Wild Ride Cowboy

Alex, for his part, seemed to be frozen between what looked to be a state of amusement. He looked from her to Asher, then back to her.

Clara wanted to punch him.

“Are you cheating on Stim, Clara?” Asher asked, treating her to a warm smile as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his skinny jeans.

She had determined she wasn’t going to compare him to Alex, but it was difficult when they were in such close proximity to each other. Alex was broad, big. He was wearing a battered old jacket, a blue Henley with the top two buttons undone, and his white cowboy hat, now sitting on the table because he’d removed it when he’d sat down. Asher was shorter, his frame more slight. He had his hair back, and was wearing a leather bomber-style jacket that looked new, along with a sweater and a scarf. His jeans looked distressed, but artfully so.

Looking at Asher made something in her chest ache. He was just...everything she wasn’t. And part of her thought that if she was just able to be with him, to be near him, he could give her some of what she lacked.

He was polished, put together, and she was sitting there in a flannel drinking a hot chocolate.

Well, at least now she didn’t look like she was drinking a hot chocolate.

“I could ask you the same question,” she countered playfully, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and tilting her head to the side. “Are you cheating on Stim?”

“Checking out the competition,” he said, smiling. “Actually, I like a variety of roasts. What Cassie has here is pretty good. It’s nice to change it up.”

“Oh yeah, me too. I’m all about the um...variety. In roasts.” Clara lifted the coffee again, but she didn’t actually take a drink this time.

Asher’s gaze slid to Alex, and so did Clara’s.

“This is my brother’s friend,” she said, the words coming out quickly. “My brother who died.”

Asher flinched, and she realized she’d done a pretty ham-fisted job of introducing that topic. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay.” She hadn’t gone out of her way to talk to Asher about Jason. In fact, she had kind of done what she could to avoid bringing it up with him. It made him even more of a safe space. More of a vacation from the rest of her life.

“It’s just... He’s helping me out with some things. My brother left him some stuff.”

“Okay,” he said, nodding. She couldn’t tell if he was relieved, or if he was wondering why she was bothering to give him so many details. She wished she knew something about men—anything about men.

“Well, I’m meeting some friends for a hike in a bit, so I’ve got to grab my coffee and get moving. It was good to see you.”

“You too,” she said, watching him as he walked to the counter. Then she let out a long breath she didn’t know she had been holding and set the coffee down. “Stupid small towns.”

“Well, that was quite the display,” Alex said, sounding decidedly amused now.

“Shut up,” she responded.

“So you have to pretend to like coffee all the time for this guy. Not just so you can go in and buy coffee from him, but so he doesn’t know you’re basically a hummingbird who exists on sugared nectar.”

“I am not a hummingbird,” she groused.

“You probably have the heart rate of one, considering how much junk you consume on a given day.”

“Bite me,” she said.

Alex only stared at her, his green eyes sharpening slightly. And she felt it. In her chest. Like something inside of her had turned over.

She breathed in deep, trying to dispel the tension. It didn’t work.

“He seems...like he’s from Portland,” Alex said.

She had a feeling that wasn’t a compliment.

“He is,” she said. “He moved out here to help start the coffee shop. He likes the slower pace. And how authentic everyone is here.”

“I see.” Alex rubbed his hand across his chin, the sound of his palm moving over his whiskers like sandpaper on wood. “So, you know a lot about him. But he apparently didn’t know you had a brother that died. And he thinks you like coffee. Does he also think you like kale salads?”

She picked a candy piece off her cocoa. “Kale has never come up in conversation.”

Alex looked over to where Asher was standing, now ordering his coffee. It looked like a long, involved ordering process. There were hand gestures.

“Really?” Alex looked incredulous. “He seems like the kind of guy who brings up kale on the second or third conversation.”

She tapped the side of her mug. “We did talk about quinoa once.”

“That’s hilarious.”

“He says it’s problematic because of the way that it’s sourced.” She had been relieved because quinoa was on her “never try” food list.

“And you want to date him?” Alex asked, his eyebrows raised. “You want to go out with this guy, invite him in after, make out with him on your couch?”

Clara felt her face getting warm. “I don’t... I like him. Yes, he’s into some different things than I am. But that’s actually good. It’s interesting. I haven’t... I’ve never done anything, Alex. I live here. I’ve always lived here. I’ve always had the ranch. And knowing Asher has taught me new things.”

“Let me guess...he’s part of your honey initiative.”

She let out an exasperated growl. “We might have had a conversation about the issues with the bee population and why producing your own local honey is an asset.”

Alex shook his head. “Well, isn’t that something. The girl who can’t swallow an onion got bees because some hipster coffee shop guy told her to. And she also does her best to choke down black coffee in his presence. I mean, I guess you can’t fight that kind of attraction. If you’re willing to do those things for him...”

She didn’t like that he was making fun of her. That he was taking this incredibly private thing that she had never experienced before and making light of it. She also didn’t like the fact that she couldn’t quite connect his words with the reality of the situation. Attraction. Making out on her couch.

Of course she was attracted to Asher. She had just checked out his butt the other day.

But for some reason, reminding herself of that just reminded her of seeing Alex’s bare chest.

“Yeah, so what?” She did her best to keep her face steady, to keep her expression smooth, even though she had a feeling her cheeks were rosy. “I want to get into his pants.”

“I don’t know, honey, those pants are pretty tight. I think getting into them would be a challenge.”

She made a scoffing sound. “You’re horrible.”

He stood up. “Maybe.” He swallowed down the rest of the coffee. “I’m going to go work now. I’ll see you at the ranch. Give you some time to talk to your boyfriend.”

“Are you in high school, or what?”

“Are you? Because if not, why are you waiting for him to make a move? If you really want him, you should ask him out. Life is short, right?”