The Ranger's Passionate Love

"I rented some space from Mr. Fitch in his greenhouse." He blushed, adding, "Then I rented some more space. I didn't realize quite how big they get."

"You better make sure you keep them under control," Kyara said, a little bemused. "If they get out of hand they're going to go everywhere."

Jason chuckled a little at himself.

"Yeah, I didn't realize quite how much I was buying when I bought five plants. I kinda of thought it was going to be a little token, not ..."

"Enough to feed a family of ten?" supplied Kyara.

"Yeah," he agreed.

"Alright. You have my attention." Kyara allowed, squaring her shoulders and preparing to bargain with him. "What do you want for them?"

Jason paused, his eyes wandering her face.

"Your forgiveness," he said at last.

The request stopped her short, her mind trying to switch gears.

"What?" she asked.

"I want you to forgive me. For not being clear from the beginning. Not that I set out to lie to you or anything, it just sort of happened. But I shouldn't have let it, at least not if I was going to pursue you romantically. But I did, so I'm sorry."

Kyara took a moment to consider.

"I have a history with men lying to me," she told Jason. "Especially about their jobs. What you did wasn't okay. It was a big deal to me.”

Jason nodded.

“That said, I might have let that push me into overreacting," she allowed.

She saw his shoulders begin to unclench, but she continued, not prepared to give him a break,

"I'm still not sure about forgiving you, though." She allowed the faintest hint of a smile to cross her face. "After all, trying to buy your way out of the doghouse with greens you know I haven't found elsewhere is just dirty."

Jason matched her wisp of a smile with one of his own.

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"Me?" he said, mock-indignation filling his voice. "You're the one filling this whole county with talk about how good your food is when I'm afraid to come back here."

"Afraid?" Kyara asked.

"Sure," he said. "I wouldn't dare show my face while there are people here eating. They'd chase me out of the room for demeaning their favorite restaurant. I've had to have people smuggle me food at home!"

"Well, then you're guilty of another lie," countered Kyara.

Jason's eyes grew wide as he cast about for what else he could have done in a panic. She quickly took pity on him.

"You promised that you'd ride naked down the street on a tricycle for my food," she reminded him. "Where's your tricycle?"

His laugh filled the restaurant, and broke her down into giggles with him. It left both of them flushed and warm in the cool autumn air, each basking in the warm glow of the other.

The trail project closed down for the season a weeks later. It was just getting too cold. The restaurant, now rechristened 'Main Street Soul,' was holding a celebration. Kyara and her crew had been working for days. The teens were in school today, but Kyara's trail friends had all agreed to come in and help out during the morning.

People had drifted in and out as the day progressed, offering to help get things ready in little ways. Kyara's employees came in just as the big rush was just starting. They jabbered excitedly, knowing that tips would be good tonight, as would the company.

Kyara glowed.