Sassy Cowgirl Kisses by Kathy Fawcett

Chapter 58

Sassy!

Sassy Tate herself, for he’d know her anywhere, stood on the sidewalk in front of the store, and she was talking with—laughing with—Amber.

“I like your idea for a display, Sassy,” Amber was saying, “we should totally do that.”

We?

Ash felt like he was dreaming. For one thing, Sassy left town, didn’t she? Weeks ago. Yet here she was in West Gorge. Even more confusing, she was talking with her nemesis, his old friend Amber. The girl Sassy was sure was still in love with him.

Shaking his head, Ash looked again to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks. The two were gesturing to the storefront and talking together in very friendly tones. As they walked back inside, Ash’s guts felt like he’d swallowed a stone, and his heart beat wildly.

Sassy was still here… but why? Why hadn’t she let him know?

With legs like iron, Ash tried to remember how to walk as he made his way across the street. His heart beat wildly, and he didn’t know what he’d say when he reached the store, only, he had no other choice but to pursue the beautiful golden girl who’d gone inside.

“Oh, hi Ash,” Amber said, nearly walking into him on the sidewalk. “I see you got my text. Did you come to do some shopping?”

“No… I came to see…” Ash faltered miserably until Amber put him out of his misery.

“If you’re looking for Sassy,” she said softly, “she’s up the stairs to the right. She’s renting from me—apartment B. Go on up.”

“But, how long has…” Ash’s head was still spinning at the discovery.

“A few weeks,” Amber said coolly. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got customers.”

Ash gulped and nodded.

“Thank you, Amber,” he said, moving towards the store. Towards the back, there was an old oak door with a sign that read Private. He walked through and saw a staircase leading to the second floor. Taking the stairs two at a time, he reached apartment B and knocked with a trembling hand.

“Just a minute,” Sassy’s unmistakable voice resonated. When she opened the door, she gave out a quiet gasp at the tall cowboy who stood in the hall, with hat in hand.

Sassy was barefoot, wearing faded jeans with rips at the knee, and a bleached white tee shirt half-tucked and half hanging over the waistline. Her only adornment was her yellow, hair that draped over her shoulder and down her back. She was the most beautiful sight Ash had ever seen.

He wanted to blurt out every thought and apology he’d had since she left, but she beat him to the punch by inviting him in.

“Come in and sit down, Ash,” she said.

“I thought you left West Gorge,” he said, hearing the croak in his voice.

“Would you like a cup of coffee? I just made a fresh pot—I thought you were Amber coming to grab a cup.”

“Um, sure,” Ash said. He had a million questions for Sassy, and not the least of which was when… how had she and Amber become so chummy?

With shaking hands, Ash took the hot mug from Sassy, who sat across from him. The cup burned his hand but he couldn’t take his eyes off of her long enough to set it down.

“I did leave West Gorge, but then I came back. I checked in on my mother then I came back. Kat said I could stay at her condo for as long as I want, but I really need my own place. I answered an ad for an apartment and it was this place,” Sassy held her hands up and indicated the cozy room with the tall street-side windows, “and Amber is the landlord.”

Sassy smiled and shrugged, and Ash was speechless.

“Turns out,” Sassy said with a smile, playfully tossing a throw pillow at Ash, “she and I get along just fine without you in the middle, muddling things up.”

“I’m just… forgive me but…” Ash stumbled, “I’m so surprised to see you. My heart just about broke when you left without saying goodbye.”

Sassy’s smile faded.

“My heart broke too, Ash, when you were so angry with me about my secret.”

“I was wrong, Sassy.”

Sassy looked at Ash for a long while, then spoke as if she hadn’t heard what he said.

“As it so happens, Kat, my sister, wants to spend time with me. Imagine that.”

“Oh wow,” Ash started to say, “that’s really great.”

She told him how she and Kat spoke every day after their lunch at the condo, and how Kat’s heart was softening towards her—something she wasn’t sure would ever happen. Even her mother, Sassy said, encouraged her to come back.

“Can you believe that?” Sassy asked.

Ash struggled to get his footing. He never expected to see Sassy when he came to town, or talk with her face to face. He also didn’t imagine that they’d be talking about Kat. But Kat is what brought Sassy to West Gorge in the first place.

“So, you came back for Kat,” Ash said. His heart ached with sadness. He felt like a stone had replaced his heart and was pounding away in his bruised chest.

“I came for Kat.”

Sassy got up from her chair and moved over to sit by him on the sofa—no doubt to ease the pain of her blunt words, he thought.

“The first time I came to West Gorge, I came for Kat,” she continued. “But I came back for you, Ash. For us. To give us a real chance to get to know each other. With no secrets between us.”

Tentatively, she reached over and placed a hand on one of his own. She began to pull it away when he didn’t respond, but he grabbed it in time and held tight. Tears rolled down Sassy’s cheeks and she struggled to finish what she was saying. Ash took her other hand and moved closer to her.

“I thought you might like to know that I’ll be here, in Wyoming, at least until Christmas, maybe longer. The accountants that handle West Ranch offered me a job, and the offices are right in town.”

Ash leaned over and gently kissed away a tear from her cheek.

“Also,” Sassy said as Ash kissed the other cheek, “I told Amber I’d help her through the busy holiday season.”

Ash kissed her forehead.

“Plus, I want to stick around for Freda’s December wedding to James Timothy.” “There’s only one problem with that…” Sassy said with half a smile, looking up into Ash’s eyes.

“What’s that, cowgirl?” Ash continued to kiss her face, then whispered into her ears.

“I… don’t have a date, and I hate going to weddings alone.”

“Well, I don’t know,” Ash drawled with a tease in his voice, “I try not to make plans so far in advance. But I’ll see what I can do.”

At that, Sassy let out a surprised laugh. That’s when Ash wrapped both arms around her waist and pulled her close, kissing her full on the mouth with salty tears still on his lips.