Chaste (McCullough Mountain) (7 page)

Ashlynn
shook her head. The traffic was backing up from the intersection. She didn’t
have time to stand there and figure out a man as complicated as Kelly
McCullough.

Ernie
wasn’t at the shop. Luckily, his house was only a few blocks past and she found
him on his way out to breakfast. He made a special trip to tow her truck to the
market and waited as she unloaded her supply, then towed it back to her house.
When she offered to pay him, he refused. She made a mental note to bag up some
items on Monday and take them to his wife as a thank you.

She’d
missed church and when her father stopped by her home she was a mite filthier
than she’d been that morning. He called her name, as she was half-buried under
the hood of her truck, inspecting the engine.

“Lynn?
You missed church.”

Unfolding
her body, she wiped her grease stained fingers on a rag. “I know, Daddy. Sorry
about that. My truck broke down.”

Her
dad’s expression changed from one of disappointment to one of concern, as he
removed his good jacket and came to see what was doin’ under the hood. “You
figure out what the problem is?”

“I’m
pretty sure it’s the transmission.”

He
whistled, not questioning her diagnosis. “That’s an expensive fix. I know a guy
who might have a scrapper with a salvageable tranny.”

She
sighed. “I’m wondering if I should start thinking about buying new.”

 
“A new
truck’ll
run you around forty thousand.”

“I
know.” She had the money. Didn’t want to spend it, but had it all the same.

“I’d
like to see you driving in one of those fancy models with all the safety bells
and whistles. It’d give your old man a sense of security.”

Taking
in his weathered face, wrinkled with years of working under the sun, she
grinned. Beneath all that gruff and grizzle, Roy Fisher was nothin’ but a big
marshmallow who loved his family. Since losing her mother, Ashlynn was all the
family he had left and she was just fine with being Daddy’s little girl. “It
would be nice to get one of those four door ones, maybe in a pretty color.”

“Now,
don’t you go bringing home a pink truck.”

She
laughed. She was not the pink sort and he knew it. “I was thinking a pretty,
pearly white one.”

He
nodded approvingly. “Why don’t you get cleaned up and we’ll take a ride down to
Jenkin’s lot? They aren’t open today, but we could look around without old
Jenkins breathing down our necks.”

“But
it’s your birthday. I was going to cook.”

“So
you’ll cook when we get back. Come on. It’ll be fun.”

Later
that day when they returned from window-shopping at Jenkin’s, Ashlynn’s father
kept her company in the kitchen as she prepared supper.

“That
red truck was nice to look at. Extended cab, leather seats…”

She
sprinkled sugar over the fresh cut berries. “I liked that white one. Did you
see when the sun hit it right there were sparkles in the paint?”

Roy
chuckled as he sipped his lemonade. “A sparkling truck… had to have been made
for a woman.”

Ashlynn
smirked. “I may not dress the part, but there’s a girl in me somewhere, Daddy.”

“I
know, sug.”

She’d learned how
to conquer her adolescence under the guidance of her father and his farmhands.
No one ever taught her how to put on makeup or do her hair in one of those
fancy braids or twists. Even when it came to perfume, she had a strange
appreciation for Old Spice rather than bouquets of floral scents or female
tailored
musks
.

Her dad took her
shopping at places like
Cabelas
and other sporting
good outlets and that was where she found most of her clothes. She really
didn’t have a style. Her clothing was functional and lent itself to her job as
an organic farmer. There was no need for a girl who owned the local farmer’s
market to wear fancy shoes or short skirts. Besides, skirts didn’t come with
pockets to hold her utility knife and other implements necessary for the job.

No, she wasn’t a girlie girl, but she never felt pressed to
pretend to be more than who she truly was. Tapping her fingers over her
fathers, she smiled tenderly at him. The world may not get or appreciate her,
but her daddy sure did.

She worked in comfortable
silence, her dad stealing a swipe of frosting with his work-roughened finger
every time he had the chance. As she waited for the cake to cool, she poured
herself a glass of lemonade and settled across from him at the aged kitchen
table.

He stared at her for a long
moment then said, “Another birthday, another year… makes a man feel his age. I
find myself slowing down and getting nostalgic more and more as time goes on.”

She
grinned, knowing he was likely thinking about her momma. They didn’t often
speak of her, but she knew her father missed her as much as she did. “I miss
her too, Daddy.”

His
thumb flipped the corner of the placemat, his eyes focused on the table. “You
know, having your mother made me complete. Not a day goes by that I don’t think
of her. Even though I only had her with me for a short time, I’ll never regret
picking her as my wife. She gave me you and I can’t imagine a day without my
sugar bear.”

She
smiled into her lemonade. He’d always called her that, his little sugar bear.

“You
know,” he continued. “I ain’t getting any younger. Been farming this land since
I was a teen. I know you have your organic gardens and such, but I don’t think
you’re lookin’ to take over the rest.”

She
frowned. “Why would I—”

“I’m
no spring chicken, sug. It’s only you and me here. I’d like to have my wits
when it comes time to sell so we aren’t forced to take less than what we
deserve.”

If
she’d been a boy they wouldn’t be having this conversation. “I could do it,
Daddy.”

“I
know you could. There isn’t much you can’t do, but it’s a matter of wanting to,
sug. I don’t want to shoulder you with more than you need.”

“Well,
that’s a time away. For now you have Hank and the rest of the hands to help
where they can.”

He
nodded and she sensed he wanted to say more. “What is it?”

He
hesitated a moment, uncertainty skating over his strong features. “I worry
about you. One day I won’t be here to keep you company.”

Her
heart pinched. Her father was a strong and healthy man for his late fifties.
This conversation was beyond premature. “I’ll be fine, Daddy. Now, stop acting
like you’re leaving this world tomorrow.”

He
patted her hand and met her gaze. “Why don’t you try to find a nice boy, Lynn,
someone who loves you as much as I do? It would sure put your old man’s mind at
ease.”

She
pursed her lips. It wasn’t like she spent her days beating men off with a
stick. The only men she interacted with were her father’s age. “It isn’t that
easy, Daddy.”

His
eyes creased with regret. “I should’ve tried harder to keep you around women. I
feel like I failed you in a way, sug. I don’t know nothing about ribbons and
bows or dancin’ and pearls.”

She
turned her palm up and squeezed her father’s large hand. “I don’t need any of
those things.”

“You’re
such a good girl, but I kept you sheltered here at the farm away from the town.
I wish others got to see how sweet you are. I reckon, if they all knew your
kindness, I’d have spent your high school years guarding the porch with my
rifle.”

She
laughed. “You’d only wind up misfiring and hurtin’ yourself, Daddy.” Seeing her
father was in the mood for a heart to heart, she hesitated a moment and then
let the confession slip. “There’s one man…”

His
eyebrows lifted and he grinned. “Should I load my gun?”

She
laughed again. “No, leave your ammo in the drawer. He barely knows my name.”

“So
why don’t you tell him? Ask him out on a date?”

Her
cheeks heated. She could never do that. “I’m not really his type.”

“Is
he a good man? You’re a good man’s type.”

That
was part of the problem. Kelly was a sexy man. The
good
was up for
debate. She’d been raised the best her daddy knew how to raise a daughter.
Kelly would never see eye to eye with her morals and beliefs. She may be
lonely—painfully so, at times—but she wouldn’t sacrifice her principles for any
man. Not even Kelly McCullough.

Her
father would likely want to see her with a man like himself, one capable of
running the land and not afraid of a little hard work. Kelly had a business,
one that was a universe away from farming. His days ended as theirs began.

Roy
was right. If she ever wanted to find a husband, she’d better start looking
soon. It was time to put her childhood fantasies away and get real.

“Maybe
I should get on one of those dating sites,” she suggested sarcastically. She
had a computer she used to keep her records for the store and every once in a
while she found spam in her inbox proclaiming to have the key to the hottest
singles in Center County.

Her
father snorted. “I can’t imagine finding your soul mate online, but if that’s
what kids are doing nowadays who am I to put it down?”

She
hadn’t really been serious about the prospect, but maybe she should. That
night, after her father went home, she turned on her laptop, and locked her
bedroom door. She lived alone, but coming face to face with her desperation
needed absolute privacy. It took only a few minutes to search through her spam
folder until she found a message from a dating site offering a free three-month
trial.

Taking
a deep breath she clicked the link under the image of what appeared to be a
ridiculously happy couple. The site requested her login information. After
choosing the profile name, Sugarbear24, she was sent to a page full of
questions.

An
hour later she’d contemplated herself more than she ever had in her life. They
asked everything from her body type to her personal hobbies. Ashlynn wished she
could see the other female profiles to get an idea of what she was up against. Her
profile seemed rather dull.

When
she got to the portion asking what the qualities of her perfect mate were,
she’d written an entire paragraph only to delete it in the end. It described
Kelly McCullough to a T. She really needed to broaden her horizons and reach
below the surface if she planned on doing this. In the end she wrote—

I
am seeking a nice man with good Christian values. I love being outdoors, and
hope he enjoys the same. Honesty is a must.

Once
she’d submitted the information, the site asked her to upload a picture. Ruffling
her fingers through her hair she lifted her phone. All of her flaws seemed
suddenly magnified. Her eyes continuously darted to the door of her bedroom.
The mere thought of someone seeing how ridiculous she was being humiliated her.
The fact that she lived alone in the middle of nowhere only added to her
certainty that she was insane—insane and desperate.

Finally,
she managed a halfway decent picture of herself and sent it to her email. Once
the image was uploaded to the site, her computer dinged. Huh, she had a
message. She clicked on the heart over the envelope at the top of the screen.

“Oh
God,” she said the minute she saw the beer bellied man in a dirty baseball cap.
He looked about twenty years her senior.

Hey
Sugar Bear,

I’d
sure like to know ya better.

TheMan777

Grimacing,
she deleted the message. Her computer dinged again.

Like
the glasses. I have a thing for librarian types. Want to read me a bedtime
story?

BigRodRob

“
Ew
.” She got rid of him as well.

The
messages kept coming and before she knew it, it was after midnight. Didn’t
these people have work in the morning? As much as she discovered this was a
waste of time, she couldn’t look away. It was like a train wreck, each suitor
more perverted and unattractive than the last.

She
took another picture. This time without her glasses, thinking that might
attract better men. Just as she was about to sign off, another heart appeared
in her mailbox from a member named JustJosh. She considered leaving it until
morning, but the temptation was too much. After promising herself she’d go to
sleep after this one, she clicked on the heart.

Hello
SugarBear24,

My
name’s Josh and I noticed we live close to each other. I haven’t had much luck
on this site, but I’m still here looking for Ms. Right. I work at a lumberyard
and don’t really get out much, usually too tired after a week of hauling trees.
If you’d like to talk I’d like to get to know you. You look sweet and your
profile seemed up front and honest.

Have
a good night,