Sierra Hearts (Part One) by Ash Elko Read Free Book Online Page B

seemed like was. Do their fathers sit them down and tell
them the birds and the bees and about the bass guitar? On the
dining table was a stack of puzzle boxes. There must have been half
a dozen or more. A freshly split stack of firewood rested beside
the fireplace, and the whole room had a pleasant smoky scent. There
was something else she could smell, too. Whatever it was, it made
her mouth water.
    “I’ll pass on the drink. Can I have some water?” she
said. Another wave of that delicious smell hit her. “Are you
cooking something? It smells amazing.”
    “The storm knocked out the TV, so I’m making rack of
lamb to keep me busy. Do you want any ice?” he asked.
    “Yes, please,” she said.
    Rack of lamb?
    “You got it,” he said. Jenn could hear him crack
open another beer.
    “Do… do you need any help cooking? Is there anything
I can help with?”
    “Sure! Want to give me a hand with the Brussels
sprouts?” he asked.
    Not knowing what else to say, Jenn said yes.
    Food covered every square inch of counter space in
the kitchen. Onions, potatoes, and Brussels sprouts, of course,
were all grouped together. There were also garlic cloves, herbs,
and spices along with meat. Lots of meat. There were multiple racks
of lamb on display as well as what seemed like an unhealthy amount
of bacon. A bottle of red wine stood by itself at the edge of the
counter, unopened.
    “Wow, that’s a lot of food,” Jenn said. “If all of
this stuff is out, what’s cooking? What’s that delicious
smell?”
    “Oh, that’s the cornbread cooling. I made some this
morning. Would you like some?” Danny reached for a backing tray on
the stove. “I made it earlier this morning.” He held it out for
Jenn.
    “Where do you get the energy for all this!”
    “I didn’t use to like cooking or baking. When I got
out of the army, I needed something to do. Something to pass the
time. I wasn’t very good at first, but after a while I figured that
cooking is like a putting together a puzzle or building something.
You assemble all of the ingredients like little pieces. Then you
create something. Recipes are like sample instruction manuals,” he
said.
    Jenn took a small bite of the cornbread. It melted
in her mouth.
    “Mmmhmmm . It’s great.”
    “Good. Glad you like it.” Danny put the tray back on
the stove. “Ready to start chopping?”
    “Absolutely. Where should I start?” She took another
look at the mountain of food.
    “Here, let me show you,” he said. He cleared some
room on the counter for a cutting board. He grabbed a Brussels
sprout.
    “Take the sprouts and remove the end here. Like
this. Then you can put them in this pot. When you’re all done, add
some water to the pot so they are just barely floating,” he
said.
    “Got it.”
    Jenn watched. He seemed so comfortable in the
kitchen, as if this were the natural order of things. Cooking an
elaborate meal the day after a blizzard—after a car crash!—sipping
drinks. There was something deeply reassuring about that. As if the
world really did make sense around him, and that things were as
they were supposed to be. As if Jenn by simply being here were part
of that natural state of being as well.
    “When the sprouts are soft, we take them out and fry
them up in a pan with some bacon and onion. We cook the bacon first
so we get some of the grease in the pan and then get the onions to
caramelize. It’s my favorite thing to make,” he said.
    “Oh really? Why’s that?”
    “It gives me a chance to use white pepper,” Danny
said. “Just a little once everything is almost done. It is a pretty
powerful taste, so you have to use just enough otherwise it is
under- or overwhelming.”
    “So, we want… whelming?” Jenn asked.
    His laugh echoed in the kitchen. “Yes. We want to be
whelmed.”
    A tinge of happiness hit her. It was good knowing
that she could make him genuinely laugh like that. And to think,
this time yesterday was probably the scariest moment in her