Page 39 of For Always
“Ilike my kale cooked in ham hocks and seasoned to perfection on a plate with a couple slices of baked ham and my grandmother’s homemade baked macaroni and cheese,” Gabriella said as she leaned over the counter, watching Tyler.
He was taking a handful of greens—a mixture of kale and spinach, as he’d just informed her—and dropping them into a blender.
“This twelve ounce drink will give you an energy boost unlike any of those sugar-laced drinks or any off-the-market pills,” he told her. “Finish cubing those pineapples?”
“Yup!” she said with fake exuberance.
“Okay, pour them in,” he instructed.
She did and he scooped out a few spoons of plain Greek yogurt. Adding that, coconut oil, lime juice, almond milk and green tea, he snapped the top onto the container and hit the blend button.
Gabriella shook her head.
“When I go over to my parents’ house on Saturday mornings my mother cooks fluffy buttermilk pancakes, cheesy scrambled eggs and bacon.”
“And when you’re finished eating all you want to do is curl up on the couch and fall asleep,” he said.
He stopped the blend cycle and lifted the top to taste his concoction.
“This is much healthier,” he confirmed, before squeezing in more lime juice and hitting blend again.
“It’s turkey bacon,” she replied. “My dad isn’t big on pork products.”
“What about the ham hocks in your kale and baked ham slices on your plate?” he asked.
“That’s my plate,” she said with a grin. “Dad gets roasted turkey, rice and gravy and his greens are cooked in turkey necks.”
After chuckling with her, Tyler poured them two glasses of the disturbingly green concoction. “You do not have that body from eating that way on a daily basis.”
She had accepted the glass he offered her and was still staring down at it, when he spoke.
“No, not all the time. That’s a holiday dinner. I tend to cook lighter meals and I hit the gym at least three times a week. But that’s as strict as my health regimen goes.”
“You drink it, Gabriella. Not stare at it,” he chided and took another gulp of his drink.
He looked so good standing in that big country kitchen wearing a wrinkled t-shirt, sweat pants and bare feet that Gabriella could almost forget what he was trying to get her to drink. Almost.
She took a deep breath and brought the glass to her lips for her first taste. He watched her closely. Months ago that would have been too closely. She would have wanted him to look away, or she would have turned away. Funny how time, and most likely, people, changed things.
Gabriella sipped the smoothie and didn’t gag. She figured that was a good sign.
“You like it don’t you?” Tyler asked, his grin too big and too natural for her to say anything negative.
“It’s alright,” she replied.
He laughed. “Just can’t give me any props, huh?”
“I’m still drinking it,” she said after another sip.
“Come on, let’s go out on the back porch for a bit.”
He had his drink in hand and Gabriella kept hers as she followed him out. She did have on socks, cut-off jean shorts and a tank top. But there was no one else at the ranch house this morning so she figured she wasn’t being too unprofessional. Considering she’d spent the night in the boss’s bed, she figured she’d already blown that cover anyway.
The back porch was just that, wood beams stretching about twenty feet toward the end of the house and a wood covering. It was being knocked down next week and rebuilt with sturdier wood and all new furniture. Tyler sat in one of the four rocking chairs that faced the open fields. Gabriella sat in the one beside him. For the first few minutes they rocked back and forth in the chairs without speaking.
Gabriella sipped from the glass again and watched as the sun created the perfect focal point to a lush western backdrop. Green grass stretched far and wide, with hills dipping and diving to break the monotony. The tips of trees in the distance stretched up and appeared to touch the gold and orange of the early morning sky. It was quiet, except for the occasional mooing of a cow that seemed to echo through the air.
“We used to sit out here some nights,” Tyler spoke. “Me, Jagger, Mom and Dad. Of course we didn’t sit in these chairs. We’d dubbed them ‘old people’ chairs back then.”
