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“These your uncles?” Chase asked curiously, picking up a picture frame that depicted two men on what seemed to be their wedding day from the mantel, the most notable thing being the purple and red ties they were wearing.
“Hmm?” Riley looked up from the book he was reading. “Oh yeah, that’s them. Casey and RJ.”
“Casey looks way too young to be your uncle.” The Kiwi remarked, placing it the frame back down.
“He’s 13 years older than me.”
“Your family ages very well.”
“Yeah, thanks.” Riley replied dryly.
Chase scanned the other picture frames that decorated the mantel. There was one of Matt and Riley that he couldn’t help but grin at. They were both extremely young, Riley had to be no older than two, and they were both covered head to toe in mud. Another one had Riley’s uncle Casey and two other women, and Chase could immediately tell which one was Riley’s mother. They had the same exact eyes.
“Having fun there?” Riley asked, after he appeared suddenly next to him and looked at the photos Chase was staring at.
“Yes. You were quite a cute kid, Bambi.”
Riley half-grinned. “Of course I was.”
Riley had invited Chase over to his uncle Casey’s house that day, which was a rarity. With Matt’s sudden appearance, that meant four people were now living in Casey’s rather small space. Riley and his brother had to share a room, and there was nearly always someone home which meant less privacy in general. The more miraculous part of it was that no one was home. Both of Riley’s uncles were working, and Matt was visiting home to make sure his and Riley’s mum was doing okay.
Chase heard Riley’s stomach rumble, and the younger male clutched his stomach and made a slightly irritated face at it, like he was thinking ‘what the hell stomach, why did you do that. “I’d take it we should make something to eat? I could probably make something quick.”
Riley raised his eyebrows. “I don’t know if I can trust you in the kitchen.”
“Oh come on, I can cook.”
“Chase need I remind you of the time you nearly burned down the museum because you left the grill alone?”
Chase felt his cheeks get slightly hot. “That was one time, and I’m heaps better at focusing now, you know that.” He led Riley back to the couch and made him sit down, even grabbing his book and putting it back in Riley’s hands. “Now just let me make something to eat. You relax, read your thing, whatever.”
“Alright then…” Riley said uneasily, still clearly unconvinced but not finding it worth it to argue.
It took Chase a few minutes to situate himself in the kitchen, making sure he knew where everything was while thinking about what to make to eat. Riley wasn’t kidding when he said that they only ever seemed to have ingredients to make pizza. In the end based on the ingredients, he was going to make some sort of pasta dish. Not exactly the most impressive, but he could add his own little twist to make it his own. He quickly got into the swing of things, humming to himself as he didn’t have his music with him that day. He was going through all the motions, that if he closed his eyes for the briefest of moments he was back at home in New Zealand, cooking dinner before his mum came home.
“Food almost ready?” A voice behind him asked, and Chase turned to see Riley leaning against the doorway, his book tucked under his arm.
“Should be, I’ll dish it up for us.”
Riley moved forward to look at what Chase was making. “I guess you really can cook then?”
“Told you.” Chase smirked as he served both of them pasta.
Riley took a bite, and Chase couldn’t help but be proud when he saw Riley’s eyes light up. “This is really good.”
“I’ve got lots of experience, Bambi.”
“I honestly didn’t see you as the type to cook.”
Chase shrugged, taking a bite of his own pasta. “I had to learn when I was younger, lots of trial and error.”
“You grew up with your mom, didn’t you? Did she cook?” Riley asked, tilting his head slightly.
“Yeah, a bit. After my dad shot through, my mum had to pick up a second job for awhile to pay for everything. So I ended up being the one who cooked and cleaned most of the time since she was always so tired.” He held up his hand. “If you look at my hand you can see loads of little scars from all the times I managed to knick myself with a knife or the time I shattered a really big bowl when I was trying to bake a cake for my mum’s birthday.”
Riley reached over and grabbed his outstretched hand, examining it and lightly running over his skin with the pads of his fingers. It made Chase shiver slightly, the way Riley was looking so intently. “Wow...You really are something, Chase Randall.”
“All I did was cook pasta, love.”
“Yeah, but you did all that and more.” Riley laughed, looking down at his plate. “I was such a whiny kid when I was younger. I never wanted to do anything, I just wanted to play with my swords or ride horses with my brother. I acted like I lost a best friend when my brother actually took up some responsibility to help on the ranch after our dad was sent off overseas again. I probably would have starved if I had to cook on my own, I didn’t learn properly until two years ago. I still only really know the basics.”
“I only did it because I had to. I hated seeing my mum coming home so tired and still having to cook so I wouldn’t go hungry. It’s thanks to her I’m even over here in the States.”
“So I take it she’s doing better?” Riley asked.
Chase nodded. “Heaps. I almost didn’t want to go to Uni you know, but she wouldn’t have any of it. And when I was given the chance to go abroad, she wouldn’t take no for an answer. So here I am, in Amber Beach.”
“You know, I’d like to meet your mom. She sounds nice.”
Chase felt a swell of pride. “She definitely is. Maybe you can come with me when I go back to New Zealand to visit.”
“That sounds like fun. I’ve never been outside of the US before.” Riley took another bite of pasta. “But also, can I just keep you here? I can kick Matt out of the guest bedroom. Then you can cook and I won’t ever have to look at pizza again. Or you could teach me?” Riley made hopeful puppy-like eyes at him.
Chase pretended to think for a moment. “Well, I guess I could teach you a few things. Maybe you can impress your brother and your uncles with a newfound skill.”
Riley smiled. “I’d like that. Especially if it means I won’t have to eat so much pizza.”
“Great.” Chase leaned forward and affectionately poked Riley on the nose, laughing as the younger man swatted his hand away. “We’ll start tomorrow, if we have time.”
The air was filled with the sounds of their communicators’ shrill beeping. They both quickly pulled them out and Riley let out a whine looking at his unfinished plate of food. “I honestly hope we do.”
“Don’t worry, the sooner we get rid of the monster, the quicker we’ll be able to get on with other things.”
They both stood up and Riley squeezed Chase’s hand.
“Ready to go?”
Chase smirked. “Born ready.”