“You grill one mean steak,” Ali said, cutting off a huge chunk and putting it in her mouth. She was ravenous like an anaconda eying a deer. Maybe it had to do with the massive cardio workout she’d just had.
The minute Liam finally heaved himself off of her and went into his bathroom, she’d rolled over looking for another condom in his drawer. He’d caught her in the act riffling around when he came out. She guessed he didn’t mind since she was on her hands and knees looking for them.
Or maybe it was his hand coming down on her bare behind that had her yelping, then turning her and covering her again. “What do you think you’re doing?” he asked, slanting his mouth over hers.
“Getting ready for round two,” she said. “And I’ll let you lead this time.”
Boy did he lead, hence the need to dive into dinner like a starving woman craving chocolate and a bag of chips at the same time.
“Grilling is my thing,” he said, cutting off a piece of his own.
“Oh, so you’ve got a few things that you’re good at then?”
He winked at her and she found that she was loving this playful side she hadn’t really been expecting to find.
Sure, she knew he was kind. She knew he was sweet. He was considerate too. Not to mention caring. She’d seen all those sides of him so far and every one of them was slowly sucking him into a place in her heart that she hadn’t been sure she wanted to open up to him...or anyone.
She was learning it was a little too late at this point.
Watching him with her mother the other night at dinner had been the final turning point.
Was he uncomfortable with what her mother had been hinting at? If he was, he wasn’t showing it, not like she was. But he was attentive to everything her mother asked and wanted for the farm after the ownership was transferred.
He could have humored her mother, but Ali knew it wasn’t in his nature. If he didn’t want to do something, he’d just tell you upfront. Instead he tried to ease her mother’s mind before the sale was complete. Not too many men in their lives ever tried to ease her mother’s or her mind. No one other than her grandfather.
In the past several years it all fell on her mother, who in turn held back a lot from Ali. Now Ali wished she’d asked more questions. That she’d helped her mother out more when she was recently hearing of all the concerns that her mother had dealt with for years, with no one to lean on.
“I told you I was good with my hands,” he said.
She giggled again. She’d never been much of a giggler that she could remember in her life, but Liam sure did bring some giddiness out of her.
“Do you have dessert? I mean your mother is a baker, so there has to be something here, right?”
He laughed. “Or you could bake me something since your mother is a baker too.”
She popped another piece of steak in her mouth. “That’s not my specialty.”
“So what is your specialty then?”
She realized now they hadn’t talked all that much about her. Not really. He knew she was a teacher and her father had left when she was younger, she lived on the farm with her grandfather, and where she went to college. Not a lot of personal information. Probably the same amount she knew about him if she thought of it.
“I like to cook, but don’t do it often. I can bake, but not like my mother. I’ve never had much of a desire to learn more than what she’s had me making when I helped out.”
“So you can make those donuts?” he asked, his eyes widening.
“Everyone loves those donuts. Yes, I can, but I don’t need to when I can go get them at the bakery. Pretty soon you’ll be able to do that over me.”
He reached his hand over and laid it on hers. “You’ll still be able to go get them when you want, too,” he said.
His voice softened and she realized that she’d had a touch of sadness in hers when she’d said that, even though it hadn’t been her intention.
“Sorry. Let’s not talk about those things. It’s been a great night and I want to end it on a positive note, not a sad one.” He looked stricken and she quickly said, “That came out wrong. It’s not a sad note that you’re buying the farm. It’s really not.”
“Why don’t I believe that?”
She put her fork down. “Liam. I always wanted the farm because I said it as a kid so much and it just stuck. I couldn’t handle it at all though, I know that. I never really wanted the responsibility of it. What I loved was that I could come and go and do things when it suited me and still lay claim to it at the same time. Kind of a shallow reason when I think of it.”
“I get the feeling it doesn’t always suit you to spend your weekends there most times now.”
“No. But it’s family and family helps each other. Plus, it’s an income. I don’t make a lot as a teacher right now and I’ve got a ton of debt. My mother pays me, not a lot for the amount of time I’m there by any means and I wouldn’t even consider taking more, but she knows I need to work over the summer and it’s best if I stay on the farm. It’s busy and she needs all the hands she can get.”
“You’re truly not upset over the sale?”
He looked like he didn’t believe her. “I’m only upset because it’s been in the family for years. But I want what my mother wants and she’s tired. She shouldn’t have had to do it alone. My grandfather shouldn’t have had to do it alone, but I was too young to know what he was doing, or everything it entailed. My mother probably didn’t realize it either until it ended up in her hands and she was too prideful to ask for help. I’m just realizing that now and wish I’d looked closer before.”
“Can I ask what happened to your grandfather?”
“Sure. He had a brain aneurysm out in the orchard early one morning. Jim found him. It was so sudden, but I’m glad it happened that way. He died fast and hopefully painlessly, and in a place he loved. I hope we can all say that when our time comes.”
“That’s a good way to think about it. Do you think he’d be happy about the sale?”
If she thought the question was odd, she didn’t let on. “Honestly, I think he’d be fine with it. Looking back, I think he was getting tired himself. He always had plans for the farm, hoping for lots of family to help and get him there. It didn’t work out that way or how I think he envisioned it.”
“Your mother is an only child?” he asked.
“She is. They wanted a lot of kids like many do when they have a farm, but my grandmother lost a child during a premature delivery a few years after my mother was born and she could never get pregnant again.”
“And you? Your parents only wanted one child?” he asked.
“My father did. My mother would have had more, but my father...let’s not talk about him. What about your parents?”
“We moved so much with my father’s job that it was hard at times. My parents didn’t want to put more kids through it, or so they said. I liked being an only child.”
“Me too,” she said, surprised they had that in common.
“No fighting for attention,” he said.
“No sharing clothes or toys,” she said.
“No fighting for bathroom time.”
She laughed. “That’s a good one. Though I had people around me all the time on the farm. Lots of employees’ kids always helped out, so at times, I didn’t really feel like an only child. The good part was those kids went home, so I didn’t have to worry about sharing anything.”
“The drawback is it all falls on you when something happens to one of your parents though,” he said, and the light had gone out of his eyes, reminding her that he must still have raw wounds from his father’s sudden death.
“That’s true. But you’re doing the right thing, and everyone can see that. You’re a good guy, Liam.”
“How did this conversation turn so melancholy?”
“No idea,” she said, going back to her dinner. “Maybe we should talk about sex.” He burst out laughing and she went to say something else, but her phone rang so she got up to get it out of her purse that was sitting by the couch. “Hi, Mom. What? Really? I’ll be there in a minute.”
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“My mother was working late at the bakery. She just went to the house and it looks like someone tried to break in. The window to the back door was broken and the door was ajar.”
“Let’s go,” he said, not even hesitating.