Page 8 of Finding Tane (Foggy Basin Season Two)

“Thanks Ivy.” I gave her shoulder a squeeze and went to the kitchen.

My fears had been for nothing. Tane had the place nearly spotless.

There were pans and things draining on the drying rack, the countertop was clean and a beautiful round loaf of bread was steaming on a chopping board.

On another chopping board, something steamed under a tent of tinfoil.

There was a small saucepan bubbling on the stovetop.

Gravy? My stomach rumbled, all knots gone in favour of a voracious need to eat.

Tane grinned at me and pulled a tray of roast vegetables out of the oven. They smelled great too, but it was all overwhelmed by the bread smell. My mouth watered.

“You made bread?”

Tane set the hot tray on a trivet and gave me a shy smile. “Yeah, it’s Māori bread, kind of like a sour dough but better. Go sit down, I’ll bring it all out in a minute.”

I did as he said, moving through to sit at the table. Ivy sat beside me. She beamed and leaned close to murmur. “I’m staying for dinner, then I’m headed out, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do...”

I blushed. Even with my little sister here, the lengths Tane had gone to really made this feel like a date. I shook out my napkin and spread it over my lap.

Tane brought out a serving dish with sliced roast lamb, roast potatoes and sweet potato and a chopping board of the sliced bread.

“Roast lamb is really part of the England settler history of Aotearoa,” Tane said, setting it down on the table.

“And I can’t get proper Kumara here, but sweet potatoes are close enough, that’s a Māori import.

So, uh, yeah, enjoy.” He sat down, ducking his head like he was shy about the bounty he’d set out.

“Holy crap, Tane.” Ivy shook her head.

I stood up and started serving out the slices of lamb. Ivy took the serving spoon and dished out the roast veges.

“Oh the gravy!” Tane sprung up and hurried back into the kitchen. For all the world reminding me of a fifties housewife in an old sitcom. It was absolutely adorable.

He came back a moment later with the gravy in the gravy boat I’d inherited from my grandmother and offered it around.

“Thank you, really, this is so much and it all looks incredible.”

“Dig in,” Tane said. “I hope you like it, the bread especially...”

We all started to eat. It was absolutely delicious and I told Tane so after every single bite. The lamb was perfectly cooked, a little rare in the centre and delicately flavoured with rosemary and mint.

“It’s like a standard Sunday dinner back home.” Tane buttered another piece of rēwena and passed it to me. “But I’m really glad you’re enjoying it.”

With small talk and more food than I technically needed to consume, the dinner passed very pleasantly. True to her word, after helping to tidy up, Ivy excused herself to go out.

“Hot drink?”

Tane nodded. “Sounds great.”

“Tea, coffee, cocoa?”

Tane groaned softly. “Cocoa, oh my God, yes.”

I chuckled and made us two cocoas, bringing them to the living room where Tane was relaxing on one end of the couch. He looked up at me and I swallowed, his eyelashes caught my attention again. I really wanted to touch him, to kiss him.

I set the drinks down and sat on the couch near him. He shifted to be closer to me.

What was going to happen?

“That was a really wonderful dinner, thank you, Tane.”

“So formal.” Tane half turned towards me and I couldn’t help but mirror him, my heart pounding. “We’re friends, right?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“I don’t really know what I’m going to do.” Tane’s voice turned a little more serious. “I don’t know... I’ve run away from my whole career and every time I think about going back to it, it’s like I shut down. It scares me so bad. But I really, really like hanging out with you, Dillon.”

“Do you have to go back?” Suddenly I was imagining Tane moved in, cooking some nights, coming home from the shop to find him here, settled in, his books shelved with mine... married? A happy, boring couple who lived in a small town and ran a store together? Could he ever be happy with that?

Tane smacked his lips and leaned back against the couch.

“I have a contract, at least one more album with this company, and my manager will raise Hell if I bail on that, I’d have to pay out a lot of money if I don't deliver... but... really those are my only commitments? I have an apartment back in L.A. but I could get rid of that easily enough.” He sighed, meeting my eyes with intensity.

I sensed the pull of something from him. He needed something very badly. What was it? Stability? Comfort? A loving husband? I could give him those things — although I was clearly getting very ahead of myself with the husband thing. But there was a spark between us, I was sure of that.

“Tane, I really like you. I know we hardly know each other, but—”

“But it’s like we’ve known each other for years, somehow.” Tane took my hand, a tentative gesture. I squeezed his fingers, rubbing the calluses on his fingers. “I like you too, Dillon. I can’t stop thinking about you and what—” he swallowed his next words but I thought I could guess them.

“What would it be like to try?” I whispered.

Tane nodded.