Chapter 17 #2
Beth laughed. “Starving, actually.”
“Me too.” He took her hand and then headed inside.
She helped as he moved around the kitchen, taking out a skillet, slicing thick pieces of cheese from four different chunks, and then cutting several slices of sourdough bread.
He added butter to both sides and put them in the sizzling pan, and she watched as he added thick slices of ham to the middle, between each slice of cheese.
“I suppose I should ask you if you like cheese?” He glanced over at her.
“Love it,” she admitted. “I normally only use one type of cheese on my grilled cheese and have never had it with ham.”
He smiled quickly. “You’re going to love this.” He flipped the sandwiches. “You can grab us some chips. There are several bags in the pantry.”
His kitchen was a classic farmhouse style. There was an oversized gas cooktop oven under a massive arched vent. The cabinets were a soft cream and had several open shelving areas that were filled with brightly colored bowls or plates.
There was a long cushioned bench under the massive picture windows that looked out over the backyard. The kitchen table sat between the windows and the kitchen island, where the sink and dishwasher were.
Everything was spotless, as with the rest of the house.
The pantry sat on the wall between the kitchen and the formal dining room. Opening the door, she stepped in and was amazed at the sheer size of the space. She was shocked to see canned goods, shelves and shelves of them, all with Aaron’s handwriting on the neatly printed labels.
“Did you make all these?” she called out as she picked a bag of chips. “The canned foods.”
“Yeah,” he answered easily.
Her eyes ran over the jars. There was everything from jelly to carrots.
She thought back to the blueberry preserves that they’d had for breakfast as she counted more than a dozen jars on the shelves.
She stepped out of the pantry with a bag of spicy chips as he loaded the sandwiches onto plates and motioned to the back deck.
“How about we eat lunch outside?”
“Sounds good,” she said as he carried everything outside onto the wide back deck.
She followed, surprised by how open the space felt.
The deck stretched the entire length of the house on three sides.
Sitting on one of the cushioned chairs, she admired the sweeping view of the pasture and tree line beyond.
A pair of rocking chairs sat in one corner, and a long table was tucked under the shade of the overhang.
“This is…beautiful,” she whispered as a cool breeze blew her hair.
“Best seats in the house,” Aaron said, setting the plates down on the table between them.
They chatted about the farm, with the distant sound of cicadas and the occasional call of a hawk circling overhead. The sandwich was perfect. Better than anything she’d ever made.
“What else are you hiding?” she teased after a few bites.
“Stick around long enough, you might find out.” His eyes crinkled.
Her stomach warmed almost as much as her chest did at that simple comment. She relaxed into the chair, letting the wind cool her shoulders while she savored both the meal and the company.
When they carried their empty plates back inside, she wasn’t ready for the moment to end, so she asked, “So… can I see the dresser you’re working on?”
His smile was quick and sexy, causing her knees to wobble a little. “Yeah, of course. Come on.”
He led her across the yard. The summer air was warm on their backs, causing a bead of sweat to roll down her back. He tugged open a small barn door on the side of the building. The smell of cedar, oak, hay, and varnish greeted them instantly.
This part of the barn was cut off from the rest, she realized. He flipped on a few switches and a wall air-conditioning unit pumped cool air in.
“Nice,” she said, stepping inside. His shop filled the entire back third of the barn. The space was huge, bright, and organized in a way that most people wouldn’t expect from a man who spent his spare hours sanding wood.
The concrete floor was spotless, and there were several racks lining one wall that held planks of cherry, walnut, and pine in neat stacks.
Against the opposite side stood tidy workbenches with tools hanging in perfect rows on pegboards.
Every chisel, every clamp had its place.
As she moved closer, she realized he had even drawn outlines so he couldn’t put them in the wrong place.
Beth’s gaze moved around slowly, her lips parting as she took it all in. “Wow,” she whispered.
Aaron followed her eyes to the collection of projects waiting their turn. More than a dozen pieces of furniture sat arranged in the wide space: tables with half-carved legs, a bed frame in need of sanding, a rocking chair that still smelled faintly of fresh stain.
And in the center of it all, on padded sawhorses, rested the dresser.
It was solid oak, its grain warm and rich, the drawers stacked neatly nearby. He’d already sanded most of it, the wood smooth beneath his hand when he laid his palm flat across the top. His gentle move reminded her of how he’d touched her the night before.
“She’s almost ready for stain,” he said softly, more to the piece than to Beth.
She stepped closer, brushing her fingertips across the edge of one drawer, as though afraid to disturb it. “It’s beautiful. You made this?”
“Re-made,” Aaron said, pride tucked behind his even tone.
“It’s going to take a couple more days of work before I’m happy with it, but she’s coming along.
We had some trouble for a while.” He turned to her.
“I added these and wasn’t sure about them.
” He touched small circular designs set into each drawer.
To her, that was the best part. It had caught her eye immediately. They were unique. Classy. Beautiful.
Beth gave him a smile. “This doesn’t just look like a workshop. It looks like… an artist’s studio.”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “It’s just wood and my spare time.”
“It’s more than that,” she said, walking over and wrapping her arms around him. “It’s so… you.”