Captivated by Steph, page 2
I sighed. “I’ve swallowed back a hundred things to say because I don’t want to make this hard for you. I’m glad you’re here. Really. And I’m guessing talking about Liam dredges up grief.”
Resting a hand on my arm, he stepped closer. “There are lot of places I could go if I didn’t want to talk about Liam. But I’m here. Finally.” He worked his toothpick over to the other side of his mouth, then started walking again. “Want to show me where I can set up a workspace?”
“Sure. I’ll show you around, but I have to get out of this shirt first.”
He put a hand over his eyes. “Go ahead. I won’t look.”
“Blake!”
Laughing, he walked to the porch of my old place, then stopped when he saw the Closed sign on the door. “That’s one way to discourage soliciting.”
“I couldn’t live there. It’s a gift shop now.” I nodded toward his truck. “Let’s get in, and I’ll show you my new place.”
“So that’s why there are displays in the windows. Hadn’t really noticed that before.” He pulled open the passenger-side door. “You’ve done a lot with the winery. I’m impressed.”
“I poured myself into making it a success. No pun intended.” I clicked the seat belt into place. “He’d be happy with how it’s turned out, I think.”
“Yep. He’d be proud of you.” He started the engine, then looked at me. “Where to?”
“That way. Exit the parking lot, then around the curve and on the right. There is an entrance off the main road.”
A handful of bags, a couple of saddles, and three pair of boots were piled in the back seat. Blake had always been a bit of a nomad. Rodeo had been his life. And back then, odd jobs paid the bills when he wasn’t winning enough to live on.
I had no idea where he called home these days, but I’d wait to ask because I didn’t want to think about him leaving. Not right after he’d arrived. “And when we get there, I’ll help you carry your stuff in.”
He shook his head. “I’m not expecting you to put me up. I’ll find accommodations that fit my needs.”
“Seriously, Blake. What needs do you have besides a comfy bed and a box of toothpicks?”
He wiggled the splinter of wood poking out of his mouth. “Never said the bed had to be comfy.”
“So you’ll stay?”
“Do you have cats?” He chuckled. “Kidding. Even if you do, I’ll stay. And thanks.”
“Great. Maybe one day when it isn’t so busy, you can go with me to pick out a cat. I’ve been wanting one or five.”
“Fully adopting the single-forever life.” The laugh that followed sounded hollow.
And I understood. We both missed Liam. His death was the only reason years of singlehood paved the path of my future.
I pointed, and Blake turned into my driveway, then let out a whistle.
“Nice house.”
“Thanks.” I slid out and opened the back door. “Behind it, there is an outbuilding. You can set up shop in there. I use it to house tools and our motorized cart. It’s probably even big enough for you to park the trailer in there.”
“Thanks. Can’t afford to have my tools stolen.” He grabbed two bags, and I carried the boots. “I’ll come back out for the rest. I appreciate this, Steph.”
“It’ll be good to catch up.” I showed him to his room, which was on the opposite side of the house from mine, so he’d have lots of privacy. Then I excused myself.
I was way too bedazzled. The shirt was intended for Jeffrey and Mindy’s amusement. Blake was simply unlucky. Before I fell into my daily routine, I needed to change into my usual baggy shirt and jeans.
After changing, I wandered into the living room. Blake was on the sofa, my wedding photo in his hand.
“I think it was a year before I could sleep through the night. Must’ve been worse for you.” He set the frame back on the end table, then stood. “Let’s get this tour underway.”
I didn’t need to tell him that he was right. But hearing the words reminded me that I no longer spent hours waiting for sleep to come. I didn’t spend the darkest hours sobbing into my pillow. Maybe time deserved more credit for its healing abilities. “We’ll just skip the tasting room at the end.”
“Yep.” He opened the front door. “Present company and employment are why I’m here. Not the wine.”
“I know.” I led him around the side of the house, then opened the outbuilding and climbed onto the mule. “Hop on.”
He eased into the passenger seat, then grabbed the frame. “Do I win something if I can hang on for eight seconds?”
“Means you don’t have to walk the rest of the way.” I skirted the edge of our big vineyard and stopped in front of a small house. “I want you to meet Joe and Inga. He keeps my vineyard growing, and she works in the gift shop. This place wouldn’t run as smoothly without them.”
Inga stepped onto the porch as we walked up. “Hello.”
“Inga, hi. This is my good friend Blake. He’s helping with the expansion on the restaurant and will be staying at my place.”
She smoothed gray hairs back into her bun before giving Blake a hug. “It’s so good to meet you. Just wonderful.”
I bit back a laugh when he shot me a wild-eyed glance. The man had never been much of a hugger. He let me hug him, but I’d known him forever.
The urge to laugh died away when Inga continued. “I just knew Stephanie would find a special someone one day.”
Blake stepped back and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Nice to meet you.”
Avoiding looking at him, I moved closer to Inga and whispered, “He’s a friend of Liam’s. There’s nothing else going on.”
She sighed. “Maybe that will change with time because he’s a looker.” After a wink in his direction, she opened the front door. “Joe! Come meet Stephanie’s new man. He’s living with her.”
“Inga!” If her doormat were any larger, I would’ve slid underneath it.
Laughing, she tapped Blake’s arm. “She acts like an old woman sometimes. I tease her to keep her young. Come on in.”
He grabbed the door to let me go ahead of him. And as I passed, he whispered, “You mentioned the cats to her, didn’t you?”
I rewarded his humor with an elbow jab to his ribs.
Joe shook Blake’s hand. “Joe Hernandez. You must be the one helping with the expansion.”
Blake nodded. “I am. And Steph is graciously letting me stay in her guest room.”
Joe tipped his head toward Inga. “Why are you giving these poor people a hard time?”
“I’ll be nice.” She patted his chest. “But he is a looker.”
Both Inga and Joe were older than they looked but were indispensable. I didn’t want to think about what would happen when they decided to retire. They had become like family. Besides the work they did at the winery, Joe routinely checked my tires and changed my oil like my dad had done when he was alive. And Inga would show up with soup and crackers when I felt under the weather, but she was less like a mom and more like a crazy aunt. Especially when it came to men.
However, she wasn’t wrong about Blake being good-looking. When Liam and I started dating many years back, my friends had ribbed me for choosing the wrong guy. I didn’t. But as a blue-eyed rodeo cowboy, Blake turned lots of heads. Even in his late forties, he looked good.
“Blake Dalton. It’s good to meet y’all.” He tipped his hat to Inga. “And thanks. If I meet a pretty lady who needs convincing, mind if I drag her this way?”
Inga grinned. “Anytime, darlin’.”
Introducing the two of them might’ve been a mistake.
Chapter 3
Blake
I rolled over and looked at the time. When I’d told Steph that it was a year before I slept through the night, I hadn’t meant that I now did it consistently. Being back here had my thoughts stirred up, which made sleep harder.
The tile floor was cold against my bare feet as I slipped on a pair of sweatpants. She’d said to make myself at home. So taking her at her word, I wandered into the kitchen and turned on the small light above the sink. The space reflected her personality. Functional without excessive décor, but nicely put together. I liked it.
Clearly, we didn’t have the same ideas about where things belonged in the cabinets because I opened three before finding a glass.
After filling it at the sink, I guzzled down half the water. Hopefully, once I started working, exhaustion would zap the sleeplessness. Because when I was awake, I was hungry, and that wouldn’t do my girlish figure any good at all.
Rummaging through the pantry, I found peanut butter, marshmallow fluff, and vanilla wafers. As I turned, I spotted a bag of gingersnaps and grabbed those too. This stuff seemed like the makings of a great midnight snack.
I pulled out a few gingersnaps and a handful of vanilla wafers, then hunted for a butter knife. Found one in the first drawer I opened. Working through a stack of cookies, I smeared peanut butter on half of them and marshmallow fluff on the others. When I took my first bite, I closed my eyes, appreciating the flavor combination and congratulating myself on creating such a wonderful treat. I was partial to gingersnaps, so maybe my opinion was skewed. But I couldn’t imagine the vanilla wafers would have the same impact.
My moment of delight was interrupted by footsteps. “I guess I’m not the only one who can’t sleep. Whatcha got there?” Steph tied her hair in a knot on the top of her head.
If I’d given it more thought, I wouldn’t have come out of the bedroom without a shirt on. But saying something about that now would only make this awkward. She’d seen me without a shirt before a few times when we’d all gone to the lake. It didn’t have to be strange.
“Nutty Fluffer Snaps. Or hmmm, maybe I should call them Peanut Fluffer Sandwiches.” I put one of each kind on a paper towel and passed them over.
Steph leaned on the counter, studying the snack. “Your own creation?”
“I like all the ingredients. Figured they’d be good together.” I nudged one toward her. “But I’m not sure if it’s better with the gingersnaps or vanilla wafers. Try it. Tell me what you think.”
“I like avocados and ice cream, but that doesn’t mean they’d be good together.”
Chewing the rest of my cookie sandwich, I held up a finger, then said, “Had that once—avocado ice cream—good stuff. Really.”
She rolled her eyes, then took a bite of the vanilla wafer one. “This is good.” As soon as she finished chewing, she popped the other one in her mouth. “Mmm. I like this one too. May I have more?”
I nodded. “Help yourself. It’s your food.”
“Liam would pull out random stuff and make himself a snack. I never knew what he’d come up with. One night before bed, I caught him in the kitchen dipping apple slices into salsa. We were out of chips, but he wanted salsa.”
“Doesn’t sound too bad.” I prepped a few more snaps and split them between us. “Sorry if I woke you.”
“You didn’t. And I don’t normally wake up like this anymore.”
“It’s because of me. Liam is on your mind.”
Smiling, she popped another cookie into her mouth. “The reminder is nice.”
After covering a yawn, I put lids on jars and closed up the bag of gingersnaps. “Now that my tummy is full, I’m going to head back to bed.”
She rested a hand on my arm, and the whole world went still. “I’m glad you’re here. It’s nice to talk about him with someone who knew him as well or even better than I did.”
“Yeah.” I tucked food away in the pantry, ready to make my escape.
Getting emotional wasn’t how I handled things, but something about Steph encouraged my softer side. To save us both embarrassment, I tapped the counter, then padded down the hall.
“Good night,” she called out after me.
“Night, Steph.”
Waking up to the smell of bacon and eggs had me smiling despite my interrupted sleep. I pulled on a shirt before heading to the kitchen. “Morning. Something smells good.”
“Figured you’d need a solid breakfast. Plus, I have a huge favor to ask.”
“Buttering me up, then?”
“Oh! Toast. Will you grab the butter out of the fridge? It’s in the door.”
I grabbed the tub and a knife. “What’s the favor?”
She slid fried eggs onto a plate next to a few slices of bacon and handed it to me. “Mindy and her friends get together for girls’ night from time to time. I went once a few months ago and told her I’d join them this time. It’s the first one since she’s gotten engaged.”
“I assume you aren’t going to ask me to go with you, so I’m wondering about the favor part.”
“Mindy texted and asked if we could have it here tomorrow night. You can be at the house. I don’t care, but there will be wine and girl talk.”
“Of course you can have it here. It’s your house. I’ll find something to do with myself.” I did not plan to hang around while a handful of ladies chatted about whatever was on their mind. “And thanks for breakfast.”
She set a plate of toast on the table. “All buttered.”
“Me or the toast?” I moved to get up, but she pressed a hand to my shoulder. “I’ll grab you a cup of coffee.”
“Steph, I can—”
“Please. Just let me. I promise not to smother you, but . . .” She shrugged. “I know it doesn’t make sense.”
I picked up my fork and motioned for her to head to the coffee pot. “If waiting on me hand and foot makes you feel better, I won’t stop you. Your happiness is my main goal.” My words dripped with humor, but they were truer than I could ever admit to her.
I hadn’t made Liam any promises in his last moments. He hadn’t begged me to watch over her. Things might’ve been different if he’d still been alive when I skidded up to him. But he wasn’t. That bull came down on his chest, and my friend was gone.
As his friend, I wanted to make sure Steph was happy. But also because of our friendship, I stayed away because all the other reasons I wanted Steph to be happy had been bottled up inside a long time. And I feared that my grief would shatter that bottle.
Now that time had passed, I was in a better place and could look out for her.
My plate was half empty when she finally dropped into a chair. “What’s your plan for today?”
“I’ll get all the tools set up out back, then get started on that arbor. It shouldn’t take me more than a few days to build. What about you?”
“Same stuff I do every day. Working in the fields, helping in the gift shop, planning events, business stuff. And that’s on a slow day.”
“I know your brother is on a schedule, but while I’m here, if you need an extra set of hands, I’m happy to help. You just have to teach an old dog new tricks.”
A smile like I remembered from years ago lit up her face. “Thanks, Blake. I’ll keep that in mind.”
After spending yesterday getting my woodworking area arranged and acquiring the needed supplies, this morning, I slipped out after breakfast and got to work.
Surprisingly, I’d slept through the night and didn’t meet up with Steph in the kitchen in the wee hours for peanut fluffer sandwiches. She’d made breakfast again this morning and served me coffee. She was spoiling me, but I hoped she’d stop soon. Because it wasn’t me she was thinking about when she did it.
Whistling, I measured the boards before lining the first one up under the saw.
“Hey there. Have a sec?” Jeffrey waved as he stepped through the open door.
I yanked off my goggles. “Sure thing. What’s up?”
“The ladies are getting together tonight, so the guys are playing poker. I thought you might need a reason to be away from the house.”
“I’m not so good at girl talk, so yeah. Poker sounds fun.” This would give me an opportunity to make sure Steph’s brother knew I wasn’t here to cause trouble in her world. “What time and where?”
“We’ll be at my place. Not far from here. I’ll have Stephanie give you directions.” He walked toward the door. “We’ll start about eight, but come early if you want. Because you don’t want those ladies to corner you. I know you’re here only as Stephanie’s friend, but the ladies from the ranch, they try to get people together like there is prize money on the line.”
“Thanks for the heads-up.” I opted not to ask if the ladies had played a role in how he got together with Mindy, but given what he’d said, the ladies probably meddled.
And meddling was exactly what I didn’t want. Steph didn’t deserve anyone giving her a hard time, and if I wasn’t willing to tell Steph I thought she was the reason wildflowers bloomed, I definitely wasn’t going to admit that to anyone else.
I stepped up the pace, wanting to get all the boards cut to spec before shutting down for the day. Steph hadn’t mentioned when the ladies would be arriving, but I hoped I had time for a shower. No one wanted me at any sort of a social gathering like this.
After putting the tools back into place, I closed up the building and headed inside. It was quiet, so I was in the clear.
I dropped my keys on the counter as a way to let Steph know I was here if she came in.
Hot water distracted me from my goal of getting out of the house quickly, but once I snapped back to reality, I wrapped it up. After pulling on a T-shirt and jeans, I peeked into the hall. Since it wasn’t even seven, I wagered I had time to grab a bite from the kitchen before heading over to Jeffrey’s.
Steph’s keys lay next to mine.
I called out, “Hey there. I’m just grabbing something quick; then I’ll be out of your hair for a while.”
Footsteps padded up the hall. “You really don’t have to run off.” She opened the fridge. “Sandwich or leftovers? I made a casserole the other night.”
“Leftovers.” I pulled a plate out of the cabinet. “Good day?”
“Yeah. We have our wine stomp happening in a couple of months, and I finalized the T-shirt design and got those ordered. It’s one of our biggest events of the year.”
