by Liwen Y. Ho
I love you and think you’re the best thing to happen to me since I came back to Sage Valley. I know you had the worst reasons for coming here, but the other guy’s loss is my gain. I’m glad that idiot didn’t want you because I do. I want to be the one who makes you happy, as happy as you are when you eat my chili. I’ll cook chili for you every day for the rest of our lives if you’ll be mine. What do you say?
With a surprising surge of adrenaline rushing through his veins, he hopped up and followed after Lexi. He stepped inside the kitchen as she set the dishes inside the large stainless steel sink. She turned on the tap and began washing a bowl, humming under her breath. If he wasn’t mistaken, it was the popular country song “Before He Cheats”.
When he reached her side, he took the soapy bowl from her hands. He nudged her elbow playfully. “It might be a bit late for this, but I’m sure I could dig up my old Louisville slugger if you want to do some damage to Thomas’s car.”
She looked up at him with raised brows. “James Scott! When did you start condoning violence?”
“Don’t blame me; it’s Carrie Underwood’s lyrics.” He chuckled to see the sparkle return to her eyes. With Lexi standing so close to him, he could smell her sweet honeysuckle perfume. The scent was better than any spice he used in his cooking.
“I appreciate the thought, James, but friends don’t let friends do things they’ll regret. This kitchen would fall apart if you got locked up behind bars. And I wouldn’t get to eat your amazing chili.”
“That’s all I’m good for? My cooking skills?”
“Well, your handsome face isn’t bad to look at either,” she quipped. “But don’t let that get to your head.”
James blinked in surprise. Was Lexi flirting with him? The air in the kitchen suddenly grew thick with anticipation. Any response he wanted to give her got lost en route from his head to his tongue. He only managed a small smile. “I-I won’t,” he finally replied, turning his attention to the bowl in his hands.
The sound of running water filled the awkward silence between them.
“I, uh, I’m gonna get back to the store. I’ll see you later?”
“Yeah, sure. Call me if you need anything, you know, like more chili.”
Lexi waved before leaving James alone in the kitchen with his thoughts. Call me if you need more chili. Couldn’t he have come up with a better line than that?
The only reassurance he had that he hadn’t totally messed up was the lingering look Lexi gave him as she left. Maybe she liked him more than a friend. Or at least more than his chili?
3
Lexi
Lexi shifted her position on the stool where she sat behind the counter at the ranch’s store. Since her arrival at Sage Valley, she’d changed up the gift shop to include a small area for guests to grab a quick bite to eat. She wasn’t a chef like James by any means, but she could easily whip up some sandwiches. The last hour had been spent doing just that and making sure there were enough sodas—specifically two Texas favorites, Dr. Pepper and Big Red—in the small fridge.
The morning sun streaming in through the side window lit up the laptop screen she’d been staring at. She turned it slightly to get a better look at the photos she’d uploaded a few minutes earlier.
Seeing James’s face pop up on her screen caused a small flutter in her stomach. Her hand went to her midsection, smoothing down the fabric of her lacy cream blouse that she wore over her favorite pair of jeans. Maybe she was hungrier than she thought. She had skipped breakfast that morning in favor of stocking the store. Part of her argued that she needed to catch up on the work she’d missed yesterday eating away her woes in bowls of chili. The other, less-in-denial part of her admitted the real reason she was avoiding the kitchen was because of the awkwardness between her and James.
She sighed loudly, the whoosh of air resonating throughout the empty store. What had she done? She’d actually flirted with James yesterday and called him handsome. To his face! It was one thing to think those thoughts, but to say them out loud? She must’ve really been shaken up by the news of Thomas’s arrival to blurt that out loud. And now she’d crossed that fine line between friendship and something more.
Her phone dinged with an incoming call. Charlie. If there was anyone who could talk some sense into her, it was her no-nonsense cousin.
Lexi turned on the speakerphone. “Hey, Char, I’m so glad you called.”
“Hey, Lex,” she answered in her sweet southern twang. “How are you holding up?”
“Well, considering the fact that I have yet to run into my ex-husband and his new fiancée, but I could at any moment—” she gritted her teeth “—I’ve been better. So you’re sure he didn’t recognize you?”
Charlie scoffed. “I’m not surprised. I can count on one hand the number of times he showed up to our family gatherings when you guys were married. Anyhow, he was too busy talking on the phone. Sounded like work. I mostly chatted with Tiffany.”
“Tiffany, huh?” Lexi paused. Even though she really didn’t want to know, she had to ask. “What’s she like?”
“Bubbly. Kinda sweet, actually. I wanted to hate her, but …” Charlie’s voice trailed off.
She could picture her cousin twirling a lock of blonde hair around her finger, uncertainty in her blue eyes. “It’s okay, Char, you don’t have to hate her. It’s not her fault that Thomas chose her over me. If it wasn’t her, it would’ve been someone else. Someone equally young and pretty and willing to play the part of a doting wife.”
“Yeah, well, you’re a much more gracious person than I am. I was ready to put Thomas out to sleep with the cows—literally. Instead, I gave him the farthest cabin from the store. I may have also forgotten to give him a map of the ranch, so he likely won’t even know the shop exists,” Charlie added with a mischievous tone.
“Uh, thanks, but I’m pretty sure Tiffany will want to pick up some souvenirs while they’re here. It’s not that hard to miss the sign over the store that says Sage Valley Ranch Knacks ’n Snacks.” Lexi looked over at the display cases that were filled with bandanas, magnets, and mugs. Visitors to the ranch loved buying anything featuring a Lone Star or an armadillo. Those souvenirs were the perfect symbols of Texas pride. “I’ll just play it cool when I see them. Maybe I won’t even bump into Thomas at all if he’s so busy working.”
“I hope that’s the case.”
“Hey, Char, there’s something else I want to talk to you about.”
“Sure, I’m all ears. What’s up?”
“It’s about James …” Lexi hesitated, wondering if she was making a big deal out of nothing.
“Is this about the photos you took of him?”
“Sort of, kind of, maybe.” She shook her head then swept away the bangs that fell in her eyes. “I need you to talk some sense into me.”
“This sounds interesting … spill it, cuz. What’s got you all out of sorts?”
“Yesterday when I was taking pictures of James, I started to notice things about him that I never saw before. Like how he has this one stubborn lock of hair that always falls onto his forehead when he looks down. There’s also the smallest dimple, if you can call it a dimple, that appears when he forces out a smile. And his lips—” Lexi stopped herself short as her cheeks started heating. This conversation wasn’t helping her at all. She needed to get to the heart of the matter before her thoughts ran wild again. “I need you to tell me I’m being ridiculous, that James and I are only friends, and I shouldn’t be thinking about his mouth so much.” Especially not about how it would feel to kiss it. Groaning, she dropped her head into her hands.
Silence came over the line. After a beat, the sound of laughter echoed from the phone. “Lexi! You like him! You like James!”
Lexi turned off the speakerphone and held the phone to her ear. “Charlotte Walton! Tell me you didn’t just scream that out loud for everyone in the lodge to hear!”
“Don’t worry, I’m by myself. No one’s here yet.”
The pounding of her heart eased. “Good. The last thing I need is for Sharon to get wind of this. Now I need you to tell me this is the craziest thing you’ve ever heard.”
“What? Why? I think it’s fabulous. You and James would make the cutest couple. He’s tall, dark, and brooding like a summer thunderstorm. You’re short, sweet, and bright like a ray of sunshine. You guys match perfectly.”
This conversation was not heading in the direction Lexi planned. “Charlie, we do not. We’re in different life stages. I’m a whole decade older than he is. Whatever I’m feeling isn’t realistic. It doesn’t make sense. I think it was just the fact that I was staring at him behind the camera lens for so long, my eyes started seeing things.”
“Like how hot he is,” Charlie stated with a grin in her voice. “I’ve been wondering how long it would take for you to realize that.”
Lexi scoffed. “But there’s plenty of eye candy around here. The ranchers are like walking models out of an issue of Texas Monthly.”
“Sure, but you don’t have as close of a friendship with them as you do with James. He’s been there for you this whole past year.”
“True. He has been such a good friend to me.” He always listened so patiently to her. His friendship sustained her heart as much as his chili fed her stomach.
“Maybe this is your heart’s way of telling you it’s ready to move on. To love again.”
Lexi balked. “Love? That’s a big word. I don’t know, Char. I’m not sure my heart knows what it wants. I was finally happy without a guy for the first time in a long time. Now this? What am I supposed to do with these feelings? You don’t think it’s hormones, do you? Maybe I’m going through the change.”
“It’s hormones all right, but not the kind you’re thinking about. Mood swings and hot flashes—that kind of stuff is what our moms are going through.”
Lexi smirked. “You’re right about that. Except, I don’t think my mom’s mood swings can be blamed on menopause. She’s been having them all my life. This is more likely my body reacting to her nagging. You’re not getting any younger, Alexandra. Both of your older sisters are married with children. What about you?” She imitated her mom’s nasally voice. “I know she’s just worried about me, but her calling every day to remind me of how I’m failing at life doesn’t help.”
“Well, why don’t you do something about it then? You may have fallen off the horse once, but you’ve done a lot of healing since then. It’s time to get back in the saddle and ride again. I’m talking about a different horse though. Do not go back to the one that threw you off. Go get yourself a new, much younger and cuter horse,” she added with a giggle.
Lexi groaned. “That’s a terrible analogy, Charlie!”
“What do you expect? We live on a ranch. And on that note—” she lowered her voice “—I better get to work. There’s a guest coming through the door.”
The front door to the shop opened as well, and an excited female voice filled the air.
“Mine, too. I’ll talk to you later, Char,” Lexi replied before ending the call.
She glanced up to greet her customer and almost dropped her phone. A familiar head of dark brown hair, peppered with gray around the temples, came into view from behind a display case of cowboy hats. The man’s chiseled face hovered over his phone as he scrolled down the screen with his index finger. The petite blonde woman who walked beside him wore a white jumpsuit and a pair of three-inch heels. A swipe of mascara and pink lip gloss completed her look.
It wasn’t long before she spotted Lexi at the counter and headed her way, pulling the man with her. “Excuse me, miss?” she called out as she neared. “I’m looking for a kitchen towel that says Home Sweet Texas. Please tell me you carry some.”
Lexi swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly dry. She nodded and pointed in the direction of the display case to her left. “Right over there.”
As soon as Lexi spoke up, the man’s head jerked up. His green eyes narrowed when they landed on her face. “Lexi? What are you doing here?”
“Hey, Thomas.” She squeezed out a smile. “Welcome to Sage Valley.”
4
James
James swung his long legs out of his pickup truck and stepped onto the dirt road beside a large grassy field. Behind the wooden fence that surrounded the area, a herd of white and brown spotted cows stood, chewing on their cud. Several young men wearing jeans, boots, and cowboy hats had their hands full administering vaccinations to the cattle. He was delivering lunch to the ranchers today so they wouldn’t need to get cleaned up to eat in the mess hall.
He walked around to the truck bed and uncovered a large aluminum tray he’d packed up. The deep, rich aroma of ancho chili powder greeted his nose, causing his mouth to water. He was sure this new recipe for pulled pork sandwiches would be a hit. When the thoughts running through his mind prevented him from sleeping last night, he’d spent hours perfecting the barbeque sauce. If only his communication skills were as good as his cooking, he’d know exactly how to speak his heart to Lexi.
Lexi. The mere thought of his friend started him blushing. James ran a hand down his face, feeling the prickle of stubble along his jawline. He’d been so distracted this morning, he had forgotten to shave. He probably looked like something a cat dragged in, especially since he’d been raking his hands through his hair all morning. No doubt his good friend and suitemate, Chris, would notice his condition and start asking questions.
Just as he expected, Chris spotted him and immediately strode over. He tipped his Stetson in James’s direction before greeting him with a loud whoop. “Hey, James, thanks for bringing lunch out to us.”
“No prob. How’s work going?”
“Good.” Chris narrowed his eyes under the brim of his hat. “A lot better than you are. What happened to you, man? You look like that raccoon we spotted the other night rummaging through the trash bin behind the mess hall.”
“Uh, I was up late testing out this recipe.” He avoided Chris’s curious hazel eyes. “I’ll catch up on sleep tonight.”
“Okay, if you say so.” Turning around, Chris called out to the rest of the crew to come eat.
James served up the sandwiches on paper plates and passed them out to the guys as they ambled up. A couple of the men made themselves comfortable sitting on the side of the road, while the rest stood around eating and chatting.
Once Chris had gotten his food, he took a couple of steps away from the group and called out to James, “Keep me company, will ya?”
After grabbing a piece of cornbread, James followed his friend, coming to a rest near the fence. The two men leaned against the wood and ate in silence.
After a few minutes, Chris finally piped up, “You know you gotta tell her how you feel some day.”
“Huh?” James pretended he didn’t know who his friend was referring to, even though they’d had this conversation before. Chris had figured out months ago how James felt toward Lexi, and he hadn’t let up on encouraging James to make a move. “Who are you talking about?”
“Lexi.”
“Oh, her.”
“Oh yes, her. The woman you’ve been pining over this entire year. I bet she’s what kept you up last night. Women have a way of getting to you like an itch you can’t scratch.”
As if proving Chris right, a mosquito flew near James’s ear, announcing its presence with a loud buzz. He swatted it away with a scoff. “How did—it’s like you planned that.”
“I wish I had that much influence. I’d probably have better luck with women.” He chuckled. “Why don’t you just ask her out?”
Trying to stall for time, James chewed his bite of cornbread until it was all but mush. Too bad he didn’t have the digestive system of a cow, which required an extra eight hours of chewing. When he could stall no longer, he finally spat out two words: “I can’t.”
“Why not? You’re already friends. It’s not like she’s some girl you met online who ghosted you after two messages. Something which I may or m
ay not have experience with,” he added with a smirk. He pursed his lips together, seeming to get lost in his thoughts for a moment. After a second, he blinked and turned to James. “What you have is gold, like a once in a lifetime kind of thing. You better do something about it soon, James. Or you’ll be stuck in the friend zone and watching the girl you love fall for some big-shot lawyer from the city.”
James frowned. He knew his friend was still nursing a bruised ego from losing his first love. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”
Chris uttered a loud “Pshaw” and waved his fork around without a care. “It’s old news. I’d much rather talk about you. You need to make a move, and you need to do it fast. I heard from Sharon the other day that she has her eye on Josiah for Lexi. You know when Sharon gets one of her crazy matchmaking ideas into her head, she runs with it like a horse after a carrot.”
A chill ran down James’s back at the mention of the young bull rider. “Josiah knows nothing about Lexi. He’s not the right guy for her.”
“Exactly!” With wide eyes, Chris pointed his fork in James’s direction. “But you are. And you need to tell her that before Josiah or anyone else gets to her first!”
“You’re right.” James straightened, throwing his shoulders back with determination. His feet started moving as if they had a mind of their own toward the pickup truck. He called over his shoulder to Chris, “I gotta go. Thanks for the talk!”
Chris saluted him with his fork in hand, a pleased smile spreading across his ruddy face. “Anytime, man!”
James packed up the food in the back of the truck then bounded into the front seat. He sped off down the road back to the ranch, a cloud of dirt rising in the rearview mirror. An urgency he couldn’t explain rushed through him, growing with each mile as he neared the living quarters. His destination, a small brown building, stood at the end of the row of cabins. When he reached it, he parked and immediately hopped out, the muscles in his neck tightening.