Dylan

Tyson took the seat next to Elena and happily dug into his grilled cheese sandwich. The boy ate like he was starving, and given the way he’d been swimming, Dylan wasn’t surprised. The boy gave him a grin and a wave before concentrating on his meal.

“You did great with him,” Bonnie said as the two of them headed toward the kitchen to get their own dinner. Her sweatpants had the distinct wet outline of her swimsuit on her ass and chest. He was having a hard time not staring at those beautiful wet spots.

She had made sure Tyson had changed into dry pajamas before coming to dinner, but neither Dylan nor Bonnie had changed out of their wet swimsuits yet. They wanted to get Tyson to dinner first. Dylan was trying not to enjoy the fact that it made Bonnie’s assets very apparent in spite of her concealing sweats.

“Thanks,” he replied, navigating around a table full of kids. “You’re the one who did most of the work. I’m impressed.”

She chuckled. “A lot of these kids have come from tough situations, but this kid seems easy to work with.”

“That’s not exactly true,” he told her, shaking his head.

She stopped and looked at him. “What do you mean? He did great. True, he was a little intimidated by the water at first, but he did great.” She paused. “Do you know something that I don’t?”

Dylan shrugged. “There’s nothing to tell. They’ve been trying to get Tyson into the water for the past three days,” Dylan informed her. “He wouldn’t get in for anyone. Whatever you did today was magic. Ask Elena how many times she’s tried to get him to swim with her.”

“Really? I just asked him to swim with me.”

“You’ve got kid magic,” he told her, holding open one of the double doors to the kitchen so they could go get their own meal.

She blushed at the compliment as she passed him. She tucked a strand of wet hair behind her ear and gave him a shy grin that nearly made his knees give out. Good lord, she was stunning. She had no idea the effect she must have on men with that smile.

Not only was she kind, smart, and great with kids, she had a smile that made his mind do happy somersaults, and his body want to follow. It had been a long time since he’d found someone that made him feel all those things at once.

He wanted to ask her out. He wanted to ask her to come back to his place so he could take those wet clothes off her and see the rest of her beauty, but he kept his mouth shut. Not only was that too fast, but she was also on the run from an ex-boyfriend. The last thing in the world she would want is another guy in her life.

Chef turned as they approached and her face fell as she looked at the two of them.

“Oh no. You two haven’t eaten yet, have you?” Chef asked.

Bonnie shook her head. “No, but the chicken smells amazing.”

Chef’s shoulders slumped, and she stepped to the side. Scattered behind her all over the usually clean floor was tonight’s chicken dinner. It looked like someone tripped and knocked the container over, spilling it everywhere.

“I don’t have any more,” Chef said sadly. She shrugged. “I can make you a grilled cheese, but that’s all I’ve got for dinner now.”

“It’s not a problem, Chef,” Dylan assured her, an idea coming to him. “We’ll go to Sandy’s.”

The more he thought about it, the more the chicken falling on the floor was a blessing in disguise. He could take Bonnie out to dinner, without having to actually ask her out. He wanted to find out more about her. He wanted to spend time with her and see her smile again. This was a great option.

“We will?” Bonnie asked, turning to look at him.

“Oh, you should definitely go to Sandy’s,” Chef told her, nodding emphatically. “I make a good burger, but Sandy’s is out of this world. And the cheese curds? To die for. Go to Sandy’s.”

Chef gave Dylan a wink. She’d been trying to set him up with a “nice girl” since he’d shown up on the ranch. He was just glad that Chef had decided that Bonnie was a nice girl. For once, he was glad for her help.

Bonnie looked back and forth between him and Chef. If she suspected something, she stayed quiet. She shrugged. “Okay. I’ll need to change first, though.”

“Wear something cute,” Chef advised. “It’s not fancy, but cute is always good.”

Bonnie nodded slowly at her. “Okay.”

“I’ll meet you outside your cabin in ten minutes,” Dylan said. He put his hand on her shoulder and guided her out of the kitchen and away from Chef. He didn’t want the motherly woman to get too pushy and scare Bonnie off of dinner.

“Okay. Sounds good.” Bonnie flashed him a smile and waved to Chef before heading out of the kitchen to change. Dylan watched the wet spots and knew he was a lucky man.

“Make sure you get her the cheese curds,” Chef told him, pointing her wooden spoon at him like an extended finger.

“You know, the saying is ‘the fastest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach’,” he teased her.

“It’s really a gender-neutral thing,” she assured him. “Food makes everyone fall in love. That’s why fancy restaurants and date nights exist.”

Dylan laughed. “Oh, Chef.”

“I’m serious about those cheese curds, though Dylan.” Chef pointed her wooden spoon at him. “This one’s a keeper.”

He looked out the small kitchen window to see her walking through the early evening sunshine, and he had to agree.

I just hope she wants to be kept, he thought to himself.