Chapter 4: new beginnings

Asher took Autumn’s hand in his. He gently rubbed her thumb with his on. “What’re you thinking about?” He asked her. “Just how beautiful this place is and how happy I am to be standing here with you” she turned her head to look at him. “What’s on your mind Asher?” She was caught up looking at his puzzled face. When he didn’t respond but just looked away she asked “is everything okay?”. He dropped her hand “I kidnapped you a few days ago. Ruined your life. And here you are acting like nothing happened “. She shrugged her shoulders “everything happens for a reason”. He didn’t want to question her but he wasn’t fully sure if he believed her. It could be that he was her last resort being as she lost completely everything, or maybe she really did have feelings for him still and due to them spending time together they were resurfacing. He didn’t want to ruin what may come from this so he remained quiet on the topic and only gave her a nod. “Are you hungry?” He asked. “I’m starving!” She beamed. “Would you prefer cooking together or going out?” He started heading towards the kitchen to see what he had. “Cooking together sounds nice” she followed him into the kitchen and sat in a tall bar stool at the kitchen island. She dangled her legs and smiled at him as he rummaged for ingredients in the refrigerator and cabinets to make homemade sauce for pasta. He set fresh ingredients on the island in front of her “want to cut up some vegetables for me while I brown some ground beef?” He handed her a cutting knife. Autumn began dicing onions, chopping tomatoes, green pepper, and mincing garlic. “Done!” She chirped as she slid the cut vegetables across the island in his direction. He took the lid off of a blender and dumped the contents inside and returned the lid before turning it on. He blended the vegetables together until they formed a paste then added a little water and heavy whipping cream and a dash of wine. He poured the sauce into a sauce pan over top of his ground beef and began mixing.

The pasta noodles were drained and back in the pot. Asher began setting pot holders down on the kitchen table and placing the pot of noodles and sauce pan on top. He set down two stone plates, two napkins, two forks, and two wine glasses in which he poured some red wine. “Sit with me” he motioned to Autumn who was still seated at the kitchen island. She hopped down walking the few steps it would take to make it into the dining room and sat in the spot he had made for her across from him.

She dug her fork in twirling her pasta to get a bite “this is incredible” she complimented between bites. “I’m glad you approve” he smiled.

…….

They both finished their meal and began clearing the dining table. Autumn took the dirty plates, glasses, and silverware to the sink while Asher put the leftovers in Tupperware containers and placed them in the refrigerator. “Don’t worry about those, we’ll get to them later” he nodded at the dishes “c’mon, we’re going for a ride”. “Where to?” She asked feeling nervous. “You’ll see” he responded as he walked towards the front door and kneeled down to put on his shoes. She followed putting on her own and then they both headed out the front door. It was around 6:45pm and the sun hadn’t set just quite yet. It was a beautiful fall evening and the wind felt nice blowing through her hair as she sat on the back of his motorcycle. “Close your eyes. Where we’re going is a surprise” he insisted and she shut her eyes while her mind raced with crazy thoughts on where he might be taking her. When the bike came to a halt he hopped off “keep them closed” he said and next thing she was being scooped up off the bike bridal style. She felt him moving and when he had stopped he gently put her on her feet. “Open your eyes” he encouraged her. She slowly opened her eyes, they were atop a hill overlooking the city. The dun was just now setting and the city lights glowed. It was truly a beautiful sight. “Do you have any idea where we are?” He asked her. She shook her head no, still too mesmerized by the beauty of the view to make a sound. “Look behind you” he turned around and was now looking in the opposite direction. They were on the other side of their meadow. “I…wow…oh my god I had no idea this even existed. It’s beautiful” she gawked. He smiled as she stumbled over her words. He had always adored when she had done so. He reached over grabbing her hand and interlaced their fingers. They both turned back around facing the remarkable view. “I don’t want this to ever end” she said so softly that if was nearly a whisper. “Then don’t let it end” he squeezed her hand.