The scent of grilled steak wafted into the kitchen, making Reggie’s mouth water in anticipation. Holding the knife in mid-air, she paused from chopping green peppers and glanced at the beautiful woman preparing the dinner table. “I love your outfit.”
Theresa wore an African-inspired pantsuit with reds, yellows, and oranges swirled together with just a touch of blue. Her shoes matched the blue in the material perfectly. She looked as if she’d just stepped off a photo shoot, rather than cooking dinner in a log cabin in Paw Paw, West Virginia.
“Thanks.” Theresa stirred the sizzling vegetables with a spatula. “Dylan’s a good man. You’re blessed to have him by your side.”
Reggie’s gaze strayed to the men outside, grilling steaks. “I would be dead if not for him.” She looked up at Theresa. “We’ve been through so much together. It is hard to remember my life without him in it.” Scraping the green peppers and onions into the salad bowl, Reggie’s pulse increased. I don’t want my old life back, I want a life with Dylan. Could it really work? A country boy and city girl? And what about his faith in God? She wasn’t even sure there was a God. “And he’s cute.” Reggie giggled.
“You better believe it, girl.”
Reggie concentrated on cutting up the tomatoes and cucumbers for the salad. “Theresa, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, you can.” Theresa smiled.
“Do you like living out here? It feels so remote and you seem more like a city girl to me.”
Theresa turned off the burner and removed the wok from the stove. After stirring the rice, she turned back to Reggie. “If you’re asking if I prefer city life, I do. But I love making my husband happy even more, and living out here makes him happy. So, here I am.”
“But what about you? Don’t you regret giving up your own life, your own career?”
“Oh, I am living my life the way I want.” Theresa spoke softly. “I couldn’t be happy anywhere without Billy, but I can be happy anywhere with him.”
“You must love him a lot to live out here. I don’t think I could do it.”
“We have a great life together. We have friends from church. I volunteer at the school as a nurse. If you stay out here long enough Reggie, you’ll fall madly in love with this place. There is something to be said about being surrounded with God’s majestic and beautiful creation.” Theresa pulled out two bowls from the knotty pine cabinets. “And when I get lonely, I go visit our kids in Nashville.”
“How many children do you have?”
“Two, a boy, and a girl, and three amazing grandchildren.” She spooned out the rice in a serving bowl. “Billy has it set up so we can video call them. It’s the next best thing to being there.”
“Grandchildren? You aren’t old enough for that.” Reggie finished cutting the vegetables and scooped them up and into the salad bowl.
“Don’t I wish?” Theresa lifted up the wok, and using the spatula, put the stir-fry into a bowl.
“Why don’t you live in Nashville?”
“Billy needs to be near DC for his job. So, this is my home for now.”
Reggie gathered up the knife and cutting board, and took them to the sink. “It almost looks like a national forest.”
“It only seems that way.” Theresa laughed. “We live at the edge of a state park. We only own a few acres of land, but when you look out, it looks as if we are the only people for miles and miles.”
They carried the bowls over to the table just as Dylan and Billy walked in with the steaks. Once the table was set, the group sat down. Theresa smiled at her husband. “Dylan, will you say the blessing?”
As Dylan prayed, Reggie closed her eyes. She’d never known people like this. God was truly a part of their daily life.
“The food looks great.” Reggie stared at the steak on her plate for a moment. “But there’s no way I can eat a serving that big.”
“Do your best, and the dogs can have the rest.” Billy grabbed the biggest steak off the plate, but when Theresa gave him a look, he plopped it on Dylan’s plate.
“You mean the dogs Dylan’s afraid of?” Reggie asked.
“I am not afraid of them. They just don’t like me, so I stay as far away from them as I can.” Dylan took a bite of his steak and smacked his lips.
“Whatever. I saw the look on your face when Billy was about to bring me in the house and you thought the dogs might be in.”
“Just because I’m careful doesn’t mean I’m afraid. Let me tell you about Billy. One time—”
Billy shook his steak knife at Dylan. “Don’t do it, Monroe. I have more stories to embarrass you than you do me. And my wife already loves me.”
Reggie felt a warm glow. Billy and Theresa thought Dylan had feelings for her…she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Was this love?
“We’ll just see about that.”
For the next forty minutes, the men took turns outdoing each other, telling funny stories, each tale more outrageous than the one before. The women laughed and hooted, which only encouraged the men to tell another.
“Enough of this silliness.” Theresa stood up with her plate in her hand. “It’s time to get back to work and get this girl her life back. I like her, so you two better figure out what’s going on.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Billy gave his wife a salute.
“Y’all go on and I’ll be down after I clean up here.”
“Let me help.” Reggie insisted.
“I’ll take care of this; you’ve got more important things to focus on at the moment.” She shooed them off with the look.
“She’s serious, Reggie. Let’s go.” Dylan grabbed Reggie’s hand and they walked down the steps.
Warm tingles spread up her arm. Just being with Dylan made her happy.