Page 18 of The Cowgirl's Chosen Love
Lisa considered, her nose wrinkling adorably. “I don’t want to have to juggle anything. That would be more work.”
They settled at the solid oak table, sitting kitty-corner to each other with plates full of steaming hot food. Lisa took a deep inhale and made another one of those noises that set his body on fire.
“You are a prince among men,” she proclaimed boldly. “Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese. It’s the trifecta of perfection.”
Josiah brought forward one more dish, pulling off the lid and scooping up a large serving. “Two of your comfort foods are also mine, but you forgot the veggie. Witness true perfection—creamed corn.”
He dropped a hearty serving into the narrow space he’d left between his meatloaf and mashed potatoes, wiggling the spoon to get the proportions just right.
His fork was already in the air, aimed at the meatloaf when he paused and glanced up.
Lisa’s grin was enormous. Without a word she scooped up a hearty portion of corn as well and deposited it directly on top of her meatloaf.
When she proceeded to break the slice apart and mix it with her mashed potatoes, Josiah knew he was in big trouble. That was the right way to eat this meal, as far as he was concerned. He’d been planning on a politer approach out of consideration for those poor souls who weren’t in the know.
Lisa finished with a flourish, half of her plate a mixed combination of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and corn, the other half macaroni and cheese. She grabbed the ketchup and proceeded to add a spiral of red to the entire surface of her plate, and Josiah was one second away from proposing marriage.
Not that the idea was extreme or anything.
Instead he inflicted the food on his plate to the same treatment. “My mom calls this Canadian hash. On the days rehearsals went too late, there would inevitably be three pots on the stove. We’d eat whenever we made it home. I would take a scoop of each and mix them together.”
“Food memories are amazing things,” Lisa agreed.
“Tastes like happiness.” Josiah lifted his water in the air. “To comfort foods.”
“To comfortdates,” Lisa replied, clinking her glass against his.
Comfortable, yet not, because he wanted to know more. Not the least of which was how soft her skin was. How she tasted. What other noises she made beyond the ones that were currently driving him wild as she casually licked mashed potatoes from her fork.
Time to concentrate. “Your turn. You can hear more about my family some other time. Yours— I know Tamara because she’s been the best thing that’s happened to Caleb in a long time. And I know you have another sister, Karen, because she brought those hellion goats to the Silver Stone ranch.”
“Josiah Ryder. Those goats are practically family.” She sounded suitably scandalized. “For a man who supposedly loves animals, I’m disappointed.”
“Hellion goats,” he repeated. “I do love animals, but one of those jerks ate my hat. I haven’t figured out which one to blame, so they’re all in my bad boy book.”
Lisa laughed. “And here I thought my friends and I were the only ones who kept lists of bad boys.”
The foodand the company were more delightful than she’d anticipated.
“Why does that sound as if it’s agoodlist to be on?” He winked. “So, two sisters and a whole lot of cousins. Just your dad, right?”
Lisa poked at her macaroni and cheese a little more forcefully than necessary. “Yeah. Karen, Tamara and I are tight. Dad? Not so much.”
His expression lost all teasing and flipped to concern. “Didn’t mean to hit a hot button.”
“It’s okay—he’s not a terrible, horrible person or anything. But he’s definitely part of the reason I don’t want to go back to Rocky Mountain House. He’s not an easy man to work with. Not as a woman.”
Understanding struck, and Josiah nodded sharply. “Oh. Old-time rancher?”
“Very old school. Plus small-town, plus three daughters.” She stabbed a chunk of meatloaf viciously before offering a wry smile. “I guess you should congratulate yourself because I don’t bitch about him to many people.”
“Venting about a shitty situation makes total sense. Don’t worry about it.” He reached over and caught her fingers in his. “And knowing what you don’t want is a huge part of making your future better.”
What she wanted? She’d been doing a great job figuring out what everybody else needed. Heck, that’s all she’d done for years and years. Where she needed a lot more practice was in thewhat’s good for Lisadecision-making department.
She glanced at their joint hands for a moment. Josiah gave a gentle squeeze, then let go and they went back to their supper.
Lisa told him a little more about the Whiskey Creek ranch where she’d grown up and how it had recently reconnected to the rest of the Coleman family spreads. She didn’t say anything about her part in the deal because it wasn’t necessary. The important thing was change had happened.
