by Amy Lillard
“You feel guilty, don’t you?” She didn’t need his pity.
He ducked his head closer to her so that no one else could hear. “You were a virgin, and I took that from you.”
Jessie straightened, pride stiffening her backbone. “Listen, cowboy, you didn’t take anything. I gave it to you— willingly, knowingly. Big difference.”
“But—” he started.
She shook her head.
“Do you have to work tomorrow?” he asked.
She wanted to lie and tell him yes, but he would surely be at Cattle Days the entire weekend. He would know if she was absent. “No.”
“Then come walk around here with me. The pie-eating contest is tomorrow. And the talent show. It’ll be fun.”
She shook her head, sorely tempted by his offer. But she wasn’t about to be any man’s pity date. She pushed to her feet. “Thanks for the offer, Seth, but I’m not ready to date again. And I don’t know if I ever will be.”
* * *
Saturday rolled around. The last day of the Cattle Days celebration. Even though the house was blocks from Main Street, Jessie could hear the music from the bandstand. The talent show was the best part of Cattle Days, aside from the Restaurant Wars, which was the highlight and pinnacle of the three-day celebration. The four main restaurant owners competed against each other every year, cooking a specified dish and serving it to the town on Saturday night. Everyone in attendance cast one vote for their favorite restaurant. Winner got a check for a thousand dollars and a plaque, but even more important, bragging rights for the next year.
Jessie managed to avoid the festivities all day Friday, but by Saturday she couldn’t keep away any longer.
“I’ll be back in a little while, Meemaw,” she said, around three in the afternoon. “Do you want me to bring you back anything? They’re cooking chili.”
Her grandmother scoffed. “It’s a hundred and hell outside, and they’re cooking up hot peppers.”
Jessie shrugged. It was Texas after all. “I’ll take that as a no.” She plopped her hat on her head. “You have everything you need before I leave?”
“Get on, girl. You’re messing up my stories.”
Jessie rolled her eyes, careful not to let Meemaw see. “I’ll be back around nine.”
Meemaw harrumphed, and Jessie started for the door.
She was shutting it behind her when her grandmother hollered, “Bring me some of Kora Mae’s chili. Last time I ate at the Chuck Wagon, it about killed me.”
Jessie smiled and didn’t bother to mention that it’d been fifteen years ago.
“Sure thing,” she said. Grin still in place, she made her way down the porch steps and into town.
As she walked through the crowd, Jessie enjoyed her time doing nothing. With so many people milling around, she didn’t feel that everyone in town was looking and pointing quite so much. Well, they might have been, but they weren’t looking and pointing at her. There were too many other sights at Cattle Days to see than the town’s number-one troublemaker.
Tomorrow the cleanup would begin. Tonight was just about fun.
“I knew you couldn’t stay away.”
Jessie turned to see Seth lounging against one of the thick metal poles holding up one of the voting tents.
He looked delicious in his crisp jeans and black polo shirt embroidered with the official crest of Page County.
“No date?”
He flashed her a quick smile. “You had your chance yesterday, remember?”
“Puh-lease.” She went to turn away, only to have him fall in step with her. “Are you here in an official capacity?”
“Don’t say anything, but word around town is Kora Mae claims that Manny may have tried to steal her secret recipe, and she’s gunning to sabotage his entry this year.”
“Sabotage how?”
Seth shrugged. “Who knows? But that’s why I’m here.”
Jessie shook her head. “You don’t really think . . .”
“No, but if I’m not here and Manny beats Kora Mae, or even the other way around, then things might get ugly.”
“Small towns.” Jessie sighed.
“What’s wrong with small towns?”
“How long do you have?” she asked.
“Cattle Creek’s not that bad. In fact, Cattle Creek is just about the best. Where else can you walk around on a Saturday night, shooting the bull with the sheriff and eating homemade chili out of foam coffee cups?” He handed her a cup of Kora Mae’s special recipe.
“Thanks,” she said.
“I’d sure appreciate your vote, Sheriff,” Kora Mae called. She gave him a big wave.
He took a bite and gave her a thumbs-up. “You got it.”
She smiled and up-patted the back of her hair. “Thanks, hon.”
“How does she keep her hair like that?” Jessie wondered aloud. Kora Mae had moved to Cattle Creek aeons ago from Maryland. As far as Jessie knew, she was the only Texas “hon” ever to exist.
“Word at the drugstore is they order Aqua Net by the case just for her.”
Jessie laughed and took a bite of the chili. “It’s good,” she said, then coughed as it scorched the back of her throat. “But hot. Hot. Hot.” She fanned her mouth as if that alone could take away the burn.
Seth grabbed her a shot of milk from one of the drink tables. Jessie downed it in a quick gulp but had a feeling her esophagus would never be the same.
Side by side they walked through the people all milling around, eating chili, and drinking beer. Lots of other people were gulping milk when the peppers got too hot.
“You ready to try Manny’s?” Seth asked.
“I’ve had Manny’s chili. Many times.”
“Yeah, but I heard that he was trying something new for this competition.”
“Like Kora Mae’s recipe?”
He laughed. “Some exotic pepper. Though he won’t tell anyone what it is until after the judging.”
“Competition is rough this year.”
“Don’t you know it?” He grabbed them each a cup of Manny’s chili. They tasted it and looked at each other.
“Is it just me or does this taste just like—”
“Kora Mae’s.” Seth nodded. “It’s going to be a long night.”
“Hola, Sheriff.” Manny stepped out from behind his table and offered Seth a hand to shake. “How is it?” The honky-tonk owner asked.
“Good. Good,” Seth replied as Jessie reached for the milk to calm the heat of the peppers.
Manny winked and nudged Seth in the side. “I hope I can count on your vote this year.”
Seth gave him a quick nod and a smile. “Of course.”
Jessie whipped her head around to see if he was serious. Didn’t he just tell Kora Mae that he would vote for her?
“Gracias.” Manny clasped Seth’s hand and shook it some more. “I really appreciate you, Sheriff.”
Jessie waited until they had walked out of Manny’s earshot before turning to Seth. “Did I just hear you say that you were voting for Manny’s chili?”
“Yep.” Seth tipped his hat to a passing couple.
“And before that you told Kora Mae that you would vote for her entry?”
“I did.”
She stopped so suddenly he was ten feet away before he realized she wasn’t next to him.
He backtracked to her side. “Is there a problem?”
“You can’t vote for both of them.”
He nodded. “And I don’t. I vote for all of them,” he said. “It’s the only way to keep the peace.”
He grinned and continued on to Chuck’s tent.
Jessie shook her head and tagged along, feeling as if she had learned more about Seth in this last hour than she had her entire life.
Seth accepted the cups of chili from
Chuck and handed one to Jessie.
“So, what about Kora Mae and Manny?”
Seth smiled, and she melted like chocolate in the summertime. “I’m hoping that it was just a coincidence and praying that one of the others wins.”
She laughed. The man was too charming by far.
He took a bite of the chili and looked over to where Chuck waited expectantly. “I think we have a winner.”
Chuck beamed as only an overweight middle-aged man in a dirty apron could.
“You are bad, Seth Langston.”
“No, I’m good.”
She almost choked on the bite of chili.
Seth pounded her on the back until she managed to recover.
“Nothing like a little self-confidence.”
He just grinned, and they moved on to the last booth.
Juan Garcia was owner and chef at the Cantina and current reigning champion of the Restaurant Wars.
Seth got them both a cup of chili and promised to vote for Juan.
“I’m going to laugh if you get caught stuffing the ballot box.”
“It’s okay. I know the sheriff.”
“Very funny.”
“So, who gets your vote?” Seth asked.
Jessie scraped the last of the chili from the cup and raised it in salute. “Juan, definitely.”
She took her ballot and marked it for Juan, then stuffed it in the nearest collection box.
Sometime tonight, after everyone went home, the mayor and his crew would tally the votes, and tomorrow after church, the winner would be announced in the town square.
“We can only hope that the name of the winner doesn’t leak like last year,” Seth said. “With all the talk of stealing recipes and secret peppers, there may be riots.”
Jessie shook her head but chuckled all the same.
She enjoyed the night, just walking next to Seth doing nothing more than eating chili and making small talk. It was almost as if they were back to where they had started from before that hot afternoon. Well, almost. They were back to themselves with a new, sexy charge in the air. But getting involved with Seth was an even worse idea than staying involved with Chase. She was breaking ties with this town, and she could hardly wait until she saw the last of it. But tonight she had seen it from Seth’s point of view. All the little eccentricities that made Cattle Creek what it was.
When she heard him talk about the town, she wondered why she ever wanted to leave.
“You ready to head home?” Seth asked. Night had fallen while they ambled around the cook-off. The strings of minibulbs lit the area, looking like tiny lightning bugs in flight.
“I guess I better. I told Meemaw I’d be home by nine.”
He looked up at the indigo sky. “I think you’re already late. Do you want a ride?”
“Thanks, but I’ll walk.” The last thing she needed to do was to get into a car with him.
“Suit yourself,” he said, but fell into step next to her.
“You don’t have to walk me home.”
“I think my mother would disagree with that. But I also want to.”
As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t tell him no. It didn’t help that she wanted tonight to go on forever. She shrugged. “Suit yourself,” she said, echoing his earlier sentiment.
Together they started toward Larkspur Lane. The farther they got from Main, the quieter the streets became. The lights and sounds of the Cattle Day celebration faded to almost nothing.
“Well, here we are,” Seth said.
“I had a good time tonight,” she said, only then realizing that the words were part of date conversation and this wasn’t a date. “Thanks for walking me home.” She spun around and started toward the porch.
Seth measured her stride for stride.
She made it to the door before she turned to face him. “Seth?”
He hooked one finger under her chin and lifted her mouth to his.
His kiss was sweet, but controlled. His hands trembled as he held her in place. It was a shadow of the kiss they had shared the afternoon of the kiss that had started it all. But it held promise, as if to say “there’s more where that came from.” And she wanted more. Heaven help her, she did.
But for how long? Until she saved enough money to get out of town? That could be months, and if she kept kissing Seth Langston, she might be completely in love with him by then. She would be brokenhearted and Seth would move on to the next one of his casserole groupies.
She stepped back away from him, when she wanted nothing less than to melt into him completely.
“Good night, Seth.” She turned away to let herself into the house, but Seth stopped her, planting one last kiss on her lips.
“Good night,” he said, and then he was gone.
Chapter Eight
Jessie!” her grandmother called. “That Langston boy is out front.”
Jessie came out of her darkroom, coaching herself not to run to the doorway. “Seth?” she asked as she peeked out the front window.
All day Sunday she had relived their kiss from the night before. And the last little peck he gave her, as if to tell her that she wasn’t running the relationship, he was.
But it wasn’t Seth. Chase stood in her driveway having just got out of his newly repaired pickup truck.
It was Monday afternoon. Another week had passed. Another week of avoiding Seth, which was proving to be impossible, counting and recounting her escape fund, and making sure that her grandmother took her medication.
Nothing had changed. Not really. He’d kissed her and walked with her at Cattle Days. Nothing overly special. So why did her life feel so complicated?
Normally she would have run down the porch steps and flung herself into Chase’s arms, but not today. Not after the past few weeks.
The screen door slammed behind her as she came out to greet him. “Does this mean you’re talking to me again?”
“Hey to you too, Jessie. The truck does look nice. Bill does a good job.”
She shoved her hands into her front pockets, more than uncomfortable with the situation.
He smiled that devil-may-care, crooked grin that had melted her heart since day one. “Aren’t you going to come give me a kiss?”
She shrugged. “That depends.”
“On?”
“Whether or not you still want to kill me.”
“Oh, Jessie, you know how it is.”
She dipped her chin and made her way to his side.
He wrapped one arm around her and pulled her close, planting a quick kiss on the top of her head.
“I thought we might catch a show.”
“You’re staying?” She craned her head back to look at him.
“Just for a while. I’ve got to be in Denver tomorrow night.”
“Oh.”
“So, you up for a movie?”
She shook her head. “Can we just go someplace and talk?”
The shadow of a frown crossed his face, but just as quickly as it came it disappeared again. “Sure.”
“Let me get my hat.”
Chase smiled. “That’s my girl.”
His girl? Jessie ran back into the house to get her knockoff Stetson as Chase waited outside. Was she Chase’s girl? Dang, she was confused.
“Meemaw,” she called as she let herself in. “I’m going out for a bit.”
A fit of coughing was her only response.
“Meemaw?” Jessie grabbed her hat and made her way into the parlor. Her grandmother’s cough grew worse with each passing day. Jessie knew the prognosis was bleak, but if her grandmother would take her medicine, she would at least be more comfortable. And maybe then her cough wouldn’t rack her frail frame until Jessie herself wondered how her grandmother could stand such torture.
Meemaw was doubled over in he
r chair, her breath heaving, as Drew Carey asked for bids in the Showcase Showdown.
Jessie grabbed the bottle of pills and a glass of water, then knelt at her grandmother’s side.
“I’m not dead, you know,” she said without sitting up.
Only worry kept Jessie from rolling her eyes. “I know that, Meemaw. Now take your pills.”
Her grandmother slowly pushed herself upright and took the medication that Jessie offered. “What was that you said?”
“I’m going out for a bit.” Maybe she shouldn’t go. Her grandmother’s color wasn’t good. Maybe she should tell Chase they would have to postpone their talk until later.
Or maybe she was just being a coward.
“I’ll be home in a little while, okay?”
“Fine, fine,” she groused. “I’m a grown woman, Jessica Elizabeth. I think I can manage by myself for a couple of hours.”
“Yes, Meemaw.” Jessie donned her hat and started for the door, pausing for a moment to look back at her grandmother before heading out to Chase’s truck.
“Is Manny’s okay?” Chase asked as she climbed into the cab next to him.
“Sure.” Jessie would have preferred to eat at the Chuck Wagon, but she knew that it was too far in town for Chase. He seemed to stay on the fringes, frequent the places closest to the highway so he would have the quickest means of escape.
How many times had she ridden next to Chase in his shiny red truck? Countless. How many times had he kissed her? She couldn’t recall. But it had been a while. Funny, but as much as she was Chase’s girl, he seemed to be keeping her at a distance these days.
She leaned toward him, across the console, pointing to something out the driver’s-side window as an excuse to get closer. Chase leaned to the opposite side.
But did that prove anything?
How many times had they gone out in the last few months? How many times had he asked her?
She had asked him to the Sadie Hawkins Dance. But that was sort of the point. And she had asked him to go to last year’s Cattle Days Picnic. He had asked her to the movies a couple of times, but it seemed that more and more their relationship had become increasing platonic.