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Saoirse turned her head and found herself looking straight into Sutter’s eyes. She saw the smile in them, rather than on his lips. Then her eyes crossed as his came even closer, merging into a single, leaf-green eye before she closed hers.
She waited, trembling just a little in anticipation, for his mouth to meet hers. Instead, warmth pressed to her forehead. Then he drew back, running his fingers down her arm and taking the empty cup from her hand.
Saoirse blinked against a sudden stinging in her eyes.He must think I’m such an idiot, angling for a kiss like that.
His deep voice broke the spiral of her thoughts before they descended into the abyss of self-doubt.
“Saoirse, I wouldn’t take a kiss without consent. You haven’t even agreed to go out to dinner with me, much less let me kiss you.”
“Oh.” Saoirse took a deep breath full of the smell of baked grass. “If the offer of dinner is still open, yes, I’d like to have dinner with you.”
He grinned. “It’s definitely still open. Since my place is just back up the road, is dinner at mine okay? I have barbeque fixings.”
“Yes, that would be lovely, thank you.”
Sutter rose and held out his hand. Saoirse took it and let him lead her back up the bank to the truck.
Chapter 3
Watching Saoirse move around the big, modern kitchen, her movements graceful enough to be a dance, filled Sutter’s chest with warmth and a feeling he couldn’t quite name.
Rightness.
This was what he’d wanted. This is what tugged and called to him when he watched the Ranch Littles playing. That quiet sense that things were right. That he was where he was supposed to be.
It was a completely alien feeling.
He’d started thinking about what he could offer her for dinner as soon as she’d climbed in the truck with him. Even as reticent as she was, he didn’t think she’d turn down dinner once they’d driven all the way to his place.
Fun food, he thought.Food that might open the door to her Little side.
He had ribs already marinating; those were easy to throw on the grill. The chicken thighs he’d defrosted for tomorrow’s lunch got rolled in a quick batter and then bounced around in a bag of crushed cornflakes. Saoirse laughed as she helped him shake the bag. They went into the oven while Sutter pulled out more ears of corn than they could possibly eat and challenged Saoirse to a husking competition. Her eyes lit up as she husked three ears in the time it took him to do one. Laughing together, they picked off the corn silk and wrapped two ears in foil to go on the grill with the ribs.
“I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t find something green to go with this meal,” Sutter said.
Saoirse tipped her head to the side. “Your job as what?”
Daddy.
Sutter swallowed. “Your host.”
Saoirse smiled. “Any chance you have green beans? I love them and I have a great recipe for doing them on the grill if you have sesame oil.”
Much better than the salad Sutter had been contemplating. He assembled ingredients and helped Saoirse snap the ends off the beans. She tossed them in the oil and sealed them into a foil packet that Sutter took out to the grill.
The sun had started to set, staining the sky with brilliant oranges and pinks. Sutter called Saoirse out onto the deck so she could enjoy the sky with him as he basted the ribs.
“Beautiful,” Saoirse said, her eyes roaming the brilliant vista. “I didn’t understand what the fuss about ‘big sky’ was until I got to the Ranch.”
“No? Small sky where you come from?”
Saoirse’s lips curled at “small sky” and she nodded.
“Orlando to Washington D.C. to New York. Nice sunsets, but nothing like this. What about you?”
“Ah.” Sutter cleared his throat because this could be a loaded question if Saoirse followed up with questions about his family. Although she could already probably make assumptions based on the 4,000 square foot ranch and paddock. “I grew up all over. Ended up in Texas for my degree.”
“Oh? Which school?”
