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His eyes lit up with happiness as he sat up a little taller and grinned. “I won’t be breaking it. I’m going to keep your heart safe, Kay, because I plan to treasure you always.”
Her stomach fluttered as warmth filled her. The idea that Damon could be her forever was exciting, and scary, too. But she wanted to focus on the joy she felt, and she smiled back. “Well, now that we’ve settled that, prepare to lose.” She picked up her cards. “Because the gloves are off.”
Damon chuckled and picked up his cards, too.
Kay did win their game of Gin Rummy, and after they’d enjoyed a beer at the Brewery, Damon drove them to a restaurant where Kay had never been. When they finished traveling down another winding dirt road she climbed out of his SUV and gazed out at the farm before her. They’d pulled into the gravel parking lot of a small building that was a restaurant named Stone Soup.
She noticed a field of pumpkins that seemed to go on forever. There was a large barn and more fields of crops, and she even saw a chicken coop much larger than the one the Knight family had in their backyard.
“How is it I’ve never heard of this place?” Kay asked as she wandered over to the herb garden next to the restaurant.
“That’s because they aren’t open to the public. Jade and Laura are transplants from Massachusetts. They bought the farm about two years ago and are testing the waters for a restaurant by offering reservation-only meals once a week.”
She bent down to inhale the scent of rosemary. “Exclusive. Must be one of the perks of your fame,” she teased.
“Therearebenefits to being in my inner circle, but the truth is I met them at a farmer’s market and signed up for their mailing list.”
Kay moved back toward the front door of Stone Soup. “Have you ever eaten here?”
“Last week,” Damon said as he opened the door. “And I enjoyed it so much I couldn’t wait for a reason to come back.”
“Damon!” cried a tall, thin woman wearing a long, flowing dress of brown velvet, her salt and pepper hair loose around her face in soft curls.
“Laura,” he said as they exchanged kisses on the cheek. “This is Kay Knight.”
Laura’s eyes widened a bit, a reaction Kay was used to when people recognized her family name. “The Knights of Night Meadow Island?”
“Yes,” Kay said and quickly changed the subject. “Your farm is lovely. I’m quite enamored with the pumpkin field. And the herb garden makes me want to roll around in all the aromas.”
Laura laughed as she led them to a table. “You sound like Jade. She’s been dying to meet the Knight twins who make themagicaldesserts.”
Damon and Kay sat at a wooden table that had been stained in a dark tone and shimmered with a thick coat of a clear protective layer. On white napkins were utensils of a dark metal that had the appearance of being hand forged by a blacksmith, and a small tower of stones was set in the middle.
After Laura took their drink order, offering them a choice of the specialty cocktail of the evening, wine, beer and soft drinks, Kay looked around at the open beam construction and the light fixtures that appeared to be made of twigs. “The atmosphere here is wonderful.”
“I agree,” Damon said. “They’ve done a wonderful job on many levels. Wait until you taste the food.”
Kay looked around, wondering why they didn’t have menus yet. She frowned when she didn’t locate any. “No menus?”
“No need, the menu is fixed. Like joining me for dinner at a friend’s home.”
She smiled. Many, like her sister Amelia, would be a little put off by the idea there were no choices, but Kay felt like it was a little adventure. “Wonderful. Any clues to what we’re having?”
“Soup,” Damon said with a grin. “They decided to kick off their beta testing with Jade’s favorite meal.”
Kay chuckled as Laura placed the cocktail she’d ordered in front of her. It was a lemon rhubarb concoction with a sprig of rosemary as the garnish. “I’ll be right back with bread,” Laura said, and she left them so she could go greet the couple who had just come through the front door.
Damon got the cocktail as well, and after they’d both taken a sip, they each let out little moans of pleasure and then laughed softly at themselves. Kay liked how his laugh was from deep in his belly when it was loud and still a baritone when soft. But it was more than the sound she liked. It was the way he made her feel as if he was laughing with her and that it was genuine joy and amusement.
The Knight women laughed easily, and it wasn’t always appreciated, but it seemed it was still a Brannigan family trait as well. She had quite a few memories of his mother giggling in the library with Eileen when they’d pour over spell books concocting something new to try. “Your mother would have loved it here,” Kay said.
Damon glanced around with a sad smile, making Kay regret bringing her up. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m not sure why I just said that. Well, I do know why. I was thinking about how easily you laugh and recalled the way your mother and mine would be giggling in our library and come out with a crazy spell they wanted to try.”
“Really? Like what?”
“Oh, goodness. There were so many. One time they had a plan to dry clothes quickly. But when they hung the laundry on the line and created a whirlwind to dry it, their clothespins weren’t strong enough for the breeze.” She chuckled. “Clothes went flying up in a mini tornado.”
Damon grinned as she went on. “And then there was the spell to turn our kiddie pool into a hot tub. It ended up a scalding geyser they tried to cool down with the hose. The lawn was brown in spots for a month.”
