Page 18 of A Taste of Whiskey
“That boy’s got a charm all his own, and it was for you.” He shrugged. “Win-win. I boxed up the rest and gave them to Birdie to take over to the chocolate shop.”
“I wonder if any made it there.” Birdie might be petite, but she had an appetite about as big as Cowboy’s. Sasha watched Dwight preparing their dinner as she ate a sandwich. He looked as serious as he acted, but beneath that drill sergeant exterior was a tenderness that had helped her through some tough situations, like breakups and losing her first horse. When she was younger, she’d sneak out of her parents’ house and into the big house at midnight to drown her feelings in ice cream or whatever they had on hand. Dwight always wandered into the kitchen within minutes of her arrival with stories at the ready. He didn’t know it, but he’d helped her rebuild her confidence when she’d returned home feeling uncomfortable in her own skin the morning after she’d kissed Ezra. She wondered if he could help her with her current situation. She’d have to be careful. Dwight was also a Dark Knight. The last thing she needed was for her father to get wind of her feelings.
“Can I ask you a personal question?” she asked as he washed his hands.
“Depends what it is.” He put the dish of chicken in the fridge and began pulling potatoes out of a bag and putting them in the sink.
“Have you ever liked someone you worked with?” She knew he’d never been married, but beyond that, she knew very little about his personal life.
He started washing the potatoes. “I like everyone I work with.”
“No, I mean, have you ever had feelings for someone you worked with?”
The V deepened between his brows, and his jaw tightened. “Once. Why are you asking?”
“My friend works at the bank, and she likes one of the tellers,” she said as convincingly as she could. “I want to be sure I’m giving her good advice. How did you handle it?”
“There was nothing to handle. I was her superior. It wasn’t allowed, so I kept my feelings to myself.”
“You never told her?” She couldn’t imagine not telling Ezra how she felt. It was all she could think about.
“Nope. I knew it would come down to my career or hers, and that wasn’t a decision I wanted either of us to have to make.”
“Did you like her a lot?”
“You could say that,” he said gruffly.
That made her sad for him. “Do you know if she liked you?”
The muscles in his jaw bunched. “It doesn’t matter.”
“But what if she was the love of your life?” When he didn’t respond, she said, “Do you regret not telling her?”
“I don’t believe in wasting time on regrets.” He continued scrubbing the potatoes. “But if I had one, that would be it.”
“Then my friend should go for it? I mean, to make sure she doesn’t have any regrets later.”
He scowled. “I didn’t say that. I don’t know your friend or what she’s feeling. There’s a big difference between lust and love, and make no mistake, both come at a price.”
“I think it’s more than lust. She’s liked him for a really long time.”
He studied her so intently, she felt like he could see the truth behind her lie and quickly tried to redirect the conversation back to him.
“Maybe you can look up that woman now.”
“She got married a few years later and left the military.”
That made her feel even sadder for him. “Oh. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I had a great career.”
“But what about outside of work? Was there ever anyone else you liked as much as you liked her?”
He shook his head. “Nope.”
She could feel his sadness hanging between them and knew she had to find a way to tell Ezra how she felt, because she couldn’t go her whole life without ever knowing what might have been. “Maybe you’ll meet someone else.”
He scoffed. “I’m not about to saddle some woman with the likes of me. Now, let’s load up that ATV so you can get outta here before those boys come looking for food and traipsing dirt into my kitchen.”
