Sassy Cowgirl Kisses by Kathy Fawcett
Chapter 37
Five minutes past eleven in the morning, Ash West pulled up into the driveway of his bungalow in downtown West Gorge, happy to see his next-door neighbor sitting on the porch. Like him, she was wearing board shorts, river sandals, and a tee shirt. They both had reflective sunglasses hanging from their necks, and a fleece pullover within reach.
“Ah, I see you got the dress code memo,” Ash said from the open top of his Jeep.
“As did you,” Sassy smiled as she stood.
“Not your usual date attire, I’m sure,” he said.
“I don’t have date attire,” Sassy said as she walked towards Ash, “usual or otherwise.”
“That can’t be true.” Ash got out of the Jeep, not quite knowing what to do next. Thankfully, he remembered to walk with her to the passenger door to hold it open.
“Why can’t that be true, Ash? You think I get all sorts of invitations, because of the way I look?”
Ash struggled to find a response. That’s exactly what he thought, but now doubted himself as he stood with his hands on the Jeep door.
“Well… yeah, I guess I do think that.”
“And don’t you think I have any say in the matter? Or must I jump at every invitation to the movies, or the theater, or out to eat? Or into a back seat or dark hallway?”
“Gee, Sassy, I’m sorry. Really. I didn’t mean to offend you. I thought I was paying you a compliment, but I can see how I mis-stepped.”
Sassy was silent as she assessed him. He really was sorry, she could tell.
“Sorry, Ash.” Her voice softened. “I didn’t mean to speak so harshly. Just… don’t make assumptions about me, please.”
Ash nodded as he got behind the wheel. He had made assumptions. And just what did he assume? He blushed at the thought, and was ashamed of himself. He would have to tread carefully going forward.
“I think,” Ash said as he pulled the car out of the driveway and started heading for the gorge, “that I automatically lumped you in the same category as all the pretty girls at the university in Michigan; the beautiful and popular girls who had somewhere to go and friends to hang out with all the time. They were always laughing in that way… that carefree way I’ve never been able to.”
“Why can’t you laugh like that, Ash?”
He shrugged, but turned to smile at Sassy.
“Life is hard—people are fragile. I don’t want to be frivolous… or make a mistake that will hurt somebody else. I want to build a life where I can respect what I’m doing and have a family that I’ll never leave.”
“You’re pretty young to have such serious goals.”
“Oh, I’ve had these goals for a long time. The thing I’ve had to learn is to enjoy life’s journey. Instead of going after these things like my life depended on it.”
“Does it?”
“Kinda.”
Sassy reached over and took his free hand in her own and he gave it a squeeze.
“Let’s just enjoy the journey today, together. Like two beautiful friends who have somewhere to go, and someone to hang out with.”