Chapter Nine #2
Asher sipped his bourbon and eyed Kelley over the rim of the cocktail glass. “Is she right about the bluff?”
Kelley got busy shelling more pistachios and admitted, “The overlook has quite a stunning view at sunset. And if you linger awhile, there will be too many stars to count. It is like the sky is lit up with unlimited dreams. All I ever wanted to do was catch one.”
Asher’s gaze softened and he leaned back against the counter. “So, you’re a stargazer, then.”
“More like a firefly chaser,” she said, her words wistful. “My grandpa told me lightning bugs were dream catchers and wish granters.” She tapped the lid on an empty Mason jar and continued, “I would make a fairy garden in one of these and then catch fireflies to put inside.”
“And did your wishes get granted?” he asked, his tone casual, his gaze tender.
“Well, Drew Carson asked me out for my first ever date in the ninth grade,” she said and waggled her eyebrows.
“I’d been wishing for that for months. I talked him into going to the bluff.
” It had seemed fitting to have her first date and possible first kiss at the overlook where she spent so much time imagining it.
Asher smiled and asked, “Was the date everything you dreamed it would be?”
“It was supposed to have been,” she confessed and wrinkled her nose.
“But Drew discovered he was highly allergic to Kentucky bluegrass, and we never made it to the bluff. We ended up turning back halfway on the trail and heading to the store for allergy medicine. It was a tie who apologized more. Him or me for forcing him to go out there.”
“That’s…” Asher’s laughter spilled out. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s funny now.” Kelley’s laugh joined his and she added, “But not so much at the time.”
“Tell me Drew conquered his bluegrass and took you back out there,” Asher said. “For a first date redo.”
Kelley shook her head. “We agreed we were better as friends.”
“So, you went back to the bluff on your own and caught more of your dream catchers,” Asher mused, his expression pensive as if he could picture it.
“I didn’t go back,” she admitted. “Mostly because Trudy hired me at the diner and I was more interested in learning to cook and bake with my grandpa and Trudy than dating and dreaming.”
“You learned well.” Asher helped himself to one of the leftover brownie bites in the container on the island. “These might be homespun, but there is nothing unrefined about the taste. Flavorful and satisfying. Everything you could want in a brownie.”
He could be someone she wanted. He hadn’t pressed her on the parade and yet he found a way to get her to open up to him. No one other than her sisters knew about her fairy garden Mason jars. Kelley smiled and said, “I’m glad you like the brownies. My grandpa would be glad, too.”
Asher popped the rest of the chocolate bite into his mouth and considered her. Finally, he asked, “Was the entire menu family recipes tonight?”
She nodded and explained, “Everything I have made for the stables has been a recipe my grandpa taught me when I first learned to cook. They are uncomplicated and I know each one by heart.”
“Thank you for sharing a part of your family.” Asher touched her arm and said, “You should consider sharing your food with more of the town.”
“I tried that in the city,” Kelley confessed. “It didn’t go quite so well.”
“But it wasn’t these recipes,” Asher countered. “What was it Herman said yesterday afternoon?” Asher snapped his fingers and continued, “You can’t measure the love, but you can taste it. Maybe that’s the difference.”
But it had been about passion and love in New York.
Only there had been pressure and disagreements, as well.
Marriage and futures at stake. And somewhere that love got misplaced and that passion burned out.
Kelley had feared it was gone completely.
Yet lately, she was not so certain. She set the pistachio tray in the oven and said, “Maybe the difference is the kitchen I’m cooking in. ”
“Not likely.” Asher picked up the pair of pliers Kelley used to turn the knob on the oven to the correct temperature and frowned. “It’s not exactly easy cooking in this place.”
But Kelley felt at ease with him. She liked being around him.
And the more time she spent with her cowboy, the more she wanted to stay longer and share more secrets.
She eased the pliers from his hand and stashed them in the drawer beside the oven to keep them in easy reach for tomorrow.
“Once I figured out the quirks around here, there was nothing to it.”
Asher eyed her like he didn’t believe her and said, “You aren’t like most people I know.”
You aren’t like I expected, either. And she was not certain if she was happy about that or not.
She asked, “Are you giving me a compliment, then? Is it good or bad that I’m not like most people?
” Too bad her cowboy was not like her ex-husband.
Single-minded and inflexible was nothing she wanted in another partner.
“It was a compliment.” Asher finished his drink. “I imagine most chefs would have walked in here and then walked out. Probably even most home cooks.”
“I like a challenge,” Kelley said.
“That’s not it.” Asher shook his head. “You see the best in things, not the worst.”
“Not always,” Kelley confessed. “Especially not after my divorce.”
“What changed?” he asked.
I met a cowboy. Kelley opened her mouth.
The back door slammed and bootsteps thumped on the hardwood floor.
Welcoming the interruption, Kelley turned away from Asher and tucked her truths away where they belonged.
“Good. You’re here.” Big E hurried into the kitchen. There was an urgency to his words and movements. “Asher, we could really use you at the stables. It’s Pride.”
Asher set his glass in the sink and grabbed his cowboy hat from the stool.
Kelley turned off the oven with the pistachios inside then opened the refrigerator.
She grabbed a bundle of fresh spearmint she’d bought at the farmer’s market on a whim, rather than take Asher’s hand.
Facing the two cowboys, she realized they were watching her.
She said weakly, “It’s just spearmint. I read horses like it. ”
“It certainly can’t hurt,” Big E said, then spun around on his boot heels. “Heaven knows we’ve tried everything else with that colt. Something has gotta work.”
Asher smashed his hat on his head and said, “Well, we aren’t giving up on him. That’s for certain.”
Kelley knew one thing for certain. Sharing silly childhood stories with Asher was nothing compared to opening her heart to him.
I can’t trust you with my heart, cowboy. It was nothing personal. Kelley didn’t trust herself with it really.
And that meant no matter how much Kelley enjoyed Asher’s company, there could be nothing more between them. Even if her heart wished otherwise.