Page 58 of Sweet Like Whiskey

I pull in a breath as Ash shifts, bringing us closer. He takes hold of my jaw, his fingers stroking lightly over my beard hairs. “I liked it, Jack,” he says, gaze holding mine, brazen and clear. “If we weren’t in public, I’d show you just how much.”

My breath hitches, and Ash’s lips curl into a smile. He lets me go as Virginia walks back into the room.

“Do I need to water more flowers?” she asks bluntly.

Ash huffs a laugh. “What would you say to lunch, Ginnie? Jackson’s treat.”

“Well,” Virginia says, hazel eyes swinging my way. “I’d say lead the way, cowboy.”

It’s midafternoon by the time Ash and I get back to the ranch. I pull the truck to a stop, tug up the parking brake, and wait, not sure what to expect now that we’re finally alone.

For Ash to dress me down?

For him to jump me?

Neither happens. He hops out of the truck and looks at me expectantly. I follow him out of the vehicle, boots kicking up dirt.

“You have a few minutes?” he asks.

Technically, there’s a lot I need to do today: check in with my weekend crew, assess a damaged portion of fence one of the ranchers noticed, and order some new machinery for the milking barn. But I nod, and Ash smiles in response.

We walk in silence for a minute, heading along the dirt road that leads to the petting farm.

Finally, Ash says, “Ginnie likes you, you know.”

I grunt. “’Cause I know what she’s capable of.”

He stutters a step, looking at me with wide eyes. “What? She’s notviolent.”

“No,” I say with a scoff. “That’s not what I meant. I don’t know her like you do, of course. We were never close. But we grew up together. Went to school together, even though I graduated…what? Five years ahead of her?”

Ash nods, looking at me curiously, and I go on.

“I’ve seen folks underestimate your friend,” I tell him. “Guys or, heck, even teachers, just because she’s small and a woman. Virginia is only harsh to the folks who don’t show her the respect she deserves. The respectanyonedoes. I’m not that foolish. Hence, we get along just fine.”

Ash huffs a breath, shaking his head as we come to a stop in front of the petting farm. He kicks a hip against the fence and crosses his arms loosely, peering at me in a way that makes me feel like I’m under a microscope.

“Just when I think you can’t surprise me any more, you go and say something like that,” he says, blonde hair blowing gently in the breeze. It falls in front of his eyes, and he swipes it back, nimble fingers tucking the strands away behind his ear.

I clear my throat, pulse heavy. “I’m notactuallyan asshole.”

“Never thought you were,” he says easily. “But a few weeks ago, you would have brushed off my comment about Ginnie liking you, probably grumbling all the while. You wouldn’t have said something so…revealing. Not to me.”

He’s not wrong, but admitting I’ve…softenedtoward him isn’t an easy thing to do. So I lean my elbows on the fence and watch the families inside the petting farm enjoy their Sunday afternoon. The goats will be well fed today.

Ash shifts his posture to mimic mine, our elbows brushing. “I was fourteen when I had my first boyfriend,” he says, voice quiet enough not to carry. “It wasn’t anything serious, obviously. We barely even kissed. But I remember asking my mom how to tell him I liked him. She told me to be patient. To wait for the righttime because I have a tendency to come on too strong, and that I might scare him off.”

He huffs a small breath, and I glance over at him. There’s a half-smile on his face as he watches Snickerdoodle attempting to steal carrots out of a child’s hand.

“Coy is not my strong suit, Jack. It never has been, and it never will be. I don’t like playing games, either. You called me your partner.”

My heart pounds as Ash meets my gaze, unflinching. His pinkie nudges mine, the smallest touch. The biggest.

“You meant it,” he says, eyebrows popping up as if amazed. “At least, you wanted it to be true. So I’m telling you I want that, too. I know we’re just figuring this out, and we don’t have to define anything if you don’t want. But… I’m in this, Jack. I’m going to treat you like my partner. Because when I look at you, and when I look around at this place, I don’t see temporary. I see what I want my life to be. So I’m warning you, one last time, if you want me to back off, you need to say so. Now.”

There’s static in my head. A whole lot of noise mixed up with the rushing of wind and the pumping of blood through my veins. There’s this man standing in front of me telling me he wants to give this a go. That, out of everywhere he could be traveling, he wants to hang up his hat here. That there’s somethinghereworth exploring.

I don’t know if I have the conscious thought or my body moves before my mind has caught up, but when I find my lips pressed to Ash’s, I don’t regret it. He makes a small sound against me, his hand coming up to fit to my cheek. It’s not a kiss of passion or even one of lust. It’s something infinitely more terrifying, and Ash accepts it with ease, his mouth soft, his sigh even softer. I feel fragile as I pull back, stripped down in a way that has never come easy to me.

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