds.” He surveys the chaos. “In the meantime, though… I’m supposed to be changing the brine on the turkeys. Once I’m done with that, I can be your assistant, maybe?” He shrugs. “I’m not much good at complicated stuff, but I can chop or stir… that sort of thing.”

Tat’s face lights up. “That’d be excellent. Do you need help with the turkeys?”

“I’m not sure. It sounded pretty easy when Tia described it to me, but… how about if you’re on standby? You can jump in and save me if needed.”

Tat nods seriously, and Dan moves over to the big fridge. He opens it and finds the two roasting pans. It’s a bit gross pouring the brine out, because it seems to have somehow extracted kind of a lot of goo from the bird; maybe that’s the point of the process. He manages to do it without splashing anything disgusting on himself and mixes up fresh brine, this time with a selection of herbs that Tia had premixed for him. The birds are back in their cold baths in no time. That was the easy part; Dan’s really not sure how the actual cooking is going to go, but at least with two birds, they’ve got back up.

He washes his hands and goes to help Tat. She puts him to work on the bacon station, and damn, the smell is waking his stomach up fast. “You know, Tat, in many families the big Thanksgiving meal is served in the afternoon and is turkey based. This Thanksgiving breakfast idea you’ve got going on—it’s interesting but not exactly conventional.”

She gives him a pitying look. “Dan, Thanksgiving is a marathon, not a sprint. The breakfast is an important warm-up for the dinner. You’ve got to get your stomach stretched out.” She shakes her head. “And people think you know how to train….” She peers around his shoulder to check on the bacon. “Thanks. Do you think you could chop up some fruit, when the bacon doesn’t need you? It’s for the waffles.”

Dan manages to do both, and it’s fun to be working in the kitchen with another neophyte; normally he’s with Jeff or Tia, and they’ve both got a lot more experience than he does and pretty clear ideas of the right way to do things. Tat, on the other hand, agrees that a bacon-fried strawberry could possibly be delicious, and when he makes a couple and they’re less than fantastic, she just shrugs as though it’s been a learning experience for both of them.

Dan looks up from his labors to see Tat surveying the scene with a frown on her face. “What’s up, Buttercup?”

 

She wrinkles her nose. “Chris and Anna are still coming over before dinner, right? For a ride? And Robyn too?”

“Well, Robyn’s not likely going to come to the house and then go straight back to the barn, but she was going to ride with us, last I heard.”

“Do you think maybe they’d like to come a bit earlier? Like, for breakfast? ’Cause… we have a lot of food.” Her eyes are bugging out a little. “A lot, a lot, a
lot
of food.”

Dan surveys the counter. “I feel like this is an opportunity for some sort of Brady Bunch lesson in social responsibility, like I should be taking you down to the food bank and having you dole all this out.”

Tat frowns. “I guess we could… but… it’s too much for us, but it really wouldn’t be much for a whole group of people.”

Dan loves this kid. Compassionate but with common sense. Kind of like her big brother. “You’re right. And you’ve already spent a lot of time down there this last week.” The Kaminskis sponsor a community outreach center and kitchen in the city, and they have a program where, instead of having the usual middle-class volunteers prepare and serve the dinners, they train members of the homeless community to do the work themselves. Tat and Evan had taken their afternoons off from school and work all week to go down and help train the servers. Dan figures that, compared to the bill they were footing for all the food, the contribution of their time wasn’t all that vital, but it’s another way that Evan is making sure that Tat doesn’t grow up inside an ivory tower, and Dan admires that. “But I’ve had Tia’s muffins after they’ve been frozen, and they’re still great. And if the Eggo corporation has taught us anything, it’s that toaster waffles work straight from the freezer.” He shrugs. “I’m not really sure about the French toast, but I bet it’d be fine.”

Tat’s relaxing a little. “But then, when would we eat it all? Tia likes to cook stuff for us fresh, not from the freezer.”

“Well, maybe you guys could eat out of the freezer on her days off instead of going out for every single meal.” He puts on a fakecasual expression. “Or, you know, maybe you know somebody who doesn’t really cook, who eats a lot of frozen food…. Maybe that person would take it home.”

Tat’s face lights up. “Really? We could send it home with you?” She nods, mostly to herself. “Of course we could. And some turkey, too, and maybe we should make some extra potatoes, and….”

“Slow down, Kaminski. My freezer isn’t all that big.” She lifts her nose in a fake-snooty gesture. “Well, if you want to be a food waster, I guess that’s your decision.”

“I’m not saying I won’t take leftovers. I’m saying don’t make extra just so you’ll
have
leftovers.” He pulls a batch of bacon off the griddle and puts fresh on to cook before mopping the fat off the finished pieces. He samples one, just to be sure they’re all right, and then another, because he doesn’t want to take any chances. “Damn, if there’s leftover bacon….”

Tat frowns at him. “That’s an oxymoron, right? When two words can’t really go together?”

Dan smiles. He doesn’t know the word, but he can see what she’s getting at. “So, no bacon is going home with me is what you’re saying?”

“I’m telling you we’d better eat all we can before Evan gets up, because I think he could eat a whole pig if we let him.” She grins like she’s about to say something she likes. “And that’s pretty much cannibalism.”

“Damn, you’re all about the fun words today.” They get back to work, and when Tat decides that they’re ready, she crosses over to the intercom and punches in the number for Evan’s bedroom. Dan had been thinking about waking them up himself, in his own way, but he’s got to admit that this system is probably a lot more family appropriate.

Tat is making a series of obnoxious noises into the intercom, interspersed with orders. “Wake up, Evan! It’s breakfast! Dan and I have been slaving over a hot stove for you! Jeff, I know you’re up; wake Evan up, okay?” She pauses for a little, then says, “You’ve got your room on ‘private’, thankfully, so remember that I can’t hear you if you’re just talking. You need to get out of bed and hit the button. Come on, Evan, it’s breakfast. No more sleepy time. Wake up…. Evan, your breakfast is getting cold. Come on, boy, up you get, come on… good boy! Good Evan! Up! Up! Up!”

Dan catches motion out of the corner of his eye and turns to see Evan, showered and dressed, in the doorway to the kitchen. Tat’s back is turned, and Evan makes a quick gesture, ordering Dan not to give him away. Dan turns back to his bacon, but he’s keeping a close eye on the Kaminski proceedings.

“Ev-an… Evan, Evan, Evan!” Tat’s sing-song is rising in volume. “Time to get up, sleepy head! This is your wake up call… get out of bed….” And then Evan pounces, and whatever Tat had been about to say turns into an ear-splitting shriek. “Yaa-a-a-a-h! I… ya-a-a-a-a-a!” Evan’s got a wet washcloth, and from the sound of things, it’s pretty cold. Dan guesses that he’d probably have preferred ice, but the ice maker’s in the kitchen, so he’d made do. Tat eventually collects herself enough to launch a counterattack, and then they’re wrestling over the washcloth, Evan gentle enough to make sure Tat doesn’t get hurt but by no means giving in.

Dan shakes his head and goes over to the intercom. Evan’s room is still selected, so Dan just presses the button to talk to Jeff. “Angry spirits have attacked our Thanksgiving festivities—” There’s another wild cry from Tat, and Dan waits it out before speaking again. “Luckily, they seem to only have the power to turn siblings against each other. So you’re fine to come down whenever.”

There’s a moment’s silence, and then Jeff’s amused voice. “Are you sure? It sounds a bit wild.”

“It’s okay; I’ll protect you.”
“All right, I’ll be right down.”

Dan dodges then, as Evan and Tat fumble toward him. “Hey, now. A little respect, please.” Evan and Tat freeze, and then there’s a literal chill down Dan’s spine as both of them turn toward him, their matching hazel eyes almost feral. Dan backs up, holding the bacon-covered spatula in front of him. “No. I’m not part of your little… whatever the hell it is. No.”

Then Evan speaks, but he’s using that nasty Gollum-hissing voice that he knows freaks Dan out. “You’re one of usssss, Dannyyyys. Joinnnn ussssss....”

Tat jerks her head to the side and then back, and her smile is nothing but creepy. “Yesssss, Dannyyyys….”

“Okay, no. Both of you, stop it. You’re not funny.” He’s not scared. He’s not. It’s just… damn, he hates that voice. And he wishes they’d stop moving toward him slowly, like cats stalking their prey. Or like snakes. Spiders. Something gross and creepy. “Seriously, now… I’m a guest in your home, remember? Hospitality?” That doesn’t seem to be getting him anywhere. “Tat… remember when we were cooking together? Wasn’t that nice of me? To help?”

“Yessssss.” Tat scampers then, all crooked and damaged looking—damn it, she’s even got the Gollum movement down. “We likesssss Dannyyyys. We keeeepssss Dannyyyys.”

Dan giggles, but he backs up too. Tat is merciless; he should have learned that by now. He turns to Evan. “Dude, hey.” He puts a bright smile on. “Wow, we’ve got great breakfast stuff. Tat was cooking up a storm. I helped. Look… fruit!”

Evan looks like he’s maybe weakening, but Tat won’t let that happen. “Trickssssy! Dannyyyys is tricksssy, brotherrrr….” And both faces turn back toward him, eyes practically glowing in the morning sunlight, and they move together, like some sort of twisted family dance, slithering toward Dan.

The kitchen door opens, and Jeff is there. Evan and Tat freeze and then subtly straighten up, and Dan feels like he’s been delivered. “Jeff! Morning!”

Jeff turns slightly befuddled eyes toward him as Evan speaks. “Finally made it down, huh? Tat’s been cooking, apparently, so I hope you’re hungry.”

Tat smiles warmly. “I’ve got the batter all ready for waffles, Jeff! And there’s muffins and French toast, too, and my assistant made bacon. Does anyone want eggs, or is that too much?”

Dan’s a little disoriented, but nobody seems to notice. Jeff comes over to inspect and admire the waffle batter, and Evan gets two mugs and fills them with coffee. He hands one to Jeff and carefully sets his own down on the counter before leaning over and wrapping his arms around Dan from behind. He kisses Dan’s neck, and then hisses, “My precioussss…,” right in Dan’s ear, too quietly for Jeff to really hear it. Tat’s pretty clearly been waiting for it, though, and she shrieks with laughter when Dan lunges away and starts wildly slapping at Evan with the spatula.

Evan’s laughing too hard to defend himself, so Dan gets a few good hits in before calming down. Jeff’s watching the whole thing bemusedly, and when Dan collects himself and glances over, Jeff frowns. “I thought you said the angry spirits were sibling based.”

Dan thinks about trying to explain, but doesn’t really think he could do it without looking like a little girl. “It was… an exorcism. Essentially. Everything should be okay now.” He points the spatula first at Evan and then at Tat, firmly making his point that the game is over. “I’m going back over to the hot griddle with all the burning grease—no more silliness from the two of you.”

“Yessss, Dannyyys,” Tat says, then claps her hand over her mouth. “Sorry, I meant ‘yes’,” she says through her fingers, her eyes laughing.

Dan isn’t quite sure how he ended up with these lunatics. He looks over at Jeff, who is now smiling in understanding. “You never should have told them, Tex. Once they know a weakness, they just can’t help themselves. It’s a Kaminski characteristic.”
“I didn’t tell them.”