Ugh.
Even I can’t make myself believe that for more than a second, sitting next to this fucking guy.
Sidestepping that topic, I ask, “Are we going to your house?”
“Yeah, Gwen wants to say hi and the kids wanna see you.”
“Does Gwen have homemade cookie dough in the fridge?”
“Is she Gwen?”
“Yes.”
“Then what do you think?”
“I think going to your house is acceptable.”
“Kit?”
“What?”
“Thank fuck you’re such a huge, goddamn pain in the ass and you never gave up.”
At that, I turn and slap his biceps.
It’s like slapping a pole made of iron.
I mean, my fingers actually hurt.
Wowza.
I get past that and repeat, “I said shut up. You’re gonna make me cry. Axl already made me lose half my mascara today. I’m encountering hot guys everywhere. I can’t afford to lose any more.”
“Just suck it up.”
“I can’t suck it up. I’m not nuanced that way. You have to quit being badass sweet.”
“I can’t quit being that, you above all people know I’m nuanced that way.”
Ugh!
“Smartass,” I mumble.
“Am I actually having this conversation with you?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“Fuck me,” he says low.
Ah, if pages could come alive.
No, no, no.
He’s Gwen’s.
I look out the side window.
After a while, Hawk calls, “Babe.”
“Yeah?”
“Was it good being home?”
I turn my head to glance at him before looking forward to face a road that cuts through the immense and indescribable beauty of the mountains of Colorado.
“Always, honey, you know that,” I say softly.
Then I sigh and settle into the bucket seat.
Hawk reaches out, takes my hand, and squeezes it before he lets me go.
The pine and aspen slide by.
And I repeat.
“Always.”
The End
As we’re nearing his house, I have a question to ask Hawk.
So I ask it.
“Do you have any recipes for me?”
Instantly, he busts out laughing.
I grin to myself thinking not only how much I love that sound…
But also, it was worth a try.
Now It’s The End
Afterword
KA
I feel, at the end of my first-ever cookbook, it’s necessary to mention something very important. Something that, if you read my books, you already know about me.
I love food and I do because food, to me, is about family and friends.
The birth and realization of this cookbook is no different.
You see, Suzanne’s “test kitchen,” the one I was fortunate enough to participate in, was my friend Liz’s kitchen in Florida. And Liz, not incidentally, is Suzanne’s sister.
Suzanne would come down from Georgia, lugging massive amounts of food in tow, and she’d cook for us…for hours.
Hours.
Sometimes, Liz and I would leave her alone to do her thing.
Sometimes, Liz and I would sit and chat with her.
Most of the time, we all had wine.
One of these times, Liz’s husband, Steve, who I utterly adore, but who has the palate of a three-year-old (one day, I may share the story of Steve accidentally biting into a slice of my fig, goat cheese and prosciutto pizza, the results not being pretty…for Steve, but they were hilarious…for Liz and me), kept us regaled with his usual hilarity.
In this instance, going on and on and on about his favorite dessert…“Puddin’ Pie.”
Now, Chicklets, Suzanne is making gourmet deviled eggs and bruschetta and bacon knots, and when I say this, she’s been cooking for eight freaking hours, and Steve wants her to make “Puddin’ Pie,” which is a store-bought pie crust filled with boxed chocolate pudding.
The woman is sprinkling cotija cheese on top of deviled eggs with an eagle eye akin to Van Gogh painting a sunflower and Steve wants her to whip up boxed pudding.
Needless to say, watching these two interact, I’m almost paralytic with laughter.
In the end, she shares the kitchen while Steve makes his pie.
Because she loves him.
That’s what it’s all about.
And straight up, that Puddin’ Pie did not suck.
These, my Chicklets, are precious memories.
And from those, the words and the food in this book, from Suzanne and me to you, is a labor of love.
I hope you open this book often and make these recipes for your family and friends and create your own precious memories.
I hope that with all my heart.
PS: I mention food in my books often. And if I have the recipe, I post it on my website. So if you want more, feel free to peruse my beloved family and life recipes here: www.kristenashley.net/encore/recipes/
PPS: For more awesomeness from Suzanne, and her cadre of author friends (who also are mine), be certain to find her Southern Bits and Bites series, as well as the books she’s done with Lexi Blake, Larissa Ione, J. Kenner, and Kristen Proby. For ease to get you this goodness, a list of these are at the end of this book.
* * * *
Coming soon from Suzanne M. Johnson and New York Times bestselling author Lorelei James…
Cowboy Bites: A Rough Riders Cookbook
Coming February 23, 2021
Click here to purchase.
Saddle up and get ready to ride again with the infamous McKay family!
New York Times bestselling author Lorelei James has whipped up six brand new Rough Riders short stories featuring fan favorite couples—Cord and AJ, Colby and Channing, Keely and Jack, Colt and India, Carter and Macie, and Boone and Sierra.
These slice of life tales are the perfect accompaniment to USA Today Bestselling author Suzanne Johnson’s delicious, down home recipes—family fare created to share round the table with love, laughter, and plenty of second helpings.
So kick off your boots, hang up your hat and prepare to stay awhile as you’re entertained and tantalized with Cowboy Bites!
Dream Bites Character Reference
Dream Team Series
Evie and Mag – Dream Maker (available)
Boone and Ryn – Dream Chaser (at publication of this cookbook, as yet unpublished, releasing December 22, 2020)
Hattie and Axl – Dream Spinner (at publication of this cookbook, as yet unpublished, releasing Summer 2021)
Pepper and Auggie – (Title TBD: at publication of this cookbook, as yet unpublished, releasing Winter 2021)
Brett “Cisco” Rappaport, all of the above.
Chaos Series
Hound – Wild Like the Wind (available)
High and Millie – Walk through Fire (available)
Dream Man Series
Hawk and Gwen Delgado, Elvira – Mystery Man (available)
Tack and Tyra Allen (and Elvira) – Motorcycle Man and Chaos Series (all available)