“But think of how good she’s going to feel after this,” he added.
She felt the warmth she had come to accept would be a constant feeling while she was near this man. It pleased her that he was playing along with her. “I just hope they choose a nail color that matches her paint.”
He laughed loudly, as if he had not heard a good joke in a while. “You want me to call J.J. and tell him what color to get?” he asked when he’d recovered.
She laughed too. “I’m not that fond of Ethel. She’ll deal.”
Jared poured them both glasses of iced tea and they sat on the porch while he gave her more details about Belle Ridge, Tennessee.
“You know, this detour seems to be getting extended. I didn’t really pack to be away from home this long, and certainly didn’t plan to have little idea about when exactly I would be getting home. If you wouldn’t mind my borrowing a car, I need to go into town to purchase a few things to tide me over.”
“I’ll be glad to—” he started to say.
“Great idea. Let’s have a girl’s afternoon in town.” Nikki came through the front door carrying her own glass of tea.
Kinsley smiled, looking up at the delightful, cheery young woman. “You don’t mind? That would be really great and going above and beyond the expectations of a hostess.”
“You said it yourself. I’m the hostess with the mostest.”
“I think what you said makes more sense than the lame joke I tried to make with it.”
The girl turned to go back inside, putting an end to any arguments before they began. “It’s settled then. Let me go change my top.” She turned back to Kinsley. “Do you need some time to get ready?”
Kinsley raised her glass. “Just want to finish this and grab my purse.”
“Great,” said Nikki, looking at her father pointedly. “And you can get some work done.”
After the door shut behind her, Kinsley turned to Jared with a look of horror. “Oh my goodness. I didn’t think … have I been keeping you from important work?”
He grinned and Kinsley felt an urge to trace the scar along his cheek into the crease of his smile with her finger. “Nothing that can’t wait and nothing I’d prefer to sitting on the porch having a glass of tea with you.”
She was definitely going to have to get used to having red cheeks, she decided, as she pulled the glass to her lips, urging her giddiness to remain calm.
After a couple of hours of shopping, Kinsley and Nikki found themselves famished. They drove over to a cozy diner called Dixie Table. After taking their orders, the pretty, young server took the menus and promised the two new friends she’d be right back with their dishes.
“Thanks, Leslie,” said Nikki, then she turned back to Kinsley and beamed. “I’m so glad you agreed to let me go shopping with you.”
“Buying some toiletries and a pair of jeans hardly counts as shopping.” Kinsley chuckled.
“Even still, things have been really great with you here.”
Wanting to avoid the conversation, Kinsley asked, “So, tell me about this big party coming up.”
Nikki took a sip of her water and excitedly launched into the plans for the barn dance. While she talked, it occurred to Kinsley that she really liked this young woman and hoped that whatever the outcome of her detour, she might have made a lifelong friend. She was not going to be a stranger to the area after the book tour was over, thanks to her new book idea and desire to explore her family’s history. Maybe Jared and Nikki would be something to tie her to the area too.
“Daddy has held his hands up and prefers if my friends and I make all the decisions about the party. He’s just making sure the barn is cleaned and ready and appropriate for a party.”
“It sounds like so much fun.”
“It will be, and you’d better be there.”
“If I can make it back.”
“Don’t make me send Marshall to track you down and drag you back.”
Kinsley smiled in reply, remembering how affectionate the horse had become with her. “Okay, okay. No arm twisting, please. I’ll try to make it happen.”
Leslie arrived with their lunches, setting a chicken Caesar salad in front of Kinsley and a ham sandwich and fries in front of Nikki, who looked up her and asked, “Hey, Leslie, you got the invitation for the party next week, didn’t you?”
The server nodded and put her hands on her hips. “How is it I’ve lived in this area all my life and I’ve never been to a barn dance?”
“Well, we’re fixing that next week. Will you be bringing Carter?”
“If I can get him out of the garage and away from that motorcycle mistress of his.”
“Tell him to bring the motorcycle mistress. I bet she can dance too.”
Kinsley watched the two friends chat for a minute before Leslie returned to her work. Nikki looked curiously at Kinsley for a beat.
“So, what do you think about my dad?”
She choked on her salad, then drank some water to push it down and asked, “Well, he’s been a … gracious host.”
“Gracious host—that’s how you think of him.”
She decided offense may be a better defense. “Why do you ask, Nikki? Are you trying to manipulate something into happening?”
“Absolutely!” she admitted readily. “I need to make sure Daddy’s gonna be okay when I move away.”
“But you guys just met me. You hardly know me.”
Nikki shrugged and waved her off. “I didn’t say you should go ahead and move your stuff in and make some moves on him. I just think there’s a spark there that I know he hasn’t felt in a while, and I’d hate to see it fizzle. I’m jumping on this moment, as they don’t come along often with him. He thinks he’s had his one great love and now he just needs to make sure I’m happy. But I know he needs more, and frankly, I don’t want the pressure to be the reason he’s living.”
Kinsley observed the young woman, thinking that her few years of life were not indicative of her wisdom. “Sounds like he’s been a great father.”
“The best. He’s a rare jewel. And I like you a lot. I think you could find happiness with him.”
Kinsley smiled back, a thought forming from the back of her mind. “Seems like your mom was a rare jewel too.”
Nikki’s face lit up. “Oh, she was. One in a million. They’d been together since high school, got married right after graduating.” She leaned forward conspiratorially. “I suspect I may have been at that wedding myself.”
Kinsley chuckled, understanding her meaning.
“Anyhow, they were the best parents. They fought like any couple, but I don’t think I ever saw them angry at each other for more than a few hours. Of course, who knows what goes on behind closed doors? But the point is, there wasn’t anything big enough to threaten their relationship.”
Kinsley reached out her hand and squeezed Nikki’s, feeling a powerful desire to hug the young woman. “I bet you two were devastated when she died.”
Nikki nodded and squeezed her hand back. Kinsley noticed a tear wetting the bottom of one eye for just a second. “It was a dark time, but we had each other and our family and friends and neighbors. That’s one thing you can say about a small town. You have a large network of love.”
Kinsley thought of her own family, and though she had maintained communication with some aunts and cousins, she really had not felt a part of that web for a long time. She ached for it, and for this young woman sitting before her.
“So, I guess now, he’s having to face losing me in a way, and he’s a tad overprotective. I know he worries about me in Knoxville and doesn’t want me to move to Atlanta. He’s trying to be a supportive fan, but he doesn’t want to let go.”
“He will, though.”
“I know. But I think it would be easier if he had someone else to hold on to.”
Kinsley started to speak but was interrupted as Leslie returned and handed them both an ice cream sundae.
Kinsley held up her hands and objecte
d, “Oh, I think you’ve got the wrong table. We haven’t ordered dessert—”
Leslie pointed to the door. “Someone just came up and paid for these and asked me to send them over to the two beautiful women. This is the only table with two women.”
Kinsley looked toward the door but didn’t see anyone.
“He left right after,” Leslie continued. “Guess one or both of you have yourselves a secret admirer.”
“Can you describe him?” asked Nikki.
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe around thirty or forty? Average height and size, I guess. I didn’t really pay close attention, and frankly, I’m not good at describing people. I can tell you how they tip, though.”
“Thanks anyway.”
“Well, that’s curious,” Kinsley added when the server left their table. “Sounds like Chance may have a little competition.”
Nikki laughed. “Let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth. Eat up. Dixie Table makes a great sundae.” She rolled her eyes at the first bite in mocked ecstasy, then added, “I wouldn’t be so sure these were for me, though.” She winked at Kinsley, who smiled back while shaking away a slightly uneasy feeling.
***
Jared ushered the calf through the gate and closed it behind him, then pulled a handkerchief out of his back pocket and wiped the sweat off his brow. It had taken the better part of the day to separate the cows he would be taking for sale next week—much longer than it normally took. He found himself losing focus more often than usual. He couldn’t even pin down where his thoughts were. They seemed to flee from him every time he caught one, as if he was trying to work something out but wasn’t sure exactly what.
He checked his watch and looked toward the house in the distance. Maybe he would call it a day and head on back so he could take a shower and get dinner started. On any other day, he would not bother with the shower. But he didn’t always have a beautiful dinner guest either. He didn’t want to offend her.
Putting the handkerchief back in his pocket, he untied Marshall from the nearby post. “Ready to head back home, old boy?” The horse’s ears twitched in response, and Jared patted him affectionately as he pulled himself onto the saddle. On the way back to the house, they stopped by his small garden plot to grab a couple of ripe tomatoes from the vine.
An hour later, he was standing over the stove, heating some oil in a pan for the breaded okra he had taken from the freezer. Julia’s mother had dropped it off the week before, along with the corn they’d had the other day.
He was glad he had returned to the house from the field when he did. He’d just barely gotten dressed, his hair still wet, when Nikki and Kinsley came in from their shopping trip. He told them to relax and put their purchases away while he cooked dinner together for them, cutting off Nikki who was about to comment on his having showered.
When the okra started frying, he checked the cornbread he had baking in a cast-iron skillet in the oven and decided it needed to cook for another five minutes or so. He washed the tomatoes in the sink, took down a plate from the cabinet, and pulled a knife from the wooden block. After he cut off the tops and bottoms, just thick enough to get the stem, he sliced each tomato over the plate, catching the delicious, sun-kissed aroma with each slice.
He was just pulling the cornbread out of the oven when the women walked into the kitchen.
“Table’s all set, Daddy. Need some help bringing out the food?”
“Sure.” He turned the iron skillet upside down over a plate and the steaming, golden cornbread plopped down. “Grab that bowl of okra and plate of tomatoes and a spoon and fork to serve them. Kinsley, would you mind pouring three glasses of iced tea? The glasses are in the cabinet to the right of the sink and the tea is in a pitcher in the fridge. I assume you can find the ice on your own.”
Kinsley laughed as she accepted her job. “Pretty sure I know where to find some ice.”
When they were all sitting at the table, enjoying their meals, Nikki told her father about their day and that she was pretty sure she had talked Kinsley into coming to the party the next weekend. Jared was pleased to see that their guest did not protest.
“And something a little odd happened at lunch,” continued his daughter. “A stranger sent a couple of sundaes over to us. He left before we were able to see who it was.”
“I’m sure he was someone who knows Nikki,” added Kinsley. “No one here knows me.”
“Maybe that’s the point,” Nikki argued. “You’re a fresh, new face here and he wanted to welcome you.”
They continued discussing possibilities while Jared listened quietly. He wasn’t feeling particularly comfortable with the event at lunch. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what he was feeling or thinking, but it was unsettling. The generous stranger could have been a friend of Nikki’s, but the more he thought about it, the more he believed he was more likely to be someone whose eye Kinsley had caught, and it bothered him more than he would have liked.
9
On Friday morning, Kinsley insisted on making omelets to feel that she was contributing. Though Jared and Nikki kept insisting she was not an imposition and she could stay as long as she needed to, she wondered how long the code of honor would be in effect. At what point was she staying beyond her welcome? So far, there had been no indication from either of her hosts that they were anything but thrilled to have her. She’d come to dread the daily health report on Ethel, hoping she’d find a way to extend her visit even after the car was fixed.
Still, she thought, she’d better try to pay attention to unspoken hints of her becoming a burden. She was always on the watch for what people were not saying. Knowing how to read the room was probably her greatest asset as a writer and as a psychologist. She just had to be careful that she was reading it correctly and not looking at it through her own insecurities.
Jared had brought in some fresh eggs from the henhouse. Kinsley looked at the large brown eggs his hands and realized she hadn’t had fresh eggs since she was living on her grandparents’ smaller farm. The last couple of days had sparked many memories she had not opened in a long time and uncovered longings she had all but forgotten.
Nikki was busy packing for a weekend camping trip with a group of friends from high school. Her best friend Tammi had planned a white-water rafting journey on the Ocoee, just on the other side of Chattanooga, as a last gathering before they all moved on to become official adults more focused on creating the next chapter in their lives.
They had yet to hear from J.J. but were expecting a call in the next hour or so. The mechanic had moved on to other cars in his shop while he waited to hear from his friend with whom he had been consulting. Again, Kinsley pushed aside the thought that the mechanic seemed to be taking his own sweet time on the car, but not wanting to question her luck.
Jared’s phone rang just as Kinsley was plating the omelets.
“Good morning, J.J. What’s the word?”
Kinsley set the plates on the kitchen table and left to let Nikki know breakfast was ready. As soon as she left the kitchen, she realized she was feeling anxious about what J.J. had to say. She was not really excited about the prospect of leaving Adamson Pride today. She was a bit excited, though terrified as well, at the thought of spending the weekend alone with Jared.
Jared was putting down the phone when she returned to the kitchen, Nikki close on her heels.
“J.J.’s buddy is hoping to get here this afternoon, but he’s got a difficult project himself and it’s his mother-in-law’s car so he can’t look at anything else until her vehicle is fixed.”
“Understandably,” replied Kinsley, throwing up a silent thank-you to the heavens.
“And I told him now that you were working on a new book, you weren’t in a big hurry—you’re not … are you?”
She tried to downplay the excitement she was feeling, focusing instead on her food, and shrugged. “I’m not exactly used to things taking this long. I guess most people would be getting a bit annoyed by this. I mean, at some p
oint I need to get back home and work on a long-term strategy for the research for the book. And I need to honor that last book-signing agreement. Plus, Ethel’s not mine, so the longer I have her, the more it’s going to cost. But my agent is working out a deal with the rental car company as I’m not driving the vehicle right now and we haven’t yet figured out what’s wrong.” She looked up to see both Nikki and Jared staring expectantly at her. “I’m starting to feel it’s more like living in Mayberry here, but I’m more worried about wearing out my welcome.”
Jared’s face was unreadable as he took a drink of his coffee, but Nikki was beaming. “I hope they take their time and you’re still here when I get back Sunday afternoon. Even if they do fix it, I hope you can stick around at least until I return … and preferably until after my party next weekend.”
Kinsley glanced at Jared, who was quiet and still, watching her intensely.
“We’ll see. I’m very lucky to have the flexibility to entertain the possibility, not to mention two new friends to whom I’m finding it more and more difficult to say no.”
Jared took another bite of his omelet with a hint of a smile on his face that made her skin feel hot. She might have to come up with a fabulous gift for J.J. later.
***
Nikki was loading the dishwasher when the doorbell rang.
“Sounds like your boy is here,” her father said as he left the kitchen to answer the door.
Kinsley followed them into the living room where she was greeted by a handsome, clean-shaven young man with curly blond hair. His skin bore the tan of someone who had spent a lot of time outside, and his muscular physique suggested he, too, had spent much of his life working on a farm. He smiled when the two women joined them. Nikki stepped into his arms as he kissed her cheek. She introduced Kinsley, and his rough hand took hers in a firm handshake.
“Nikki’s told me a lot about you,” he said. “You’ve made quite an impression.”
Kinsley glanced at the young woman. “Well, Nikki’s pretty impressive herself.”
Country Pride (Belle Ridge Book 1) Page 5