“Do you think he’s legit?” Lucy asked Tessa, who had cleaned up several pie pans while Sam worked, and had come to stand at Lucy’s side, blatantly enjoying the sight of their new company.
“What?” Tessa asked, forcing her eyes away from the new guy with concentrated effort.
Lucy rolled her eyes.
“I said, do you think he’s legit? Do you think he’s really a chef?”
“I just think he’s pretty,” Tessa said, resting her elbows on the table with her chin in her hands.
Lucy jabbed her friend in the side, but stopped short of disagreeing. She wasn’t blind, after all.
“Come on. I just let a total stranger take over the kitchen, which I’m indirectly responsible for thanks to Axel the ass, and all you can think about is how he looks in that suit.” Even as she spoke, Lucy knew she was just voicing her own thoughts. Apparently Tess caught on.
“Hey, sister. I said nothing about that suit. I’m just appreciating the scenery. It’s nice to see a man dressed up, rather than the rest of the scientists in their twenty-year-old khakis and plaid.” Her eyes gleamed. Tessa teased them, but Lucy knew her best friend loved the geniuses just as much as she did. “Besides, you should have seen the way he was ogling you earlier. That man couldn’t pull his eyes away, and, you know I love you and all, but you’re a mess today, so he must have some real interest.”
Lucy shook her head, used to her friend’s playfulness, and it was Tessa’s turn to roll her eyes before pointing a thumb in Sam’s direction.
“Anyway, what’s the worst that could happen? We’ve been watching him the whole time. The dude washed his hands. And maybe he’ll be able to calm the starving masses outside the door. As far as I can see, he looks like he’s got everything under control.”
“What do you reckon he’s doing here, though? He’s a little too timely, don’t you think?”
“Maybe applying for Axel’s job, like he said. He’s a handsome stranger in Peach Leaf, Luce. We could use a little mystery around here, so don’t be so quick to kill it.”
“But I didn’t post the position yet. I haven’t had time,” Lucy said.
Tessa raised her palms in exasperation.
“I don’t know what you want me to tell you, sweetheart. Maybe he’s an angel dropped right out of the dadgum sky,” Tessa said, her face filled with more conviction than Lucy was comfortable with, considering the woman’s ridiculous suggestion.
Lucy didn’t believe in angels, or miracles, or chance, or luck. She believed in what she knew, in what she could see and touch and quantify. She believed in hard data and facts. Although something inside her told her that Sam Haynes was okay. He didn’t seem like an ax murderer, and he dressed decently and had showered at least. Not that Lucy was an expert on appearances, but he seemed all right. And there were those sandwiches and cookies. So far, she had no valid reason not to give him a shot.
She would consider this an experiment, and, if it didn’t work out, she’d start with a posting in the Peach Leaf Gazette. Jobs were in short supply in their small town, and there were a lot of folks looking for work. If she couldn’t find a trained chef to take over full-time, she was sure someone could be taught to manage breakfast, at least.
But then, who would teach that person?
Lucy hung her head.
She really didn’t have much of a choice at the moment. Sam looked better and better for the job as she weighed her limited alternatives and came up with a whole load of nothing.
Tessa was right. Not that Lucy would voice as much.
“I suppose he deserves a chance. But, if this plan doesn’t work out, I’m coming at you first.”
“The only reason you’ll come to me is to thank me,” Tessa said, crossing her arms with an air of confidence and giving Lucy a fake angry look, complete with her tongue stuck out.
Sometimes it was as if not a moment had passed, and they were still in second grade, with shy, bookish Lucy holding up walls at school dances while Tessa partied the nights away, both of them carrying bruises inside that no one else could see.
With the exception of a few minor details, not much had altered. It was just one of the many ups and downs of living the whole of one’s life in the same small town.
Copyright © 2015 by Amy Woods
ISBN-13: 9781460343081
Romancing the Rancher
Copyright © 2015 by Stacy Cornell
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Romancing the Rancher (The Pirelli Brothers) Page 22