Out of Focus (19 page)

“I take it you’re a pretty good cook?” Kasey couldn’t hide her surprise or keep from feeling a little jealous. He even had things prepped and ready to go without a mess.

He blushed, grinning. A dimple became visible on his left cheek. “Yeah. I’ve been a bachelor a long time. I had to learn to cook or starve, and I figured out pretty fast that I couldn’t live on take out with the limited options we have in this town.”

“I’m impressed.”

He pulled fresh ingredients out of the refrigerator. “Are you going to show me what you have in that huge paper sack?”

“I’d love to.” She placed the paper bag on the center island, its black granite countertop cool to her touch. “It’s a little present to thank you for springing me out of jail and inviting me over.”

He cocked his head. “Really? That wasn’t necessary.” He set aside what he had in his hands and rubbed them together like an excited eight-year-old. “But I love surprises.”

He reached into the bag and pulled out the planter. Kasey waited for his reaction.

“Neat.” He smiled, but then lowered his eyebrows. “How did you get so many pictures of my car?”

“It’s not your car, but only you and I have to know that.”

“It looks just like mine.”

“They’re pictures of my husband’s Thunderbird.”

Scott looked surprised. “Your husband’s? He had a car just like mine?”

She nodded. “I know. Isn’t that crazy? It’s in the garage behind the house.”

“I have to admit something about the day my car broke down. When I turned around and saw you getting out of that Thunderbird to rescue me, I thought that big rig had hit me—I’d died and Nick had come to take me to heaven.”

“No wonder you were all out of sorts that day.”

That memory was still so sharp. “Oh, yeah. You got that right.”

“It does look just like my car.” He put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a friendly squeeze. “Thanks. That was thoughtful. I love it.”

“I’m glad.” She casually leaned against the island. “I hope you love it so much that I’m off the hook for any cooking assignments. I warned you—my talents lie elsewhere.” She scrunched her face.

“You’re off duty.” He pulled a bar stool next to the counter and patted the seat. “Here you go. The best guest seat in the house.”

She hopped up on the chair, happy to follow the order.

He poured two glasses of wine, then chopped and sliced. Kasey sipped wine and watched him move around the kitchen like a
Top Chef
. She picked up a magazine featuring do-it-yourself projects from the counter and flipped through it as they talked.

Kasey held the magazine up in front of her. “You must be kind of handy if you’re going to take on any of these projects.”

He tossed a wooden spoon in the air and caught it behind his back. “I’m full of untapped talent.”

“Impressive.” She put down the magazine and applauded.

“My mom got me that subscription for my birthday. I
have
built a few things I saw in there. A deck box, the picnic table, and a rocking horse for some friends who had a baby boy last year.” He tossed salad as he spoke.

“You are talented.” She picked up the magazine and flipped through it again, paying closer attention this time. “This is really cute.” She turned the magazine to face him. He leaned over as he smoothed olive oil over baked potatoes and rolled them in kosher salt.

“The swing?”

“Yeah, isn’t it cute? I love the stars and stripes. My Jake would love it.”

“That’s a five-minute job,” he said.

“Yeah, right. It’s adorable.” Kasey smiled as she pictured Jake swinging, pumping his legs to go as high as possible. In the photo, the swing’s plank seat hung from thick ropes that knotted beneath it. She left the magazine opened to that page and laid it on the counter.

Scott opened the pre-heated oven and slid the cookie sheet of potatoes inside. Ears of corn, still in the husk, lined the counter. Beside them was a plastic container of steaks in a marinade of herbs that tickled her nose.

Scott washed his hands and dried them on a dish towel.

“Come on, we have some time. Let me introduce you to Maggie and show you the boat house before everyone gets here. Better grab your jacket.”

“Maggie?”

“You’ll love her.”

She put on her jacket. and he led her out of the kitchen through the back door. They walked down a path to the water’s edge.

A black lab ran up to Scott with her tail wagging. “This is Maggie.”

Kasey stooped down and let the dog sniff her hand. Once Maggie gave her an approving lick, Kasey patted her head.

“How’s my girl today?” Scott asked. “You ready for some supper?”

Maggie spun in excitement.

“Maggie, show Miss Kasey what you’ve been up to while I get your food.”

Maggie headed to the boathouse that bordered the dock at the bottom of Scott’s property. She barked and led Kasey to the back of the building to a smaller room.

Kasey raised a brow and looked in Scott’s direction.

“Lassie doesn’t have anything on my Maggie.

“All-righty then.” Kasey followed in Maggie’s footsteps.

In the corner of the room was an empty kiddie pool. Well, not really empty. It was filled with a dog's bed and puppies.
Lots
of puppies!

Maggie stepped gingerly into the middle of the pool, then sat proudly next to her litter, thumping her tail.

“Miss Maggie, you’ve been busy. How many pups do you have there, girl?” Kasey counted. “My goodness, eight, nine, ten? You must be one pooped pup.”

Maggie charged out of the pool toward Scott, who entered the room carrying her bowl.

Scott put the bowl of food on the floor, then squatted next to Kasey. “Are they the cutest little things you’ve ever seen?”

“They’re adorable. And so many. The brown one is huge. He looks like someone snuck him in from an older litter.”

“Yeah. She usually has a couple chocolates. This time they were all black with the exception of those two. One brown and one yellow. The yellow pup is the runt. She’s my favorite.”

“Ohhhh, she’s cute, too.”

Scott scooped up the tiny yellow lab and handed her to Kasey. The puppy snuggled against her chest.

“Their eyes just opened about a week ago.” Scott picked up another puppy.

The yellow lab licked at Kasey’s nose. “Puppy breath. There’s just nothing better than puppy breath. I have got to get my camera.”

“You can take pictures later. They won’t be going far for a while. Let me show you the boats.”

“Okay.” She kissed the puppy on the nose. It reached its tiny paws toward her face. Kasey nuzzled it one last time, then followed Scott out to the dock.

Kasey felt a tug of regret. “That makes me miss our black lab, Dutch. I left him back at the other farm. Everyone thought he was too old to uproot. He’ll get way more attention there from familiar folks, too. It was the right thing to do, but it was hard. I miss him.”

“I bet.” Scott took her hand and helped her step onto the floating dock. “Steady there.”

“Two boats,” she said, looking from the big pontoon boat to the bright glitter-bottomed boat.

“Yep.”

“That one has quite a bit of bling on it, doesn’t it,” she teased.

“The fish love it.”

“You’d think it would scare them away.”

“They like shiny stuff.” He leaned back against one of the dock posts. “Do you like to fish?”

“I’ve got my fair share of fishing stories, and I have to admit I do like shiny stuff.”

“Ahhhh. There’s nothing like fishing early in the morning as the sun just peeks over the horizon. So peaceful, you can hear the fish wake up.”

“Sounds nice.” She looked out over the water. Trees hung over the edges of the river, lush and green. “It’s pretty down here.”

“I grew up on this river. I never tire of it.” He glanced at his watch. “We’d better get back up to the house. Folks should be here soon.”

“Okay.”

They hiked back up the steep incline to the house. People were already in the kitchen, making themselves at home.

Scott opened the screen door.

“Hey.” Scott cuffed a guy on the shoulder, then hugged the woman next to him.

“That your famous marinade?” the man asked.

“You better believe it. Y’all would run me out on a rail if I didn’t produce the best steak in town, as promised.” Scott turned away from them, then looped a black apron over his head and tied the strings behind him.

He faced them and everyone laughed.

Best Mooin’ Marinade
was embroidered on the front of the apron in bright red. Beneath it was a caricature of Scott with a chef’s hat, grill fork, and a sheriff’s badge, chasing cows.

“You like?” he asked.

Scott reached for Kasey and pulled her in to the group.
“This is Kasey. She just moved in over on Nickel Creek.”

“The house they’ve been renovating for like a year?” a tall, lanky brown-haired man asked.

Kasey extended her hand and shook his. “Yep. That’s the one.”

He gave her a firm handshake. “I’m Dusty. I did the tile work over there.”

She brightened. “You’re kidding.”

“Bathroom and kitchen,” he said, satisfaction in his eyes.

“It’s lovely. It’s so nice to meet you.”

He smiled and tilted his head toward the woman who stood by his side. “This is my bride, Angie.”

“Nice to meet you, Dusty and Angie.”

“Angie made this apron for me,” Scott said. “She’s quite talented with that embroidery machine.”

“Did you design it, too?” Kasey asked.

Angie nodded.

“Beautiful needlework. I love the detail.”

She blushed. “Thanks.”

“I did some work over there on Nickel Creek, too,” said the shorter of the two men “I hauled all the debris from the demolition away. They gutted that place.”

“Chaz was telling me about it. I never saw the house before it was done. My husband surprised me with it.”

“How romantic,” Angie said, elbowing Dusty. “Why don’t you ever think of sweet stuff like that?”

Ignoring his wife’s comment, he shifted his attention back to Kasey. “Aw, man. You should have seen it. What a mess. We hauled junk for three days before they could even start the demolition. We all thought the guy was nuts. I couldn’t believe it when I came back to do the tile work. That place is a miracle makeover.”

“I wish I had pictures of it before the renovation,” Kasey said, feeling more comfortable with them already.

“Is your husband coming over later?” Dusty asked.

Kasey took in a sharp breath. She’d been fine up to that point.