Chef's Delight (Stories of Serendipity)

by Anne Conley

  He thought for a few seconds. “I would like a little extra for experimenting with new recipes, but I think about twice as much as you gave me yesterday morning should do me for the rest of the week. If that’s okay.”

  She nearly choked on her spit, she was so shocked. “Sure! Um, I don’t have any of the aged stuff left, it takes about a month to develop at least. But the rest of it, I would be happy to have ready for you. When do you need it?”

  “Can I come pick it up tomorrow? I used most of what you gave me yesterday. It was really great cheese.”

  “O-okay. I’ll have it ready in the morning.” Sleep was over-rated anyways, right?

  “Great. See you then, Jessie.”

  After hanging up the phone, Jessie let out a whoop of exultation, did a happy dance, and got into her truck to make a run to town to buy every lemon she could find. She had cheese to make.

  Connor hung up the phone, feeling horny as hell. Talking to Jessie about cheese of all things had managed to give him a hard on to rival any he’d had. Granted, it had been years since he’d felt anything for any woman. Sure, he’d had sex, but nothing else. Not since Brandy.

  Just the thought of his ex-wife tamed the raging erection, and soured his mood enough to go out to the carriage house and see what Luke was up to.

  The sounds of power tools came through the thin walls of the house, as Connor walked across the parking lot. As he came closer, he heard the sounds of a woman’s laughter over the noise of what was probably Luke’s drill.

  Opening the front door, Connor called out, “Hello there!” He didn’t want to interrupt anything inappropriate.

  “Back here, in the kitchen!” His brother called back.

  Connor went to the kitchen, and was surprised to find Kathy sitting on one of the countertops, feet dangling over the edge.

  “Hi, Kathy. I didn’t know you were coming over today. Did we have plans for something?” Connor was surprised to see her, here with Luke. Since the restaurant was closed today, he wondered if he had asked her to come in to do something. He didn’t remember, but his mind had been a little scattered lately.

  “No. You didn’t need me for anything.” She looked down at Luke, who was lying under the sink, his legs out in the middle of the kitchen floor, hiding his shoulders under the cabinet. “I just stopped by to visit with Luke.” She hopped off the countertop lithely as a kitten, “I was just fixing to leave anyway.”

  “Hey, since you’re here, can I ask you something?” She was walking to the front door, and Connor was following her.

  She stopped and turned to look at him. “Sure.”

  “Your friend, Jessie. What’s her story?”

  Kathy snorted. “Her story?”

  Connor blushed, realizing how it sounded. “Never mind. I’m going over to her place tomorrow for more cheese, I just wanted a little insider info before I get a gun pulled on me again. Forget about it.”

  “Jessie is one of my best friends, I’m not airing her dirty laundry for you. But I will tell you she’s worked harder than almost anybody I know to get her business running, market herself, make the cheese, and keep her goats in top condition. And she does it all alone.”

  “So…there’s um…no husband?”

  “Why? You like her?” Kathy nudged him in the ribs.

  “I don’t know her, how would I know? I was just asking.” Realizing he was fixing to be in a heap of trouble if he didn’t change the subject, he asked, “How much do you think I owe her for the cheese she brought over yesterday?”

  “She brought over a little more than a dozen six-ounce packages? Probably a little over two hundred dollars.”

  His eyes bugged out of his head. “Two hundred dollars? Seriously?”

  “That’s between two and three dollars an ounce for high-grade, hand-made, local goat’s milk cheese. Dude. Such a great deal.”

  “It is good cheese…” Connor said wistfully.

  “It is great cheese. Tell her I said hi when you see her tomorrow.”

  “Okay, I will. See you later, Kathy. Enjoy your time off.”

  “Thanks, Connor. Bye.” And she turned and was out the door.

  Turning slowly, Connor started whistling as he made his way back to the kitchen, where Luke was still under the counter.

  “Hey, man. What was Kathy doing here?” Connor was curious.

  “Hell, I don’t know, man. But I wish she would just move in and put me out of my misery.” Luke slowly made his way out from under the cabinet, a grimace on his face.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing yet, but that woman…Jesus! She does something to me I can’t explain. I had to stay underneath the cabinet where I couldn’t see her, because every time I looked at those legs, I got this devastating chubby…embarrassing, man. It was like Darcy Williams all over again.”

  “Darcy? Seriously? Wow…” Connor gave a low whistle, remembering his kid brother’s obsession with their babysitter when they were younger and Luke was discovering infinite ways he could pleasure himself while thinking about her. Connor had devised a way to schedule bathroom time, so he could shower. “Kathy?” Sure, she was pretty, redheaded, built well, and competent, but Darcy Williams material? No way. He shook his head in disbelief.

  Together, they had decided to hire Kathy to help with the restaurant in the beginning. Connor had been reluctant, as he wasn’t sure her resume supported what he needed. Luke, however, had insisted, and Connor was glad, because she had proved to be indispensable. Maybe she was what Luke needed to stick around a little while. Connor didn’t want to admit it, but Luke’s imminent departure was looming nearer, and he wasn’t ready to let his little brother go. If he was going to be honest with himself, he wasn’t ready to deal with the restaurant alone. Or the house.

  Luke was standing in front of Connor, leaning against the counter top across from him. “Can I tell you something? Promise not to make fun of me?”

  “You can tell me anything, Luke. But I will always reserve the right to make fun of you. Sorry about that.”

  Luke ran his hands through his hair, as a flush crept up his neck. “I think I’m in love with Kathy.”

  “What?”

  “Dude. She’s all I think about. All day. I drink more water than I ever have, because I want to go into the kitchen and get a glass so I can look at her. Sick, isn’t it?” He looked down at his feet, the flush crawling from his neck to his cheek.

  “Mr. Tap That Ass has feelings. How touching.” Connor said wryly.

  “Shut the fuck up, dude. I’m being serious. She’s like a drug, and I can’t get enough.”

  “Have you slept with her?”

  “No, I haven’t even kissed her. Stupid, I know. But I just know if I kiss her, I won’t be able to stop there, and I don’t know exactly how she feels. It’s so intense, you know?”

  “No, and you sound like a fucking girl, man.” Connor looked in the fridge, which wasn’t cold. “Fridge isn’t hooked up?”

  “Fuck! Not again.” Luke opened the refrigerator door, slammed it shut and stomped outside to the breaker box.

  “What do you mean? Was it working earlier?” Connor followed him out, confused.

  “Hell, yeah it was! I installed it yesterday.” Luke was pissed, flipping breakers and switches frantically. “This house is so fucked up. I don’t know how you’re going to stay here. I can’t wait to get the fuck out.”

  “It’s an old house. So, it has foibles. I prefer to think of it as character.”

  “Some character. It wouldn’t surprise me if this place was haunted.”

  “Whatever, man. There aren’t any ghosts here.” Connor was trying not to think about the music he had heard, just this morning.

  “I would normally agree with you, Dude. If it was just one or two things. But it’s constant, man. There’s always something creepy happening around here. The refrigerators going out, that fucking mirror you hate so much, it always sounds like there’s someone walking around in here, up the
re…”he gestured upwards to the loft of the carriage house.

  “I get it, Luke. I really do. But what do you want to do about it? The only thing that really bothers me is the fridge continuing to go out. That’s the only thing affecting my livelihood, here. The rest of it is spooky, yeah…”

  “It’s fucking creepy, man…” Luke interrupted.

  “Okay, it’s fucking creepy, but I invested everything I have into this business, and I can’t get it back. Not at this point. I’ve got to keep going.” His voice trailed off, dejectedly. If he couldn't make a go at this, he wasn't sure where he would end up. The restaurant symbolized Connor's hope for the future, and he couldn't give that up.

  “I know what you have riding on this place, man.” Luke’s voice softened, as did his features.

  “I have everything riding on this place, Luke. It’s got to work.” Connor said softly, before going back to the big house for a couple of beers. When he returned, Luke was installing the sink fixtures in the kitchenette.

  “You need some help, man?”

  “Naw.” Luke took a swig from the beer Connor offered him, gratefully. “In fact, I’m almost finished with this place. I’ll need to pull down some boards from the interior walls upstairs to get the insulation in, and that’s it. I’m done in a week, tops. I can get my ass back to Houston.”

  “You gonna kiss Kathy goodbye?” Connor was only half teasing. Not only did he want his brother to be happy, he wanted him to have a reason to stay here, in Serendipity.

  Luke’s eyes turned fuzzy, as he appeared to briefly fantasize about her. “Yeah, I think so, man. I want to see if the fireworks I imagine are really there, you know?” He shrugged. “If not, Houston will be that much sweeter.”

  “If there are fireworks? Will you stay?” Connor narrowed his eyes in question. He was hopeful.

  “Not in this place. I may take her back with me to Houston, if she’ll go.”

  Connor snarled at Luke, “Like hell you will. She’s the best employee I’ve got here. I’m not sure at this point I could run the place without her.”

  Luke playfully punched his big brother’s arm, and the panic rising inside Connor eased, somewhat.

  Connor stayed and drank the rest of his beer, watching Luke finish up the kitchenette, before going back to the big house to experiment with more goat cheese recipes, his mind straying to the tantalizing woman with the goats.

  Chapter 5

  Singing along with some Greatest Hits of the Eighties, Jessie finished up the last mama goat, before setting all the babies and mamas loose in the pasture. Wondering if she would have enough time for a nap before Connor showed, she looked up to see her Billy goat, Samson has gotten out of his enclosure, and was availing himself to the ladies.

  Sighing heavily, she went back into the barn for her tool apron and a bucket of feed to try to lure him back to his side of the fence. Jessie had been up until two thirty in the morning, finishing Connor’s order, and now this. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. She was constantly trying to repair fences, which the wily goats managed to get through, no matter how secure she made them. She would truly love to have a permanent game fence put up, like an associate of hers has, but she was pretty sure for the size of her property, it would cost close to $50,000 to install. And she didn’t have anything else to mortgage to make it happen.

  Finding the hole in the fence wasn’t a problem. Samson was pretty big, if his horns were included in his mass, so the holes he made were big enough to spot. She crawled through his hole and dumped the bucket of feed on his side of the fence, rattling it all the way. That usually worked, but today was not her day.

  “Great…” Samson was mounting a female furiously, thrusting in and out of her with abandon, knowing his stolen opportunity was about to be put to an end, and he was going at it for all he was worth. It was Marie, who had just given birth to twins about a week ago, and was probably already in heat again. Jessie rolled her eyes and went after the randy billy goat.

  Samson had been the product of a trade, so Jessie hadn’t raised him from a baby, and he was still a little skittish with her, although she had tamed him down a lot. She walked up to him, slowly, and grasped his enormous horns in her hands. He started bucking and thrashing wildly, but she hung on. She knew he would tire before she did, and then she could lead him back to his enclosure, if she could hold on long enough for him to settle.

  “How can I help?”

  Startled, Jessie looked up into the cool blue gaze of Connor, who had walked out into the pasture, where she was wrestling with Samson. Jessie had dug in her heels, and was holding the horns with all her might, while the male goat thrashed and bucked, wildly.

  “In the barn. Bring me some rope hanging on the wall.” She gritted out between clenched teeth.

  Connor jogged off, and returned shortly, with a length of coiled rope, which he held out to Jessie. Using her entire body, she grunted, deftly maneuvering the goat to the ground. With lightening fast speed, she hogtied his legs together tightly, coiling the rope around the legs, securing the struggling, bleating goat. Jessie knew this made him angry, and his skittishness would be worse for a couple of weeks, but it was safer than struggling with his horns, and she was tired.

  Breathing heavily, she sat back on her heels and looked up at the impressive figure standing before her, his arms crossed and an amused expression on his face.

  “Thanks for the help. I could have managed, but it would have taken forever.” She wiped gritty sweat off her brow before standing to drag a humiliated Samson back to his side of the fence. He was heavy, probably a hundred pounds or so, but she dragged him with little struggle. He knew he was defeated, and he stopped fighting against his bindings.

  Once on his side of the fence, she untied the ropes and let him go free, where he ran as far away from her as he could go, over to where the other two bucks were in the corner of their enclosure. Connor had followed her.

  “I’ve got to mend this fence real quick. Do you mind?” She asked him. Jessie had planned on taking a shower before he showed up this morning, but guessed that would have to wait.

  “Not at all. You do what you need to do. I’m enjoying watching you. I could help, if you needed me to.” His voice, low and gravelly, sent a shiver down her spine, even though it was already close to eighty degrees outside, and she was sweating like a pig after wrestling with Samson.

  She looked him over, appraisingly. He was tall. Taller than her, even. He was wearing a short-sleeved button down shirt, showing off his tattoos, open over a gray tee shirt, and loose khaki cargo shorts. His broad shoulders, tapered waist, and long, lean legs showed off rippling muscles, which made Jessie wonder, as she couldn’t imagine a kitchen supplying him with the workout necessary to hone such a physique.

  “I can get the rest, myself. I just need to patch up a hole.” She led the way over to the damaged fence, and discovered Samson had managed to just go right under it. Pulling her wire out of her tool apron, she weaved and wrapped and then tightened, until she was satisfied.

  “There, that should hold him, until I can get out here and tighten the whole thing up. I should be able to do that this week, sometime.” Jessie stood, wiping her hands on her shorts, and led the way back to her house.

  Connor followed Jessie out of the pasture, a little overwhelmed at sheer power she had displayed with her work. Her movements were graceful, and purposeful. Every move she made exuded confidence. He watched her lead him, her hips swaying back and forth over her strong, lithe legs clad only in muck boots and short cut-offs. Again, her tank top was tied at the back, showing off her taut torso. Everything was tan, and glistening with perspiration, and Connor had to resist the urge to wipe the curly tendrils of hair off her neck and taste the saltiness of her skin…

  He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He couldn’t go there. First of all, he didn’t have time for a relationship, and he had learned a long time ago, sex led to relationships, whether he wanted it to, or not. And second
of all, a woman who carried around a shotgun in her own barn probably had plenty of demons of her own to deal with.

  Audibly sighing, he resolved himself to keeping a strictly business-like relationship with this woman. She did make exceptional cheese.

  “What?” Jessie led them out of the pasture, and was almost to her porch steps, when she turned to face him, a curious expression on her face.

  “What?” He asked. He hadn’t said anything, had he?

  “You’re back there sighing like a teenaged girl. Are you okay? Out of breath, maybe?” She had an amused glint in her eyes, which he noticed for the first time, were the most vivid shade of green he had ever seen. They looked tired, though, as if she hadn’t slept much the night before.

  “Um…nothing.”

  “Are you in a hurry? Do you need to get back to the restaurant by a certain time?”

  “No. We’re closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. I’ve got all day.” And he realized he wanted to spend as much of it as he could here.

  She stood and stared at him for a minute, before turning and mounting her porch steps. “Come on inside. I’ve got to wash up and get this Samson smell off of me. There’s coffee in the kitchen, if you want. I’ll be right back.” She disappeared through a door off the kitchen, which appeared to lead to a hallway.

  Connor fixed himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table, his thoughts on the woman who surrounded him. Everywhere he looked, he saw her. The kitchen was certainly spectacular. It was spacious, every surface pristine. There was a huge commercial refrigerator, similar to his own, as well as two deep double sinks, and a large commercial-grade stove. She had sunk a lot of money into her operation here, and he wondered how profitable the goat cheese business really was.

  The cheese certainly was exquisite, as was the woman who made it.

  There were personal touches in the kitchen as well. Small pots of herbs stood around various places, as well as clumps of dried flowers. There was a collection of wooden and plaster crosses in the window above the sink, and the countertops were lined with cobalt blue glass canisters, that looked to be full of different kinds of pasta. The scent of lavender and citrus pervaded his olfactory senses, and he closed his eyes and drank deeply from his cup of coffee. He felt more relaxed here, in this hard, wooden kitchen chair than he had in the months since he had lived in Serendipity.