How she got us out of tent city is a worthy story, but not one I feel like sharing with Diana. At least not yet. She grew up in luxury. She won’t get it.
Honestly, very few people in my life know about my childhood. It doesn’t come up, and parts of it are best forgotten.
But Dale…
For the first ten years of his life, he didn’t live here. What’s his story? Diana told me all she knows, assuming she’s being honest.
Who knows? Will he ever let me in? Will we finish that kiss?
I have no idea, but I do know one thing.
I have three months to find out.
Chapter Sixteen
Dale
The blue-and-gold sunrise…
Always so perfect.
Mornings in Colorado are almost always cloudless. Sometimes we awake to clouds or rain, but not often. We have over three hundred days per year of sunshine. Works pretty darned well for dry farming. I sit up and give Penny a pet on her soft head.
To be awakened at dawn by the beauty and warmth of the sun rising over the Rockies. Is anything better than this?
Kissing Ashley…
That was pretty damned awesome.
Better than waking up to the sunrise?
A tie, maybe?
Fuck.
I have to be honest with myself.
Kissing Ashley was the best thing I’ve felt in a long time. Which is damned scary. Because I let her in—told her personal things about me. Not only that, she sensed my relationship with the vines. She knew.
How do I combat that? How do I combat her?
I’ll keep our relationship professional. I work with a lot of women, and I don’t have a problem staying professional even when I find one of them attractive.
No reason Ashley White should be any different.
I stuff my sleeping bag into its sack. Time for some coffee. Penny and I head down to my truck and drive home. Normally I go straight to work, where coffee is always brewing, but today is Saturday, and no one’s in the office. A half hour later, I pull into the driveway, and Penny and I head into the house.
“Hungry, girl?” I grab her bowl in the kitchen, fill it, and set it on the floor. Then I freshen her water.
I don’t always take Penny with me to the vineyards when I spend the night out there. Sometimes she lies on her fluffy dog bed and refuses to leave the house with me. Such a little diva.
Now, coffee. I start a pot and grab a frying pan to fix some bacon and eggs. I open my refrigerator…
Shit. Out of bacon. And eggs. Such is the bachelor life. I guess I’m heading into Snow Creek for groceries today. Once the coffee’s done, I pour myself a cup, give Penny a pet—she’s already lounging on her dog bed—and walk over to the main house. I’ll have breakfast there today.
My dad is already up, of course. We ranch people rise early.
“Hey, Dad.” I walk through the back door and into the kitchen.
He laughs. “Out of eggs again?”
“And bacon.”
Darla stands at the stove frying both. “I’ve got you covered, Mr. Dale.”
“Thanks, Darla.”
“You’re in a good mood,” Dad says. “You must have slept outside last night.”
“Guilty.” I sit down next to him and finish my coffee.
Darla pours me another. A few minutes later, two plates of fried eggs, bacon, and hash browns appear before us.
“Thanks, Darla,” Dad and I say in unison.
“Have you heard Dee’s good news?” I ask.
“Yeah. She texted us while we were at Uncle Joe’s last night. Apparently she and Ashley were celebrating in the hot tub. Mom and I are thrilled for her.”
“She actually thought about not going.”
Dad lifts his eyebrows, his coffee mug halfway to his lips. “What?”
“Yeah. Because of Ashley.”
“I don’t get it.”
“She felt bad about leaving Ashley here without her.” I shake my head. “I talked her out of that, thank God.”
“I guess it makes sense. She feels some responsibility toward her friend.”
“I wouldn’t exactly call them friends. From what I understand, they only just met at the beginning of the summer. They sat next to each other at Uncle Ry’s lecture at UCLA.”
“Still, I see her point.” Dad takes a sip of coffee. “I’m glad you talked her out of it, though. She was so upset when she didn’t get that internship, and now she has it. Plus, Donny’s in Denver, so she won’t be alone.”
“Neither Dee nor Donny have any problem fitting in wherever they go,” I say, “but it is nice that they’ll have each other.”
Dad nods. We both know what he’s not saying. Dee and Donny may not have trouble assimilating, but I do. I’ve never been comfortable anywhere but here—and here sometimes doesn’t work either.
Quiet for a few moments.
Until I finally say, “I’m fine.”
“I know, son.”
“I like it here. I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
“I know,” he says again.
More quiet. Then—
“I was a lot like you once,” Dad says. “Reliant only on myself. Afraid to get close to anyone else. Your mother changed all that for me. You know, I was your age when she and I met.”