by Mia Carson
“What took y’all so long?” she asked, hopping down.
“I gave Frankie a short tour,” Walker lied. “He liked the kitchen.”
“Big surprise there. You know, he’s working for a catering company now. If you ever have parties, you should go to him.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. There’s usually a gathering at the end of the summer.”
“Good,” Frankie said happily, but there was a warning in his smile. “I’ll be sure to jot your name down on my calendar and keep you in mind.”
“I would greatly appreciate it.”
Their forced politeness apparently wasn’t sitting well with Jaylyn and she eyed them suspiciously. “All right, what’s going on with you two?”
“No idea what you’re talking about,” Walker said casually, reaching around her for another box.
Frankie attempted to look just as innocent, but Jaylyn wasn’t buying it. “You two are so full of shit. Frankie, you start a pissing contest or something?”
“Me? Never. I’m a gentleman.”
“Like I said, I gave him a tour,” Walker added and whistled as he strolled back to the house with another box in hand. He heard them arguing quietly behind him but left them to it.
He thought long and hard all day about Frankie’s words, and they were still on his mind when he stood at the front door, waiting for Brittany to arrive. She was vegetarian, and Jaylyn had cooked for her a few times already, so he wasn’t worried about the food. He was worried about himself around Jaylyn. Had he asked her to move in so he could be closer to her? She was right next door to his bedroom. He would see her first thing in the morning and last thing at night, giving them ample opportunity to…to do what?
As he opened the door at Brittany’s insistent knocking, he was more confused than ever and apparently, it showed.
“You look like you’ve been sucking on a lemon,” Brittany told him. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing. Work will be hectic tomorrow and I’m already worrying about it, I’m afraid,” he said, which wasn’t necessarily a lie. Tomorrow was the day he hoped to receive a phone call, telling him he had a full kitchen staff ready to be trained at the restaurant. “Shall we have a glass of wine before dinner?”
“White, if you have any good ones. The last one I had here was horribly dry.”
Walker offered her his arm, as he did with all the other dates, and they chatted lightly about her weekend as he moved to the dining room and poured them two glasses of wine. Douglas stepped out of the kitchen with their appetizer, lightly seasoned and sautéed vegetable skewers that Brittany instantly fell in love with. Walker continued to be impressed by Jaylyn’s level of skill. Too bad he couldn’t have her secretly in the kitchen at the restaurant without his father finding out. If he did, it would be the end of Jaybird’s for certain. He would probably blacklist Jaylyn, and Walker would never have his chance to break away from his father’s company.
“You’re doing it again—that puckering, sour face,” Brittany informed him once they took their seats and waited for dinner to be served.
“Sorry, I have a lot on my mind.” Like the woman in the kitchen who’s now sleeping one door over from my bedroom.
He tried to listen to Brittany, but his dream from the previous night returned to the forefront of his mind. He pictured himself throwing Brittany out of the house, striding into the kitchen, and taking Jaylyn in his arms as he kissed her passionately. Kissing her would be incredible, he already knew it. She always smelled of savory foods or sweet pastries, and she was smiling more. He could tell she worried about her father, but being around the dogs, being around him and Douglas seemed to make her happy. He could make her so much happier if given the chance.
As if he was watching a movie inside his mind, a completely different life unfolded before him, one with Jaylyn by his side—not as his cook, but as so much more. Brittany’s talking faded into background noise, and Walker heard the sweet sound of Jaylyn’s voice and her laughter, feeling her hand holding his though he’d only touched her once. During his days as a playboy bachelor, he’d waited to have a moment like one his mother described of finding her true love, the man she was meant to be with. None of those women ever came close to making Walker feel like he did now, his heart pounding and blood running hot with want. And not merely lusting after Jaylyn’s body in those jeans and tank but of being with her. He couldn’t imagine any of his potential brides willingly starting a food fight in the kitchen or ever accepting his dogs.
“Will you excuse me?” he said, standing abruptly, interrupting Brittany’s ramblings about some dress or other.
“I guess so. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I just… I forgot I have a phone call to return today. Lost track of the time.”
“Can’t it wait a while longer?” she complained and reached out to snag his hand. He shifted out of the way and she missed, nearly falling out of her chair. “Walker!” she whined with a pout.
“I’m sorry, it shouldn’t take long at all.” He refilled her wine glass before he rushed into the kitchen.
“Dinner will be out in a few,” Jaylyn said without turning around.
“Hold mine if you would.”
“Walker?” She stared him up and down, flinging her towel over her shoulder, a habit he saw her doing constantly in the kitchen. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, nothing at all.”
“Uh huh, then why are you all pale and sweaty?”
He wiped his forearm across his brow. I’m trembling! Damn, what the hell is wrong with me? Douglas joined them in the kitchen, coming in from outside. “Ah, Walker, I gave the dogs fresh bones. They should be content for the remainder of the evening.”
“I need you to run interference,” Walker pleaded quietly. “Please.”
“Interference?” Jaylyn repeated. “For what?”
Douglas stared at him intently as Walker narrowed his gaze and tilted his head to the right towards the dining room. He dragged Walker through the kitchen to the mudroom and smiling at a suspicious Jaylyn, closed the door. “Walker, are you unwell? You look like you’re going to be sick.”
“I can’t do this tonight,” he whispered, pacing around the small room.
“Do what? The date?”
“All of it,” he groused. “Damn it! Why couldn’t I have met Jaylyn sooner?”
Douglas smiled knowingly. “Why did you ask her to move in with you?”
He puffed out his cheeks and blew out a heavy breath. “I want to get to know her, who she really is,” he admitted. There was no point lying to this man. He’d see right through it. “I don’t understand what’s wrong with me. There can’t be anything between us. I doubt she would ever agree to anything.”
“You might be surprised,” Douglas whispered and winked. “But no matter. I’ll take care of your date. Go hide with your brandy.”
“And Jaylyn? You’re not going to say anything to her, right?”
“That you’re having a mild panic attack because you found a woman you actually like but can’t have? No, I’ll let you keep your secret for now.”
“I don’t deserve you.”
“Ha! Don’t I know it.” Douglas exited the mudroom to find Jaylyn standing close by, her arms crossed, and tapping her foot in annoyance.
“What’s going on with you two?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary.” Douglas left the kitchen, and Jaylyn mumbled under her breath as she turned back to the stove.
“You really don’t have to keep cooking,” Walker said as he pulled the brandy from the cabinet, poured himself a glass, and went to sit in the pantry.
“What are you… are you hiding from your date?” she whispered. “In the pantry?”
He lifted his glass in a toast to her. “Cheers. Oh, and I’m not here. Just run with it.”
“What?” she asked, but he closed the door and waited it out as he’d done so many times before. He drank his brandy slowly, savoring each sip as the minutes ticke
d by. He expected to hear Brittany complaining loudly, but after twenty minutes, the door opened and Jaylyn grinned at him in disbelief. “Is it safe?”
“Yes, it’s safe,” she said through her laughter. “She’s gone. You do this often?”
“You have no idea.”
“Your dinner is still warm if you’d like vegetarian pasta. Or, I made something on the side, just in case.”
He followed her to the counter, and she lifted a towel off a large steak on a plate. Walker’s mouth watered as she revealed a bowl of potatoes to go with it. “You are a Godsend. You’re going to join me, right?”
She looked ready to say no, but Douglas came in, laughing about something, and Jaylyn nodded. “As long as Douglas eats, too. I made enough steak for six people.”
The dogs were let inside while Jaylyn, Walker, and Douglas ate in the kitchen like any normal friends would do. It was casual and so much more relaxed than any of his evenings spent with the three his father had chosen. They passed around wine and beer, sharing stories and talking late into the night. The steak was mostly gone, and what was left over, Walker fed to his dogs. Jaylyn started to clean up and he helped her, drying dishes as she washed the pots and serving trays.
They tossed the dinner made for Brittany in the trash, Walker laughing perhaps a little too much to see it disappear. He was fine with vegetarians, but she insisted he eat the same thing she did.
Once the kitchen was clean, Jaylyn stifled a yawn behind her hand and said she was going to bed. Douglas headed home for the night, too, and Walker was left in the kitchen with his three dogs. He whistled and they followed him to the master bedroom. On the way, they passed Jaylyn’s bedroom, but the door wasn’t closed all the way. Strider sniffed it and pawed at it so it opened more and ran inside.
Walker paused at the threshold when he heard her yelp of surprise and then laughter as she spoke to the dog. He waited for Strider to join him, but the dog didn’t leave the closet where Jaylyn stood.
“I think you’re stuck with him tonight,” he called out so she wouldn’t accidentally walk out half naked. Not that he would complain, but he wasn’t sure she’d appreciate it.
“I’ll be all right with him.” She turned the light off and exited the room in a pair of sleep pants and tank top with no bra. He forced his eyes to remain on her face as her nipples hardened beneath the thin fabric to create a perfect outline of her chest.
“Right, well, I’ll…uh, I’ll see you in the morning,” he said roughly and hurried to his room before he made an even bigger fool of himself.
9
Walker barely mumbled a hello to Jaylyn the next morning as she handed him a warm thermos filled with coffee and a muffin for the road. He would be at the restaurant most of the morning, training the new staff and praying for that phone call saying he finally had the kitchen crew he needed to open. He was all nerves as he drove to the restaurant, but when he pulled into the lot, the manager he’d hired was there to greet him, a wide smile on his face.
“Clarence, you appear in a right good mood,” Walker said as he reached him.
“As you will be when you join me inside.”
Walker frowned but followed the manager inside and was greeted by a man in a white chef’s coat and six others standing behind him. He held out his hand and Walker shook it. “I’m sorry, who are you?”
“Name’s John, and I heard you’re in need of a new cook,” he said. “We’re looking for a new kitchen to stretch our legs in.”
“You are very welcome to work here,” Walker said. “Have you seen the kitchen yet?”
He spent the rest of the morning showing the man and his crew around and getting them set up. John said he knew the menu well, knowing Jaylyn and her father, but told Walker if he wanted to update or change anything now was the time.
“I’ll leave that to your expertise. I think you’d know what the Wilsons would want for a good summer menu.”
“That I do,” he agreed.
“Then if you’re all set, I think I’ll take care of some other business. Clarence? Call me if you need anything.”
“Where are you rushing off to?”
“Paperwork for here and the lodge, and designs for signs and logos, need to be approved. My office for all of that is at home,” he said with a smile, knowing who else was at his home right now. “See you tomorrow!”
Normally, he would’ve brought all his paperwork there and worked from the restaurant, but now that he had a full kitchen crew, his stress level halved and he decided that spending the day working from the comfort of his office would be a nice change of pace. Jaylyn being at the house was a bonus. When he pulled up to the house, he saw her in her truck, slamming her hands against the steering wheel. He parked his car on the drive and strolled to her driver’s side, knocking on the window.
“Why are you home?” she asked as she rolled down the manual window, a testament to the age of the truck.
“I thought I would work from here today because, thanks to you, I finally have a fully staffed kitchen. Thank you, really.”
“You’re welcome. Who is it?”
“John.”
“Perfect. He’s a good guy and I trust him not to let the food go to shit.”
“Yes, I got that vibe as well.” He glanced at her forced smile and her purse on the passenger seat. “Are you having problems with your truck?”
She shrugged. “If you mean will the old thing not start, then yes, I’m having some issues.”
“Where are you headed? I’ll take you.”
“I have to go to the market, but you have work to do. It’s fine, I’ll get her to work.”
“Seriously, I can drive you.”
“No, Walker. When I said the market, I meant the farmer’s market that’s an hour and a half away,” she argued, but he was already walking away. “Walker!”
“If it’s that far, then I suggest we hurry so we can get back in time for dinner.”
“Walker!”
He ignored her and climbed into his truck, waiting for her to join him. She gave up and opened the passenger door of his truck. “You’ll have to give me directions.”
“You’re impossible, you know that?” She took his phone and typed in the address of the market, handing it back with a huff of annoyance. “If you don’t get your work done today, you can’t blame me.”
“Can’t I want to spend a nice day outside instead of trapped in my stuffy office?” He grinned as he started the truck, but when their eyes met, a curiosity flickered to life in her gaze and he wanted to lean across the console and taste those lips he bet still had coffee on them, or maybe whatever sweet thing she cooked for breakfast.
“We won’t get very far if you don’t drive,” she told him, her voice rough.
“Right, driving. Let’s go to the farmer’s market.”
“Have you ever been to one?”
“I can’t say that I have. I’m a farmer’s market virgin.”
She smirked and settled back in the passenger seat for the long drive.
Jaylyn expected the car ride to be boring, but as with every conversation with Walker, it was comfortable. They talked about the new cook and what she expected from him. Then talk moved to the lodge and how it was coming along until they shared stories from their school days and learned more and more about the other. When she’d taken this job, she’d been so bitter and ready to hate this man on principle, but the more time she spent with him, the harder it was to think badly about Walker. He was nothing like his dad, and for that, she was grateful.
“Wow,” he said as they pulled into the lot and he parked. “Is it always this crazy?”
“This is the first week it’s open,” she explained and climbed out. “They’re open every morning during the first week and then it’s only on Saturdays.”
He followed her into the large lot filled with booths and tents for the local farmers selling their produce and other goods. He was like a kid in a toy store for the first time. She even had t
o grab him and drag him to different booths.
“I have a budget to stay within,” she reminded him when he stopped at a booth with incredible cuts of meats.
“Budget? What budget?” His eyes widened. “No, you’re not paying for this out of pocket! Why didn’t you tell me to work out a shopping allowance for you?”
“It’s not that big a deal,” she tried to tell him, but he shook his head.
“Nope, everything is on me from now on, so whatever you want to get, buy it. And no arguing.”
She was about to do just that, but if he wanted to buy all the food for her and the house in general, there was nothing she could do to stop him. They stopped at almost every booth then, buying ingredients she had only dreamed of working with, along with specialty cheeses, wines, a good bottle of whiskey, and several pounds of bacon and steaks. When they couldn’t carry any more, they found a booth towards the end near the parking lot where tables were set up for people to sit down and eat the hot pretzels and cheese, all made fresh.
“I think you should bring me here every weekend,” he said, sitting across from her at their tiny table and watching the other people enjoying the market.
“I didn’t think you’d have so much fun here.”
“What’s not fun about this? The people, the food.”
“Yeah, you’re going to be my guinea pig from now on.”
“I think I can live with that,” he replied, smiling as he took another huge bite of his pretzel.
They ate in comfortable silence, but Jaylyn could tell from the way he kept fidgeting he wanted to ask her something. She could’ve been nice and helped him, but she honestly had no idea what would come out of his mouth.
Instead, she asked her own question. “How many times have you hidden in the pantry from your dates?”