by Tegan Maher
"So you said you were off today," Scout said. “Any big plans?”
I shook my head. "Nope. I’d hoped to get a run in this morning but now I’m stuffed, so that’s off the table. I’ll putter around and maybe get some stuff done in the garden."
Speaking of the garden, I was surprised Maisey hadn’t stopped in. She liked Scout and rarely missed an opportunity to tease me about him when I couldn’t respond to her. I’d been considering introducing them, but I wasn’t quite sure how to go about it, or how he would respond. I mean, how do you go about telling a guy you like that your house is haunted without sending him running in the other direction? I shook myself out of my reverie because he was speaking to me.
"If you’re free, would you like to do something later?"
I paused for a second, considering. We hadn’t really discussed my situation, or his for that matter. I didn’t even know if he’d ever been married, or much else about him for that matter. He kept bending and unbending the wrapping paper of his burrito. I liked him. A lot. But I’d only been divorced for a few months. Of course, my marriage had been over much longer than that, but was I ready to go there? And what would happen to our friendship if this went south?
"I mean, as friends." His eyes drifted to his burrito as he continued to play with the wrapping.
I gave him a wispy smile. “I’d like that. And just so you know, it’s not that I’m not interested. It’s just ... I really like you. But just came out of a long marriage, and I don’t want to lead you on. I need some time to get right in my own head before I bring another person into my crazy. It wouldn’t be fair to you for me to move forward before I know for a fact I’m ready.”
“Oh,” he said with a lopsided grin. “Is that all? Here all this time I was thinking I needed better deodorant or something.” His kind blue eyes turned serious. “Thanks for telling me. If that’s all it is, I’m willing to hang out and just see what happens. No pressure. I like you, and friends are hard to come by. Even if that’s as far as it ever goes, I’ll still consider myself one lucky guy.”
Wow. I didn’t even know what to say to that, so I didn’t say anything. I just smiled.
“Now that we got that out of the way,” he said, “I have some errands to run, and I’ll check into getting you some pallets. I can be back here around four if that works for you.”
“Four’s perfect,” I said with a decisive nod. “I’ll see you then.”
This was either going to be the best decision I'd ever made or the worst decision
I'd ever made. I just couldn't decide which.
Chapter Seven
SCOUT WAS ON MY DOORSTEP at three fifty-nine. I’d taken the time to run a flatiron through my hair and had even put on some makeup. I hadn’t lied when I said I really liked him, and I wanted to look nice. He saw me all the time in ratty jeans and t-shirts. I figured it wouldn’t kill me to pretend to be a real girl every once in a while. l looked down at my slacks and sweater, wondering if I had dressed appropriately for the occasion or if I was way too overdressed. Of course, to anybody else, I was still in casual attire even though I felt almost ready for the ball.
Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and was instantly glad I’d decided to dress up a little. Scout was wearing a nice pair of jeans and a navy dress shirt that set off his eyes nicely. He’d also shaved, and I wasn’t sure which look I liked better. There was definitely something to be said for the clean-shaven look, but I liked him with some scruff too.
He looked me up and down and gave a low whistle, and I could feel my cheeks flame. Stupid Irish blood. It didn’t matter that it was Black Irish—I still had a milky complexion that was just perfect for showing off a blush. No way to hide it.
“Ready?” he asked.
I nodded as I glanced back at Bear, who was sound asleep on the couch. “So where are we going?” I shut and locked the door and followed him down the steps.
He hurried around to my side of the truck, opening the door and holding it for me. “I thought we’d go to Dee’s. I talked to Jeremy this morning when I was there. He’s pullin’ a double and Dee’s running tables, so I figured it was as good a place as any to grab a bite to eat.”
“Sounds great,” I said. I’ll finally get a chance to try his cooking.”
“Trust me—once you try his meatloaf, you’ll be a convert.”
I laughed. “Considering I don’t have a favorite restaurant here yet, the bar for that is pretty low. Plus, I’m pretty sure he’d have to put some effort into it if he wanted to serve me something that was worse than the half-raw burger and cold, limp fries Fiona prepared for my dining pleasure.”
His lips twitched. “Yeah, I’m not even sure if he could cook something that bad if he tried.”
“So where’d he learn to cook?” I asked. “And why isn’t he working at some grand restaurant somewhere?”
“He’s self-taught. Cut his teeth on the Food Network Channel and fell in love with it.” He shook his head. “He’s been a foodie since he was thirteen or fourteen years old. His mom worked two jobs the whole time he was growing up because his dad split when he was little. She says she came home from work one night and he’d made her homemade chicken Alfredo over spaghetti because he knew she wouldn’t spend tip money on food while she was working. He’s been cooking ever since.”
That was the kind of story that spoke volumes about a person. I already had respect for him before I’d even met him. “So then the next question—why isn’t he working at some fancy restaurant?”
He shrugged. “If you ask him, it’s not his gig. First, he’s self-taught, which isn’t always a good thing. The fancy places that trained chefs. Also, he says he doesn’t want to work in a place that requires him to make a certain dish a certain way, with no leeway for creativity or improvement.” He cast me a sideways glance. “Then ... we’re Mercy. We’re not exactly the cultural center of the south. He doesn’t really have any options even if he did want to work for a place like that.”
I was shocked when we pulled in front of the cafe. We were going to have to park down the street if we wanted to eat there because every spot in front of the cafe was filled. I’d pulled into town on a Friday night during dinner, and there had only been two cars other than mine there. Now, it wasn’t even officially dinner time yet, and the place was packed.
“Is this all because of Jeremy’s cooking?” I asked, flabbergasted as a family of five spilled out the front doors, the dad smiling with a toothpick in his mouth, and the kids all rushing ahead, glad to be free. “Those people actually look happy.”
He smiled as he slowed down to look for a spot. “I wouldn’t be surprised. Dee’s a great waitress but I’m pretty sure her ability to carry twenty drinks on one tray didn’t draw this kind of crowd.”
“Are you sure we’re going to be able to find a place to sit in there?” I asked as I craned my neck to look in as we drove past. It looked completely full.
“There might be a small wait, but it’s not like we had anything else to do.”
I nodded. If nothing else, Scout could run me through the who’s who list of the people in there. The town was small, but I hadn’t had a chance to meet too many people yet. It seemed I was always at a disadvantage wherever I went because as the new girl in town, everybody seemed to know my name, but I didn’t know any of theirs.
We ended up finding a place almost three blocks away. I was pretty sure that meant that we were going to have a longer wait for dinner ahead of us than we’d thought, but it looked like I was wrong. A lot of the people were leaving with to-go bags stuffed with food.
Scout held the café door open for me and I breezed past him. “Thank you.” I looked over my shoulder at him and smiled.
“Toni,” someone squealed to my right.
I turned just as Dee barreled out from around the counter and threw her arms around my neck. “Isn’t it fantastic?”
I returned her hug and looked around. “It’s amazing.” All but two tables were full,
and there were a couple of people waiting at the register to pick up to-go orders. I didn’t recognize the dark-haired young woman in a waitress uniform who was working the register and handing the orders out.
“Who’s that?” I asked, nodding toward the woman.
Dee released me and followed my gaze. “That’s Annie. She and a waitress named Nikki used to work here, but Fiona fired them both a while back.” She turned her gaze back to me. “Annie’s a single mom and hasn’t been able to find a job since Fiona let her go.” Dee shrugged. “She needed the work and I needed the help, so I hired her and Nikki back part-time to start. I figured they can work the days that Jeremy’s cooking since those are the days we’re probably going to get slammed. And Annie’s about to lose her house. Her husband quit paying child support, and since she couldn’t find work, she got behind on her rent. I offered to rent the room above the café to her, or maybe even the house. The apartment is nice, but it’s not big enough for her and two kids.”
I smiled—how many people would not only give a person in a tough spot a job but a place to live, too? “I think they’re lucky to have you as a boss.”
Dee shrugged off the compliment as her gaze scanned the room to make sure everything was kosher. “I just wish Nikki could have been here tonight. I really could have used her help but she had to work late at the beauty salon.” Dee turned her attention back to us. “I’m sure you didn’t come just to chitchat, so I hope you’re hungry.”
She grabbed a couple of menus and glanced at Scout. “Table for two, suh?”
When he grinned and nodded, she gave us a saucy wink then turned on her heel and led us back to a table in the corner.
I tried to be careful, but the dining room was so full, there wasn’t much space between my chair and the one behind me. Despite my best efforts, I bumped the guy when I was sitting down. I turned around to apologize when my eyes fell on Marnie, the other occupant at the table. Marnie was the town real estate agent and the woman responsible for selling me the lodge.
Normally, I would’ve been grateful for all she’d done for me because she’d gone out of her way to send me plenty of pictures and answer any questions I had. As it turned out though, she hadn’t really been doing me any favors. The pictures of the lodge she’d sent me were at least a decade old and she’d conveniently forgotten to tell me it needed a total renovation. She didn’t burn any daylight cashing the check, though. It was my own fault for being so naive and buying a house sight unseen, but as far as I was concerned, she was a scam artist.
As soon as Marnie saw me, she dropped her gaze and started fidgeting with her phone. “Excuse me,” she said to the guy across from her. “I just have to check in with my office.” She hastily got up and scurried away.
I debated warning the man to run while he still had both his money and his sanity, but decided against it. He did look grumpy because I’d bumped him though. “I’m so sorry,” I said, “The chairs are closer together than I realized.”
The guy barely acknowledged me, just waved his fork as he chomped on a mouthful of food.
I rolled my eyes and took my seat across from Scout, shaking my head. “Some people.”
“So what can I get you guys to drink?” Dee asked.
“An iced tea for me,” I said as I picked up the menu and began thumbing through it.
“Coffee for me,” Scout answered.
“Coming right up.” Dee scampered off.
A chair scraped across the floor behind me. “So, where were we?” Marnie asked in her pert, sugary-sweet tone.
“You were going to hurry this deal along so I could get out of this godforsaken town and back to civilization,” the man said around a mouthful of food.
“So your boss just wants this as a vacation home?” Marnie asked.
“Yeah. It’s not like anybody would move here to live. Not willingly, anyway. About all this town is good for is vacationing. And only if it’s brief and you don’t have to stay at the local roach motel.”
Marnie gave a nervous laugh. “Well, I submitted the offer to the sellers and now it’s entirely in their hands. There’s nothing I can do until I hear back from them.”
“Fabulous,” the guy replied, and it didn’t take a genius to pick out the sarcasm.
“Here you go.” Dee placed our drinks down in front of us. “So what can I get you guys to eat?”
I glanced at Scout as I closed my menu, then up to Dee.
“Is there any meatloaf on the menu tonight? Rumor has it, it’s the best in five counties.”
Dee laughed. “There is and it is.”
“Then hit me. Mashed potatoes and green beans as sides, please.”
Scout handed his menu to Dee. “I’ll take the same.”
“I can’t wait for you to try it. And save room for dessert. I have a little sumthin-sumthin whipped up. I can’t let Scott hog the whole spotlight!” she said with a wink.
“You bet,” I said. “You know me. I’m an eat dessert first kinda girl, so you won’t have to twist my arm.”
“Well just don’t forget.” A glass crashed to the ground behind her and she cringed. “I better go before mayhem and mischief converge to put me in the poor house.”
Scout’s phone rang and he glanced at the screen. He frowned, then gave me an apologetic glance. “I’m sorry but I need to take this. I bought a bull, and this is the shipper.”
He slid his finger across the screen to answer, then got up and headed toward the front door, leaving me alone to really look around. The café hadn’t changed much in appearance, other than the fact it was almost filled to capacity and had new booths. That wasn’t what I’d been expecting at all, but I was glad for it. Dee deserved for something to go right for her, and it seemed she was finally getting her break.
Behind me, Marnie muttered something I couldn’t quite hear. Apparently, her dinner partner wasn’t pleased with it. She’d probably shown him the real pics of his place now that he’d put an offer in on it.
“I think we’re done here,” he growled, sliding his chair back and bumping me so hard my tea sloshed.
Anger bubbled up through me when no apology was immediately forthcoming. “Excuse you,” I said as I turned in my chair to face the man. I wasn’t generally confrontational, but holy crap on a cracker.
He cut his eyes at me but did have the grace to look abashed. “Sorry,” he said, wadding up his napkin and tossing it on the plate. He shot Marnie one final glare, then stomped out of the restaurant.
I turned toward her. “Another happy client, I see,” I said, smirking. She glowered at me but didn’t say anything, so I turned and sat back down, swabbing up the spilled tea with my napkin. Scott came back smiling, but it faltered when he saw my expression. I quickly schooled it back into something more befitting good dinner company.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
I waved him off. “Yeah. Is everything okay with your new cow?”
He smiled. “Bull. And yeah, he’s on the way.”
Dee showed up with her arms laden with plates. “Prepare to be amazed,” she said, sliding the plates in front of us. If the smell was anything to go by, I was in for a treat.
Conversation petered out as we dug in, and for the first time ever, probably, I had a hard time setting aside meatloaf to leave room for dessert. Once I took my first bite of the chocolate caramel lava cake and homemade espresso ice cream, I was glad I did though.
We’d almost finished with dessert when the sheriff pushed through the front door and motioned for Dee. She hustled over to him, smiling, but that didn’t last more than two seconds once he started talking. Her shoulders rose and fell with a deep sigh, and she motioned toward the kitchen. Gabe took off in that direction, and she skittered back to us.
“What was that all about?” I asked, wondering if it would be rude to lick the remnants of the sauce off my dessert plate.
“Oh, nothing,” she said, flapping her hand, a note of hysteria in her voice. “Just my one and only star c
hef being questioned about the murder is all.”
She pulled a chair over from the table beside us then collapsed onto it.
“What?” I said, not quite connecting the dots. “Does he think Jeremy did it?”
“I don’t know,” she said with a heavy sigh. “I didn’t have a chance to ask him; I just overheard Gabe asking him where he was. All I know is he’s a good guy and I know he didn’t do it.”
“I’m sure Gabe will see reason and figure it out,” I said, right before Gabe pushed back out the kitchen door, scowling as he stomped out of the cafe.
“Or maybe he won’t,” she said, getting up and practically running to the front.
My heart sank. Dee had finally gotten things back on track and in two minutes flat, the universe had blown her life up again. That really sucked.
Chapter Eight
ALL DEE HAD MANAGED to find out was that Gabe had asked about Jeremy’s whereabouts and had done his level best to catch him in an inconsistency. Jeremy had no idea why he’d drawn the sheriff’s attention. I reminded Dee that if the sheriff had anything concrete, he would have probably arrested Jeremy on the spot.
“Remember when he thought you may have killed Fiona?” I asked.
“How could I forget?” she replied, her voice glum. “What about it?”
“Gabe was convinced you did it, but he still didn’t take you to jail.”
“Yeah, but if we hadn’t stumbled upon the real murderer, who knows what might have happened? I’m not saying he’s not a good cop—I’m just saying bad things happen to good people, and it wouldn’t be hard to build a case against just about anybody in this situation. Frank was mean to just about everybody in town at one point or another, and he ripped a bunch of people off, too.” She glanced at him, worry in her eyes. “Plus, Jeremy smacked him, and he doesn’t exactly have a history of being able to hold his temper, especially when it comes to that family.”