“Hey there.”
She looked up from slicing a cucumber to see Miguel coming inside, dressed in faded jeans and a pale gray T-shirt. His straw cowboy hat was in hand as he stood in the doorway. “Oh, Miguel.” She laid down her knife and waved him in. “Welcome. Come see my new kitchen.”
“Nice.” He stepped in, pausing to look around with what seemed genuine appreciation. “Very nice.”
“Thanks.” She wiped her hands on a dish towel. “It actually inspires me to cook.”
“Even better.” He sniffed. “Smells good.”
“There’s plenty if you want to join us.” She smiled brightly.
“Well, I mostly came over to talk.” He sounded uneasy.
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you too.” She opened the new wine cooler, then removed a bottle of an Oregon rosé and held it up. “Interested? I was just wishing for a grown-up to share a celebratory glass with me.”
“Sounds good.” He pulled a stool up to the harvest table and sat. “I see you started painting the house. Looks like you’ve got your work cut out for you.”
She tugged to remove the cork. “I guess so.”
“Anna just told me that she’s going to help you.”
“Oh, good. Coop said she was going to ask. I hope that’s okay with you. I know Anna’s been doing a lot over here, but I plan to pay her.”
“No, that’s fine. I just thought maybe I could lend a hand too.”
She poured a glass. “Do you have time? I mean, I know how busy farming can get in August.”
“Well, it’s really kind of in between seasons right now. It’s not harvest time yet, and I just moved the cattle yesterday. Other than daily chores, I’m not that busy.”
She took the glasses to the table, then sat across from him and lifted her glass. “Toast with me over my new kitchen?”
“Here’s to a beautiful kitchen that will prepare beautiful food for all who visit this house.” He scooted her flower arrangement of lavender, poppies, and daisies aside to clink his glass against hers.
“Thank you.” She smiled as they both took a sip. It was so good to see him. She’d almost forgotten how handsome he was, or how just being with him sent a schoolgirl sort of thrill through her.
“So I wanted to talk to you about my, uh, brother-in-law.”
“Aaron.” She nodded as she set down her glass.
“Yes. Well, I took your advice and tried to reach out to him again.” He frowned. “But I got a pretty chilly response.”
“I’m sorry.”
He shrugged. “I guess I’m not that surprised.”
“Well, at least you tried.” She got up to check on the chicken. Flipping the pieces over, she turned down the flame. “I wanted to talk to you about Aaron too,” she said with her back still turned.
“Yeah?”
She tried to remember how she’d planned to explain, but her mind was blank as she sat back down across from him. “Well, that day, when you helped with the escaped bees—”
“How are they?”
“Oh, just fine. Walter helped Cooper get them back into their original hives, told her a few things she should be doing, you know, since Dad forgets.”
“That’s good.” He sipped his wine. “So is this. Thanks.”
“Uh-huh. Anyway, I know you saw Aaron sort of putting a move on me on the front porch. I only wanted to talk business, but he always seems to want to push things further. But I, uh, I just wanted you to understand that there is absolutely nothing between him and me. In fact, I will be so relieved when the heat pump gets installed next week. Then I’ll be all finished with Aaron.” She sighed and took another sip of her wine.
