Chapter 19

Chapter 19
Kathrine followed Toby and Jarold into their dining room where she had noticed they had already set the table. She knew they were in the honeymoon phase, but honestly, she was shocked they had taken the time and cooked their dinner. It was nice to wake up to a meal to replenish her strength. She had a feeling that she would need it when it came to the two of them. She started to go into the kitchen to help gather the rest of their meal but was shooed back to the table.

"You know I can help finish things up, right?" She said as she took her seat, reluctantly.

"You know that we have the ability to finish the meal we started, right?" Toby said, matching her tone in dryness.

She laughed and gestured him to continue and sat back and watched them working together. She swore to herself she'd draw the line if she seen one of them cutting her steak up for her. But, no, Toby simply put two sirloins and a baked potato on each plate while Jarold threw together a quick salad. Once those were brought to the table and sat down, Toby went back into the kitchen to grab glasses while Jarold rummaged in the fridge and found a pitcher of tea already made.

"Thank you. This looks wonderful." She said once they returned and sat down with her.

"It was the least we could do. You made lunch so we decided we could make dinner while you rested for a little bit." Jarold said giving her a grin that told her he was thinking of why she was needing rest in the middle of the day.

"Ah, so that's the key to being allowed to lay about while my men cater to me." She said teasingly as Toby poured her tea for her.

"It certainly doesn't hurt your chances of it." Toby said with a wink and a grin. "Plus, when you are pregnant, we'll be hard pressed to allow you to navigate the stairs untended. So I guess it is good to get used to it now."

"You know, we only have about a month of this before we're all going to be expected to get it together and resume a normal life, right?" She said.

"What do you mean by that?" Jarold asked looking at her confused.

"That means that pretty soon you guys are going to be expected to go back to your duties while I handle the home life. So, you'll have to allow me to navigate the stairs untended." She said sarcastically.

"While we're gone, we won't be able to stop you." Toby agreed with her and laughed.

"But, while we're home, you won't be able to stop us from stopping you. It is two against one. You'll lose that battle." Jarold said with a shrug.

"We'll see about that." She said shaking her head then ignored them in favor of her food.

They spent the meal in companionable silence as they relished their first dinner together. She definitely could appreciate a man who could cook and it seemed that, somehow, she'd found two. The steaks were perfectly cooked and seasoned so well that even the aroma coming off them had been making her mouth water. The potatoes and the salad were even delicious. Even though her stomach was full, she hadn't been ready to run out of food. They both finished before her, but she had taken her time enjoying every bite. When she finished and put her silverware down, before she could blink, Toby was gathering up their dirty dishes and going into the kitchen.

"Hey! I can do the dishes. Jeez, at least let me feel a little useful in this house!" She complained as she followed him in to help clean up the meal.

"You didn't let us help clean up lunch. So, by your example, we're not letting you help clean up after dinner. Go away. We got this." Jarold said, blocking her a few steps into the kitchen.

"Go away?" She huffed looking between the two of them in exasperation.

"I said what I said. It'll only take a minute. Why don't you pick a movie for us to watch? I'm dying to try out that huge TV." Jarold suggested once again shooing her out of the kitchen.

She knew she'd get nowhere arguing with them about cleaning up after them and decided to allow them to win the battle. This time. She grabbed the remote and plopped down on the couch to scroll through Netflix and find the girliest movie possible to make them watch. She grinned as she scrolled through the romantic genre. Teach them to let her pick a movie unattended and be kicked out of her own kitchen, she thought to herself. She settled on some Halmark Christmas movie about being in an accident and getting amnesia and falling in love with your savior. Dime a dozen but it did have the bonus of being one she hadn't seen yet.

"Feeling festive already?" Toby teased as he and Jarold leaped over the back of the couch on either side of her making her butt bounce off the cushion a couple inches as they landed.

"Woaaah!" She gasped and laughed as she landed back on the couch to find them both grinning at her. "You two planned that!" She accused giving each of them a reproachful look.

"Maybe. Was a nice view watching you bounce, though." Jarold answered her in an unapologetic tone.

She rolled her eyes and pressed play on the remote to start the movie while she snuggled back into the couch between the two of them. Within a few minutes Jarold was sprawled out on the couch with his head in her lap while she petted his head and rested hers on Toby's shoulder while his arm was around her shoulders. She became aware of herself, almost as an outside spectator, and realized just how….domestic….they were already. It was peaceful and relaxing but also shocked her out of what was almost a stupor. She became restless, shifting around to the point that Jarold looked up at her in concern.

"I really want to go for a run." She said, meeting his gaze.

"Okay, let's go. Anywhere specific you want to go?" Jarold asked her.

To her surprise, neither of them argued with her at all. Immediately they were standing up and helping her to her feet. They both were shedding clothes on the way to the back door with her following suite a step behind them. She honestly had expected criticism from them like she usually got from her parents when she couldn't sit through an entire movie without getting too restless to sit still.

"Our cave." She said immediately, remembering how peaceful it had been and had allowed her to see them past her anger.

Jarold opened the back door for them and once they were all outside and the door was closed, they shifted and took off in the direction of the cave they spent their first night together. Of course, she gave them a race to the water bank just outside it.