Chapter 23 Pancakes and Plans
I woke up to the smell of coffee and the sound of someone getting aggressively judged in the kitchen.
Which, honestly, could’ve been anyone in this house, but the specific mix of clattering and offended silence gave it away.
Jake.
I blinked into the morning light, took inventory of my body (still sore, still pleasantly wrecked), and tried to sit up.
Patrick’s arm tightened around my waist like a seatbelt.
“No,” he murmured into my hair.
“I need water,” I croaked.
Drew shifted in front of me, eyes half open, and dragged the blanket higher like he was solving the problem without moving. “You need… five minutes.”
“I need… to not die.”
Patrick sighed like I was being dramatic, then reached to the bedside table and handed me a bottle without opening his eyes.
Of course he did.
I drank half of it in one go. “Thank you.”
“Mhm,” Patrick said, already falling back into sleep like he hadn’t just performed a miracle.
Drew’s fingers slid over my ribs, light, grounding, not sexual. “You good?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
A beat.
Then, because I can’t leave well enough alone, I added, “You two are disgustingly competent at aftercare.”
Drew’s mouth twitched. Patrick made a quiet, approving sound against my neck that I’m pretty sure was the closest thing he had to a purr.
And then Mike’s voice carried down the hallway like a warning bell.
“IF ANYONE IS ALIVE IN THERE, PANCAKES ARE HAPPENING.”
Patrick exhaled slowly. “Tragic.”
Drew kissed my forehead once—soft and quick. “Come on.”
I tried to move and instantly regretted it.
Patrick’s arm tightened again. “Slow.”
“I am going slow.”
“You are lying,” he said calmly.
I glared at the ceiling. “I hate all of you.”
“Also lying,” Drew added.
Great. Fantastic. Love it here.
The kitchen was bright and warm and smelled amazing.
Josh stood at the stove flipping pancakes. Mike was perched on the counter, stealing bacon directly off the tray. Jake was washing dishes at the sink.
Patrick and Drew walked in with me between them and the entire room paused, just long enough for everyone’s eyes to do that quick, silent scan that said, Oh. Okay. Noted.
Then the teasing started.
Mike’s grin went sharp. “Well, look who survived.”
I took the seat closest to the coffee pot like I had priorities and a will to live. “Barely.”
Josh slid a mug toward me without looking. “Coffee. Drink.”
“You’re bossy in the morning,” I muttered, but I drank it anyway.
Josh’s gaze flicked to me, softening for half a second. Then he went back to flipping pancakes.
Jake popped up beside me with a plate. “I made you a pancake stack.”
I stared at it. “That stack is taller than I am.”
Mike snorted. “He’s trying to bribe her into forgetting last night.”
Jake blinked. “I’m not— I’m being nice.”
“You’re always nice,” Drew said, grabbing a plate.
Patrick sat down at the table and casually rested his hand on my thigh.
Mike noticed immediately and grinned wider. “Oh. We’re doing casual touching at breakfast now?”
Patrick didn’t even look up. “We always do casual touching at breakfast.”
Mike pointed at him. “Not like that.”
Patrick finally lifted his eyes, deadpan. “Like what?”
Mike opened his mouth, realized he couldn’t say it without being vulgar, and looked personally offended by his own restraint. “You know what? Never mind.”
Jake snorted before holding up the syrup. “Do you want syrup, Em?”
“Yes,” I said instantly. “Lots.”
Josh slid the syrup bottle toward me. “Don’t spill it.”
“I won’t.”
Mike smirked. “She’s gonna spill it.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I’m not.”
Jake reached for the syrup to help and immediately knocked it sideways.
It didn’t spill—because Drew caught it one-handed without even looking up from his plate.
Jake froze. “I—”
Drew calmly set it upright. “You’re fine.”
Jake blinked at him. “How do you do that?”
Drew shrugged. “Years of stopping you from setting things on fire.”
Josh muttered, “Or breaking your neck.”
Jake’s eyes widened. “I don’t break my—”
Mike cut in, delighted. “You literally fell down the porch steps yesterday while standing still.”
“I was testing the deck!” Jake protested.
Patrick’s hand squeezed my thigh once, like he was silently agreeing with Mike.
I laughed into my coffee and instantly regretted it because my stomach muscles screamed.
Mike noticed. “Ohhh. Tender.”
“Shut up.”
Josh turned his head slightly, eyes narrowing at Mike. “Eat.”
Mike held up his hands like he was innocent. “I’m eating.”
“You’re provoking,” Josh corrected.
“That’s my love language.”
Jake leaned closer to me, voice low. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” I whispered back. “Just… very aware I have muscles.”
He smiled softly. “Good.”
Patrick’s hand slid up my thigh just a little, slow and absent like he was still half asleep. My breath caught.
Drew’s eyes flicked up from his plate, caught the change in my face, and his mouth curved—barely.
Mike clocked it too because of course he did.
“Oh,” he said brightly. “Here we go.”
Josh’s spatula froze mid-flip. “Michael.”
“What?” Mike asked, completely unrepentant. “I’m just observing. For science.”
“You don’t do science,” Jake muttered.
“I do chaos,” Mike corrected.
Patrick took a bite of pancake, chewed, swallowed, and said in the flattest voice imaginable, “She’s blushing.”
I choked. “Patrick—”
He looked at me like I was the one being weird. “It’s true.”
Drew sipped his coffee. “He’s not wrong.”
Josh shook his head, but the corner of his mouth twitched like he was fighting a smile. “All of you are unbearable.”
“Yet,” Mike said, pointing his fork at him, “you still live here.”
Josh sighed.
Jake leaned in and kissed my cheek.
By the time plates were empty and Mike was pretending he couldn’t move, Josh started lining up the day like he always did.
“Roads are open,” he said. “We could go into town.”
Jake perked up. “Hot chocolate.”
Mike immediately nodded. “And that shop with the overpriced sweaters.”
Drew gave him a look. “You’re not buying another sweater.”
“I’m absolutely buying another sweater,” Mike said.
Patrick stood and rinsed his plate without being asked. “We’ll need supplies if we’re staying another week. Food. Firewood.”
Josh nodded. “Agreed.”
Jake looked at me. “What do you want to do, Em?”
“Town sounds good,” I said. “I want to walk around. See stuff. Not… hide in the cabin.”
Josh’s approval was immediate. “Okay.”
Drew nodded like he’d already decided it was a good plan the second I said it.
Patrick’s hand brushed my back as he passed.
Jake smiled like he’d been waiting for me to say yes to the world. “Hot chocolate date.”
Mike pointed at him. “It’s not a date if we’re all going.”
Jake grinned. “It can be if I hold her hand the whole time.”
“Gross,” Mike said, then immediately added, “I’m holding her other hand.”
Josh sighed like he was surrounded by toddlers.
And I laughed, soft, real, because this was the kind of chaos I could handle.