Spurs and Heels(Divine Creek Ranch 5)(40)

chocolate that I smell?”

Ash smiled and nodded. “Yes, I made you a surprise for dessert.”

“Ooh. Yummy!” She felt so good she might surprise him and

make him her dessert.

Juliana was blown away by the fare spread on her kitchen counter.

Ash grilled thick rib eye steaks in a fragrant marinade. There was a

vegetable dish which contained the garlic and onions she’d smelled,

plus rice, peppers, and a blend of seasonings she could not identify.

There was also a spinach, field greens, and tomato salad with a

homemade dressing and grilled homemade bread. She glanced in the

kitchen, stoked to see that not only could he cook but he’d also

graciously cleaned up after himself.

She peeked under the dish cloth and pinched off a small piece of

the grilled bread and moaned. The Keith Urban song began playing in

her head again, and she murmured, “You fricking know how to cook,



108

Heather Rainier

big man. That bread is delicious!” Her grandmother would say he was

a keeper.

“When I was growing up, we had a housekeeper who helped my

mom with running the house and cooking. There were eight of us, and

Mom had more than she could keep up with between us kids, my dad,

and the ranch hands, so Lydia came to live with us. She was raised on

the Yucatan peninsula. She’s who taught me how to cook all these

dishes.”

“Did you say there were eight children in your family?” Juliana

asked incredulously.

“Yep. We’re spread out all over the globe right now, so it’s been a

couple of years since we were all together. You mentioned a brother a

few days ago,” he began as he filled a plate for her. “Do you have

other siblings?”

“Yes, I have two brothers and two sisters. I also have lots of

cousins. We all lived close together growing up, but I haven’t seen

them in a while.”

“Why not?”

“Well,” she began as she took the seat he offered her at the table.

“Mainly because of work, since I’m a workaholic. But there was also

a rift in the family a few years ago when my Grandma Lila passed

away.”

“What happened?”

“Our families all jointly owned a restaurant in Tillman. We did as

the previous generation had done, growing up in the business,

learning to cook, wait tables, clean up, and do prep work. I didn’t

particularly enjoy restaurant work, but I enjoyed hanging out with my

siblings and cousins, even though most of them were older than me. I

was pretty close to my Grandma Lila. She passed away suddenly, one

afternoon, in her office at the restaurant. She had a massive heart

attack at her desk. After she died, my grandpa started—” She paused

over the hitch in her throat.



Spurs and Heels

109

“Darlin’? If it’s upsetting, you don’t have to talk about it. I’m

sorry.”

“It’s okay. It just takes me back, you know? My Grandpa Jasper

started going downhill pretty quickly. He lost interest in the

restaurant, spending more and more time alone. Within a month of my

grandma passing, my grandpa died, too. He was too heart sick without

her. You could see it in his eyes.”

Ash knelt down and hugged her where she sat, silently brushing

the tears from her eyes with his thumbs. Sometimes words weren’t

necessary.

“Someday, that’s the kind of love I want.”

“So what happened with the restaurant?”

“My dad and my uncles and my mom and aunts had always

managed well while my grandparents were around because they were

the unifying force. After they were gone, they began having

disagreements. This was about the time I graduated from high school

and went off to college, so I wasn’t involved in any of that.

“Finally, they settled Grandma and Grandpa’s estate, and now my

dad and several extended family members operate Lila’s. The rest

built and operate another restaurant in town, including my mom and

several aunts and uncles. Nobody wanted to see Lila’s fall apart

because of disagreements or crippled by financial ruin, so they made

sure both restaurants were properly manned with cooks and waitstaff.

Rather than splitting everything equally, Lila’s pays a dividend to the

ones who left twice a year based on the profits. Their investment of

time and money over the years stays intact that way.

“I moved away after college because I didn’t enjoy the family

business enough to invest my life in it. And although I can cook to

beat the band, I don’t get any real enjoyment from it.

“Speaking of which, you obviously enjoy cooking. This looks

delicious Ash,” she said enthusiastically as he placed a loaded plate in