I wiped the sweat from my brow with the back of my hand. The other hand maintained a firm grip on the skillet before me. Expertly, I flipped a plate-sized pancake. It slapped back into the skillet with the golden side up.
It was hard to fathom how I'd come in three years. Three years ago, I knew little more about cooking than how to open the refrigerator door and throw a handful of fruits and veggies into a blender for a smoothie.
I adored smoothies, but I couldn't remember for the life of me when I'd last enjoyed one. Or anything else, for that matter.
Life in the Heavenly household could do that to a person.
From the dining room, Lettie, my mother-in-law and the hard-as-steel head of the heavenly family, called out, "Teela, where are those pancakes?"
How someone like Lettie could sound so authoritative and whiny simultaneously was beyond me.
Bacon crackled to my left. The heat from biscuits baking in the oven warmed my legs. A pan of gravy begged for my attention from a back burner. I reached over the bacon to give it a stir. Grease vied for attention with the steam billowing up over my bare wrist.
I cringed but kept moving. Shying away from a little pain wouldn't get the job done, and it was my job to keep the ten people in the dining room fed.
"Coming!" I called out.
"Biscuits, too." Daniel boomed.
Daniel was Lettie's eldest son. He was a mountain of a man with a crazy beard and twinkling eyes that reminded me of Santa Claus. That was where the similarity ended, though.
"And pig bacon," Thing One added.
Thing One and Thing Two were Daniel and Maylean's five-year-old twins. Oh, they had real names, but everyone referred to them by their Dr. Seuss monikers.
"You should have come down earlier if you wanted bacon," Maylean said.
"I did come down earlier, but Teela wasn't done cooking yet, so I played games and forgot."
"No pig bacon. Look, there is plenty of turkey bacon right here."
I flipped the last pancake onto the stack, then scooped up the bacon to rest on a paper towel for a minute. I knew the Heavenly family better than they knew themselves. If Maylean didn't give in to Thing's demands, Lettie would do it for her. The Heavenly men always got what they wanted, and the Things were Heavenly men in making.
I ladled the gravy into a gravy boat before pulling the biscuits out of the oven and dumping them into a breadbasket.
With the expertise of a seasoned waiter, I balanced everything in my arms and hands before heading out of the kitchen and into the dining room. I ignored the growling in my stomach and the heat that radiated out of the dishes I carried to burn skin that had already been burned so many times that I was surprised how a few scars marred my hands and arms.
At the head of the table, curly-headed Lettie ruled over her boys and their families. At the foot of the table, King read from a tablet while shoveling eggs into his mouth. King, my husband, the CEO of Heavenly Industries, was a square-jawed Adonis with dark eyes and full lips.
He didn't look up or acknowledge my presence, but I knew he wouldn't. He never did. Never had since he'd said I do in front of the minister. It was almost as if slipping that diamond ring on my finger had flipped a switch inside him. The thoughtful suitor had turned into an emotionless robot who only responded to his mother's commands.
I kept hoping that if I waited long enough, that nice guy I had dated would come back. It would all be worth it if he did.
"Teela," Lettie snapped. "Pay attention, girl. Serve the food before it gets cold, then refill the drinks. People have places to go, unlike you."
I jumped to attention and replaced the empty dishes on the table.
Ben thanked me under his breath. At least the youngest of the Heavenly brothers appreciated all my hard work.
I nodded and kept moving.
By the time I'd finished serving, King had disappeared for work. Daniel and Joshua were right behind him. Daniel worked with King. Joshua was a surgeon.
"More milk," Thing Two demanded, shoving a glass in my direction.
"Sure thing."
Maylean said, "Put it in a to-go cup. I've got to get them to school."
I rushed to comply. It took longer than I expected as I tried to match up a to-go cup with a lid that fit. By the time I returned to the dining room, it was empty except for Lettie, who glared at me.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Lettie asked.
Confused, I asked, "What was that?"
"Made my grandson go to school without milk."
"No, ma'am. I was looking for a lid–"
"I don't want to hear your excuses. You're the only person in the family without a job or schooling to attend. If you want to stay in the Heavenly family, you have to pull your weight. It isn't like you brought any value to the family."
"Then why did you let me marry your son?"
I didn't mean to say it. Knew I shouldn't. Had paid the price for asking the question before, but damn it, it was obvious no one in the family liked me except maybe Ben. Hard to tell. He was just a nice guy. He didn't have to like me to treat me like a human being.
Lettie tilted her head and sighed. "You really don't know, do you? After all these years, King hasn't told you."
I shook my head.
With a snort, Lettie said, "Do you remember that parcel of land south of town? The one where King built the gourmet shops and the King Family Restaurant?"
"Sure, but what does that have to do with me?"
"Before your mother died, that land belonged to her. The only way she would sell it to us was if you were part of the package, and King really wanted that parcel."
"I don't get it. What do you mean?"
"Honey, your marriage was an addendum to the land deal. She'd only sell him the land if he promised to marry you. I tried to talk him out of it. It's not like that was the only land available, but no. For the first and, hopefully, the last time, the boy defied me and married you anyway.
"You forced your way into this family, Teela. So now you have to earn your right to stay."
Mom sold me to King? Really? That couldn't be true. Mom would never do anything like that. She loved me. There is no way she would have left me alone with a stranger who didn't even love me.
"Clean up these dishes. Make sure the kitchen is spotless before you start in on the bathrooms. I've got a girl coming in to help with the rest, but dinner must be served on time tonight."
I nodded, stunned and still working through how I ended up here.
"And Teela, since you can't keep up the house by yourself, like I did for years, the girl's pay comes out of your allowance."
What allowance? I'd mentioned personal money to King once. He'd referred me to Lettie, who had put me off, stating she needed to talk to King. After that, Lettie changed the subject every time the subject came up.
"Your house when the boys were little was a five-room apartment including one bathroom. It was smaller than the smallest cottage on the estate. This place has six bedrooms, eight bathrooms, three studies, a home gym, and a library, but I still do it. I cook two meals a day. Three on the weekends. I do the grocery shopping and help with the care of the Things when their nanny isn't available. Lettie, I think I do my part."
Lettie jumped to her feet. "I decide what is enough, not you! If you don't like the way I run my house, you know the way out the front door."
I blinked back my first answer. The hunger eating at my stomach soured into bile. Lettie was right. She did make all the decisions in the family. It was her decision. For three years, Lettie had made that clear.
For three years, I'd stayed because I thought King cared for me once, but that might have been a lie. Or not.
Maybe Mom had included the marriage in the contract because she had seen how crazy I'd been for King from the first time I'd met him.
I nodded. "You do make the decisions for the family, but King is the one who decided to marry me. What do you think he'd have to say if I left?"
Honestly, I had no idea what he would say. If Lettie didn't mention I was gone, I wasn't even sure he would notice I was gone.
I had no idea why I was pressing the issue. I'd spent three years trying to fit in, trying to please everyone in the family, but especially Lettie and King. Standing up to Lettie was a terrific way to lose whatever headway I'd gained over the years.
Lettie stomped over to me, her face flushed, her eyes livid. "Don't push me, Teela. I can barely tolerate you breathing the same air as my son. You defy me, and I'll make sure you don't breathe again."
Her breath was warm in my face. I could smell pancake syrup and sausage wafting from her mouth—the same pancake syrup and sausage I had prepared. The same food I'd yet had a chance to eat even though my day started an hour before everyone else.
Common sense would suggest I eat while I was in the kitchen, but not in Lettie's kitchen. If I didn't eat with the family, Lettie forbade me to eat. Food was meant to be shared with family and friends. Which just went to prove that I wasn't family since no one ever waited on me to eat.
I blinked back tears. "Yes, ma'am. I understand."
We stood in silence until Lettie decided I'd gotten the point. She nodded and stepped away.
"Clean up. And Teela, remember what tonight is. Make sure dinner is served on time."