front of her.
“Thanks, darlin’,” he said, joining her at the table.
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Heather Rainier
“So, that’s probably way more story than you wanted to hear.”
“No, I think it’s high time I heard about your family. Are they all
redheaded like you?”
“Oh, no. I’m one of only a few with red hair. Most of them are
tall, blond, and thinly built. I take after my Grandma Lila. She had red
hair like mine when she was younger and the same blue eyes.
Grandpa always said she reminded him of Rita Hayworth. He used to
tease her and give her a wolf whistle and do the old hand motion for a
woman with a full, hour-glass figure then duck from whatever she’d
throw at him. Usually it was a dish towel or apron, but once she went
after him with a small iron skillet.”
Ash choked. “Damn! And you take after her?”
She snickered. “Uh-huh! Couldn’t you tell?”
“So, did she get him with the skillet?”
“Oh, no. My grandpa was too charming for it to come to that. She
chased him into the offices and slammed the door behind her. All we
heard was the skillet hit the floor. When they came out later, she was
smiling and so was he.”
“Hot-blooded, huh?” he said speculatively.
“Uh-huh.”
“She must’ve been something.”
“Yeah, I miss her and Grandpa a lot sometimes. It’s been hard on
my parents and my aunts and uncles. The last I heard, they still hadn’t
taken care of dividing up their personal possessions. With so many
people involved, I think everyone is afraid that if they start down that
road, there will be more strife, so they’ve been putting it off.”
She stopped talking to eat and praised him for the perfect steak,
loving the rice dish. “You’re an excellent cook, I hope you know
that.”
“I enjoy it a lot. Not many opportunities to do more of it. I’ve
cooked for the guys before, but they seem to prefer the basics. I’m
glad you like what I made you. If you’re a good girl and clean your
plate, there is a homemade dessert for later.”
Spurs and Heels
111
“Oh, I’m all about being your good girl.”
“Yeah, sure. Remember who you’re talking to!” he said with a
laugh. “I remember you calling my parent’s marital status into
question, among other things, on the way to the hospital. After
hearing about your grandmother, it’s starting to make more sense,
though. So my mother shouldn’t take offense at the insinuations you
made about who my father might be?”
“Oh, Lord, don’t you dare tell her about that! I’ll never live that
day down, will I?”
“It’s not many women who’ve called me a idiot motherfucker that
I’ve hung around long enough to get to know better.”
“Hopefully, that means you’ve forgiven me for that awful tongue
lashing.”
Ash grinned at her and looked her in the eye. “Actually, down,
dirty insults aside, I thought you were the prettiest, hottest, sexiest
thing I’d ever gotten on the wrong side of before. You had such fire in
your eyes, at least until you quieted down. That’s when I got worried
about you.”
“I was so ashamed of the way I behaved.”
“Darlin’, I could handle the rough edges because I could see the
sweetheart underneath.”
“But me screaming at you, at the top of my lungs? If you could
see anything positive in that, you’ve got better eyes than most.”
“Maybe I do, where you’re concerned. You done?” he asked,
reaching for her plate as she nodded. “You know, I’ve been thinking
next weekend we ought to go out to The Dancing Pony for a date. I
thought you might enjoy going out on Friday or Saturday night.”
“I have work,” she said, uneasily. “That’s going to be a busy
weekend.”
“That’s all right. We’ll be busy with the horses, too, though not
that late. Just bring a change of clothes, and I can pick you up from
the store. If we want to have time together, we’ll have to do it at odd
times like after the store closes.”
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Heather Rainier
“You don’t mind?”
“Not if you don’t. I didn’t expect you to forsake your job
completely, just cut back to a healthier workweek.” He was about to
say more when his phone buzzed in his pocket, signaling a text
message.
She released him to take care of his business and went into the
living room to pick a DVD for the evening’s entertainment. She
picked two out and returned to the kitchen.