by Jules Tyler
“Oh nonsense. Jesse, go help her, would you?” Mama Ally asked innocently.
“Sure thing, Mama,” Jesse shrugged.
Liz’s mind began rushing as she turned away from the table and signaled for Jesse to follow her. No, no, no, no, no! He can’t come in this kitchen with me, not after earlier. He probably thinks I’m so weird by now. I’ve done such a great job at holding myself together through all of this. What if I do something to screw it all up? Liz knew all of these thoughts bouncing around in her head were just her anxiety running away with her mind again. She also knew that once they started to fill her mind, it took forever and a day with an act of whatever powers may be to get her shit back together.
Pushing through the door to the kitchen with Jesse on her heels, Liz tried to stay focused on the task at hand. Keeping her mind busy with something other than the panic coursing through her veins was key here.
“Liz? Liz? Helloooo?” Jesse said, voice full of concern as he waved a hand in front of her face to get her attention.
“What was that? Oh, sorry, Jesse. What were you saying?” Liz asked, blinking her eyes a couple of time as she tried to clear her thoughts.
This guy probably thinks I’m a fucking ditz at this point.
“I was just saying how great that cobbler on the stove smells and wanted to know what kind of cobbler it was?” Jesse repeated patiently as he walked over to the cobbler and took a deep breath through the nose.
“It’s huckleberry cobbler. I’m going to serve it with some vanilla ice cream that I made from scratch in the ice cream maker over there,” Liz pointed to the machine. “While I get these dished up, could you grab the ice cream for me?”
“For you? Anything,” Jesse said earnestly as he moved across the room to grab the ice cream.
What an odd thing to say. Maybe he’s just being polite.
Grabbing a serving spoon from the container that was holding the utensils, Liz worked to put together the dishes of dessert, careful not to break up the cobbler topping too badly. She wanted it to stay intact and look just like the pictures you would see in different home cooking magazines. Jesse set the ice cream container down next to her, and she felt herself struggling to focus on the task at hand with him hovering near her. It was like the pheromones drifting off of his skin called to her senses like a siren on the rocks.
Forcing her mouth to cooperate with her mind, Liz suggested, “Would you mind grabbing some spoons out of the drawer for me?”
“Good plan,” Jesse nodded, turning towards the drawer that held the silverware.
Taking advantage of his absence, Liz quickly scooped the ice cream and set it on top of the cobbler crust before grabbing some mint leaves she had set out earlier and garnishing the ice cream with them.
“Damn, girl, that looks good enough to eat,” Jesse remarked as he returned with the spoons and set one in each of the serving dishes.
“Hell yeah, it does. I wish I would’ve grabbed my phone so I could take pictures of this. It looks bad ass right now,” Liz said appreciatively as she folded her arms and admired her handiwork.
“I think that’s the first time I’ve heard someone refer to food looking bad ass, but I won’t disagree. We’d better hurry and get these served before that ice cream melts though,” Jesse suggested, carefully grabbing four of the dishes with his giant hands and heading for the door.
Liz found herself ogling his ass as he walked away. Mmm, mmm, mmm, he does have some mighty fine assets, that one. But he’s right, I’d better get to it.
Chapter Six
Jesse leaned back in his chair and pushed his now empty bowl away from where he was sitting. Liz had a real gift when it came to the kitchen. He had never had anything that delicious in his entire life. The berries had been sweetened with some sugar and who knows what else, but whatever she did, it had made them taste like heaven in his mouth with each bite had had taken. The top of the cobbler had been done just right, nice and golden brown but still soft and chewy where it mattered. The ice cream was the perfect partner in crime too. Damn, if that’s what she could do with just a simple cobbler, Jesse couldn’t image what she could do with some of the more complex recipes.
He caught Liz’s eyes lingering on him before she quickly darted them back to Stella as they all listened to Stella chatter on about how great the entire meal had been.
“I think we can all agree unanimously that we don’t need to interview anyone else. That cobbler sealed the deal for me, girl. If you need to, we can have Jesse or one of the guys take you down to get the rest of your belongings from your home tomorrow. Do you need us to pay a termination fee to your property manager so you can move up here full time? Oh my God, I should give you the number of the decorator I found so you can decide if you want to change anything in the cabin. That was my cabin, you know. Thank God we renovated that one first, or you might have to worry about cracking a pipe like I did when I first moved in there…” Stella yammered on and on before Jesse noticed how overwhelmed Liz was beginning to look.
“Alright, Stella, I think you’re going too fast, girl. Simmer down, Turbo. Let’s give her a minute to process what you’re saying and give her the chance to decide what she wants to do,” Jesse interjected.
Liz mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ in his direction before taking a deep breath to speak. “I think that this place is gorgeous, and that kitchen is the nicest one I’ve had the opportunity to cook in before. I’d be stupid to say no. But if it’s okay, could I give it a couple of weeks of working up here before letting my lease go? I’m paid through the end of the month anyway. That way you can be absolutely certain that you want me to stay?”
Stella and Mama Ally exchanged a quick look, almost as though they were communicating telepathically.
“I suppose that’ll be fine, but I used to manage a bar, so I’d say I’m a pretty good judge of character. You don’t seem like someone that half-asses their work or that wouldn’t be dependable. What we’re really looking for up here, Liz, is a team player. Someone that will show up and do their job and be willing to help out where they can around here. Someone that we can count as part of our little family up here,” Stella smiled knowingly at Liz. “Does that sound like something you could be on board with?”
“What if I make mistakes?” Liz asked innocently.
Jesse fought the urge to go to her and wrap her in his arms. Damn, this was going to be hard trying to stay away from her.
Stella’s smile grew, “Then the mistakes will fill our bellies.”
Liz giggled, “Alright, alright. If you really don’t think you’ll be firing me for anything anytime soon, I’d be grateful for the ride down to Boise to get my things tomorrow. Don’t worry about the contract though. I’ve been month to month for the last two years with this property. I didn’t want to sign another lease just in case something like this landed in my lap and I needed to move unexpectedly.”
“That a girl! Welcome to the Silver Creek family!” Stella exclaimed, hopping up and rushing over to hug Liz. “Oh, yes, I think we are going to be fast friends.”
Jesse watched as Mama Ally scooped her up in a hug and the guys all patted her on the back in congratulations but he stayed in his seat. His bear was pacing just below the surface and was begging to be near her. He didn’t trust himself to not do something stupid with her right this minute, so he waited and smiled at her with pride.
Stella looked over at him, “Hey, Jesse, do you have the day free tomorrow to take Liz down to get her gear? Brady might be willing to let you take his truck so you aren’t having to use Liz’s tiny car or your motorcycle, since obviously that won’t haul anything back.”
Jesse knew he should probably tell Stella no because being alone with Liz probably wasn’t the best decision if he didn’t want to scare her off but before he could stop himself, he said, “Yeah that sounds great, but only if you two cover the funds for the coffee and roadtrip snackage we’ll need.”
Stella slipped her hand into the back of Brady’s jeans a
nd pulled out his wallet before handing him several twenty dollar bills. “Do you think that will cover it?”
“Oh, Stella, that’s okay. You guys don’t need to do that. I can cover it,” Liz balked at the exchange of money.
Stella held up a hand to stop her. “No, no, this is a work covered expense, Liz. Just embrace the spoiling Jesse will be doing tomorrow.”
“This is more than enough, Stella. I’ll put what’s left into the gas tank. Do we need anything else while I’m down there for the lodge?” Jesse said, stuffing the money into his back pocket.
“I think we’re good for now. After this weekend’s dinner rush for opening weekend, we’ll see what we need. We might have to take a couple of trucks down to get the supplies we need every couple of weeks once we get started with this. I think Liz’s cooking is going to be the crown jewel to the experience around here,” Stella said excitedly as she clapped Liz on the back.
“You sure have a lot of faith in my capabilities,” Liz remarked as she removed her chef’s jacket and wrapped it in her arms.
“That’s because you made me the best damn burger on the planet and that cobbler was divine. With me behind the bar and you in the kitchen, there’s no way we can fail,” Stella clapped her hands together. “Now, you’d best go get some rest, you two. You’ve got a long day ahead of you tomorrow.”
Chapter Seven
Liz woke up to her alarm going off at six, and it took a minute for her mind to catch up with where she was. Memories from the night before slowly started drifting back into her mind, and she felt the giddiness start to fill her up in all of the best ways. She had gotten her dream job. She was going to get her stuff today and bring it back to the resort so she could live here. It was like living as part of the employees from Dirty Dancing, and she even had her own cabin. This was going to be amazing!
Getting out of bed, Liz stood up, stretched her arms upward, and then hunched over to touch her toes. There was something that was just so satisfying about a good stretch in the morning to wake up your muscles. Before bed, she had unpacked all of her clothes into the cedar dresser at the foot of her bed so she strode over and pulled the drawer open that held her comfy clothes. She knew with the amount of moving they were about to do today, she’d need to wear something with more freedom than what she’d like to wear since Jesse was going with her. Grabbing a pair of shorts that looked like a galaxy had been printed on them and a tank top that read Shove it up Uranus, Liz rushed to get ready.
Pulling her hair up into a ponytail, she stopped in front of the mirror and took in her appearance before nodding her approval. She went back to the dresser and pulled out a pair of socks, then stooped over to pick up her purple running shoes.
As she pulled them on, she double checked the time on the clock by the bed. She had just enough time to run over to the kitchen and whip up a batch of muffins for everyone before she and Jesse were scheduled to leave for Boise. She was fairly certain she had seen some strawberries in the fridge the night before so she could throw together some strawberries and cream muffins so everyone could have something warm for breakfast before they got started with their days. Besides, who didn’t like strawberries? Or muffins?
Walking out the door of the cabin, she turned towards where the restaurant was and felt as though her breath had been taken away. The sky above the restaurant was painted with hues of pinks, reds, and golds as the sun slowly rose over the mountains.
“Wow, that’s gorgeous,” Liz marveled out loud, realizing how lucky she was to be able to wake up and have views like this everyday.
After a few more moments, she walked over towards the restaurant. Turning the doorknob in her hand, she was able to push the door open and found Jesse hunched over a cup of coffee in the corner.
“Good morning, Jesse,” Liz said sweetly before heading towards the kitchen.
“You’re up early. I figured after all of the excitement yesterday, you would’ve slept in,” Jesse remarked before taking a gulp of coffee.
“Figured I’d get an early start and put together some muffins before we head down the mountain today,” Liz shrugged, debating with herself about whether or not she should offer for him to join her in the kitchen.
Stop being such a chicken shit. Just ask him. What’s the worst he could say, no?
“Well that’s awful nice of you. Not many would do that,” Jesse said, looking up from his coffee at her.
Liz thought she saw a flicker of silver in his eyes for a moment before she blinked and it was gone again. Hmm, must’ve been the lights. “I try to do nice things for people I want to keep happy. Would you like to join me in the kitchen? I could use some company.”
“That sounds… Yeah, that’d be nice. I need to top off my coffee cup anyways,” Jesse nodded, pushing himself up out of his chair.
“So did I hear Stella mention last night that you ride a motorcycle? That’s pretty cool,” Liz said as they headed for the kitchen together, falling in stride with one another.
“Yeah, Landon, Tyson, and I are all in a band together. We’ve played a lot of shows, but we don’t travel in a van. We travel together on our motorcycles across the country,” Jesse explained, striding over to the coffee pot to pour them each a fresh cup.
Taking the warm cup of Joe as he handed it to her, Liz looked up at him, “What? No way, that’s cool! But how do you get your instruments get to where you’re playing?”
Jesse shrugged, “We typically have a truck that follows us with our stuff in it when we’re touring. When we aren’t, if we just stop randomly to play, usually our regular stops have an extra set of equipment on standby for us.”
“Huh,” Liz said, crossing the room to grab the strawberries and cream cheese from the fridge before grabbing the rest of the ingredients she needed. “That must be nice. So do you guys have a band name?”
“I mean, yeah. You can’t play at the bars without giving the crowd a badass name to chant,” Jesse said, leaning forward against the counter to watch her work.
“What is it?” Liz asked, plucking a strawberry from the container and dicing it up into tiny pieces before tossing it into the mixture of dry ingredients that were now sitting in a bowl next to her.
“Blacktop Beasts,” Jesse murmured, taking a nice long drink of his coffee.
Liz looked at him, eyes wide in shock, “Shut up! No, you aren’t.”
“Uhhh, yeah we are,” Jesse said, voice filled with confusion.
“You guys are amazing! I saw you guys play a show in Boise last year. Your ballads were my favorite, but that’s because I’m just a romantic, I guess,” Liz explained, cracking an egg into the muffin batter.
“That tends to be a theme with the women we have run ins with on the road. I can’t blame them. They’re some of my favorites to sing when we perform,” Jesse smiled.
Liz reminisced about that concert as she focused on getting the muffin mix ready, telling Jesse all about her favorite songs and how she had no clue that he was the lead singer. She hadn’t recognized him. Then again, it had been really hard to see him in the lighting in the concert house he had been playing in with the guys. Liz didn’t know whether to be in awe or to be shy, considering she was practically meeting a celebrity.
Sliding the muffin tins into the oven, Liz sat back up and set the timer on the oven. “So if you guys play shows, why would you stay up here? Don’t you have concerts to plan? Tours to be on?”
Jesse shook his head, “Nah, we only play when we have the urge to wander. We’re kind of like nomads. We go places, and when we find somewhere we like enough to stay put, we set up shack for a few months. The guys and I work remotely for a surveillance tech company between tours, but Alicia has always been flexible with us. This is the place that feels the most like home to us, and when Brady needed our help, we didn’t hesitate to answer the call.”
“Wow. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you guys are probably some of the coolest people I know,” Liz said as she busied herself with cleaning u
p her mess.
“Who could take that the wrong way?” Jesse asked, taking his now empty coffee cup over to the sink to wash it.
“Oh, you know, men with big egos,” Liz teased, bringing her dirty dishes over to the counter next to the sink and setting them down while she waited for him to finish with his coffee cup.
“I’ve got the dishes. Why don’t you go take a seat for a minute?” Jesse suggested as he set his now clean coffee cup on the drying rack.
“No, it’s fine. I can wait,” Liz frowned. She didn’t like creating more work for others.
“Liz, seriously, it’s okay to accept help when someone is willing to give it to you. Go have a seat in the dining room, and I’ll be out in a minute,” Jesse said stubbornly as he filled the sink with warm soapy water.
“Fine, but only because you’re being stubborn,” Liz said, sticking her tongue out at him in defiance.
“Careful there, Sweets. Stick your tongue out like that again at me, and I might give you something to do with it,” Jesse practically purred at her, his voice sounding like silk in her ears.
