by LuAnn McLane
“Mama’s rules, Benny.”
His answer was to cling to Garret tighter.
“I say, little chap, I think you must mind Auntie Myra. And naps are actually quite nice.”
“You talk funny,” Ben said, and pulled back to give Garret a curious look.
“Ben, be polite.”
“Well, you smell like strawberries,” Garret said.
“I know.” Ben grinned and showed Garret a fistful of slightly squished strawberries. “Want one?”
“No, thanks,” Garret said, but Ben wasn’t having no for an answer and smashed one into Garret’s closed mouth.
“Benjamin McKenna!” Aunt Myra exclaimed, and tried to tug Ben away from Garret, but he clung like a little monkey to a tree. “I’m gonna tell your daddy,” she threatened, and that seemed to give Ben pause, but after a second he went back to force-feeding Garret. “Ben, stop smashing strawberries in his face.”
McKenna . . . it suddenly dawned on Garret that the little rascal was the son of former baseball great Ty McKenna, who was part owner of the Cricket Creek Cougars, the local pro baseball team in town. Maggie had told him about the baseball stadium built by baseball great and resident hero Noah Falcon a few years ago when financial woes hit Cricket Creek hard. He remembered now that Addison’s uncle, Mitch Monroe, was a silent partner in the baseball complex along with several other developments in and around Cricket Creek. The small town certainly had drawn quite a few heavy hitters along with Garret’s father.
“I think you might be getting yourself into a spot of trouble, Ben,” Garret added, but Ben didn’t seem to care. Garret could relate and had to chuckle. He couldn’t remember when he’d held a guy so small, and he found the little chap quite amusing.
“Don’t want a naaaaap!” Ben wailed, putting extra emphasis on the p.
“Well, it’s way past your naptime anyway,” Aunt Myra grumbled. “So just come with me so we can get a bath and wash up for supper.”
“Don’t want peas or cawits, just sta-waw-baa-wees.”
“I’ll let your mama deal with that battle,” Myra said, and was finally able to pry Ben from around Garret’s neck.
“So sorry,” Myra said, and then laughed. “Oh goodness, you have strawberries all over your face.”
Ben looked at Garret and giggled. “You look silly.”
“I get that a lot,” Garret said, and reached down onto the counter for a napkin from a silver container. He tugged a few napkins loose and started wiping his face.
“What’s your name?” Ben wanted to know.
“Garret.”
“Ga-wit, you wanna play?” Ben asked, and Garret felt an odd pang of longing that he couldn’t explain. Other than his sisters he had never been particularly fond of being around children, but he thought Ben was completely cute in a rascally little way.
“Ben, Garret came into the diner to get a bite to eat, not to play.”
“I wanna eat wiff him.” Ben pointed at Garret.
Garret thought it might be fun to eat with little Ben, but Aunt Myra didn’t look too pleased about his request. Besides, they might just end up skipping peas and going straight for dessert. Addison had once told him that he suffered from the Peter Pan syndrome, and although he was trying hard to grow up, he often found it difficult. “I would love to eat with you, Ben, but I’m getting takeaway.”
“Takeaway?” Ben angled his curly head in question. “What are you gonna take away?”
“My dinner.”
Myra looked at him kind of funny too. “Oh, you mean takeout,” she said, and chuckled. “The takeout, I mean takeaway menu is on the back. Oh, and dessert is on the house for your trouble. Ben’s mama is owner of Wine and Diner and I was in charge of Ben while she baked strawberry pies. I’ll pack a slice for you.”
“May I trouble you for two slices?” he asked, thinking of when Mattie came over later for their joint lessons. “I have a friend coming over later. I’ll be happy to pay for it.”
“Sure thing and don’t worry about it. Do you know what you want or do you need a minute or two?”
Garret glanced at the menu. “Oh, wow, you have shepherd’s pie?”
“We just added it last week. My niece Jessica makes it from scratch from an authentic recipe. You won’t be sorry.”
“Brilliant. Add a side salad please.”
“Salads are yucky,” Ben informed him. “’Specially maaaters.” He made a face.
“Maters?”
“Tomatoes,” Myra translated.
“Ah, I used to think so too, but I like them now,” Garret said. “But I’m with you and strawberries are the very best.”
“Want more, Ga-wit?” Ben extended the hand that held the remaining red pulp.
“No, you may have it. I’ll wait for your mum’s pie.”
“Mum . . .” Ben giggled. “You’re funny.”
“Thank you, Ben. I like being funny. I think you’re funny too.”
Myra tipped her head to the side. “Oh, wait. You’re Garret Ruleman. I just heard that you recently moved here. Well, welcome to Cricket Creek! We’re all fond of your father. Nice guy and likes to give back to the community.”
“Thank you. I’m working with him at the record studio.”
Myra shook her head. “This little old town is suddenly chock-full of interesting people, and I do believe you qualify for that category.”
Garret grinned. “Don’t believe everything you’ve read about me.”
“No worries.” Myra waved a hand in his direction. “I make up my own mind about people.” She looked at little Ben. “And children are a good judge of character, and you seem to have Ben’s vote in your corner already. So welcome!”
“Thank you, Myra. I’m sure you’ll see me here quite often. I’ve heard that the food is fantastic.”
“Why, thank you. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be out with your takeaway in a jiffy.”
“Thanks,” Garret said, and when he did a little spin on the stool, Ben tossed his curly head back and laughed. Garret liked the sound and he was a bit sad when the little chap went toward the kitchen with his auntie. When the double doors swung open he watched Ben scramble out of Myra’s arms and rush over to his mum, who bent down and braced herself for the collision.
Garret settled back and read through the menu that was full of comfort food but also had a nice selection of healthy options. He smiled when he saw “stone soup” along with a sidebar of the fable about feeding the hungry. For every bowl of stone soup ordered, Wine and Diner pledged a dollar to the local food bank. He thought about Mattie’s charity for literacy at her shop and couldn’t help being impressed at how people in this little town looked after one another. No wonder his father decided to settle down here! And Garret did feel a sense of pride that his father was obviously respected as one of the community who gave back. Garret considered the comment Myra made about his father being such a nice guy. There was a time when long-haired, leather-clad, hard rocker Rick Ruleman would have been called anything but nice.
Garret had been blown away when his father recently confessed that his years as a hard-core rocker had been an act that was just short of a total sham. Garret never would have guessed that his father’s music genre of choice had always been bluegrass and blues, and that his first record was supposed to be a ballad. When the head-banging version that his record label had insisted upon became a huge hit, the stage was set and he’d been pigeonholed into performing hard rock for the rest of his career.
Garret understood. His own bad boy image still followed him around and was so hard to shake. He too had been living a life totally different from his true self. Garret blew out a sigh. What he wanted now more than anything was respect for his musical talent, but after acting the fool for so many years he knew that day might never come.
A moment later Myra came pushing thro
ugh the double doors, carrying a big plastic bag. “Here you go, Garret,” she announced with a friendly smile. “When Ben wouldn’t stop talking about feeding you strawberries, Jessica decided you deserved an entire pie.”
“Thanks, but little Ben wasn’t a bother. I found him quite charming.”
“Well, you’ve got a friend for life.”
“Good to know.” Garret chuckled, thinking that might be a first.
“Just follow me over to the register and I’ll ring you up.”
Garret noticed that the dinner crowd was starting to file into the restaurant and he was glad he’d decided to head back to his cabin. Although it was widely known that he was on friendly terms with Addison, Garret was well aware that he was still cast in the role of villain by many. Mattie was going to have to do a bang-up job of repairing his image and teaching him how to fit into small-town life. “Keep the change and put it in the stone soup charity.”
“Thanks, Garret. And, again, welcome to Cricket Creek. We’re glad to have you.”
“Next time I come in I want to dine with Ben,” Garret said. “Just hold the salad and we might eat dessert first.”
Myra laughed. “You’re gonna fit in just fine,” she said as if somehow knowing it was going to be a bit of a challenge. “But don’t go changin’ that accent of yours. Girls around here are going to go gaga over it.”
“Well, Mattie told me that my American accent sounds like a bad impression of John Wayne, so I think I’d better stick to my English one with a bit of California tossed in.”
“Oh, you’ve met cute little Mattie Mayfield,” Myra said, and gave him a long look.
“I bought the cabin next to the marina. We’ve become . . . friends.”
“Well, now . . .” Myra nodded slowly. “I haven’t seen her in a coon’s age. Bring her in for dinner sometime soon. Feisty little thing, but her smile can light up a room, don’t you think?”
“You must know her well. I’ll do that,” Garret promised, and that seemed to please Myra. He’d been warned by Maggie that matchmaking was like a sport here in Cricket Creek, and if he wasn’t mistaken by the gleam in Myra’s eye, that was exactly what she was trying to do. Fat chance of that happening, Garret thought. Mattie had her sights set on Colby. The best he could hope for was friendship, and Mattie was probably much better off with a good old boy like her brothers. While Colby had acted like a jackass last night, Garret figured that the big clod was a good guy or Mattie wouldn’t be interested in him. Coming between what Mattie had wanted for so long would just be shitty on his part. And he was over being the bad boy. Being the hero felt so damn sweet and he’d decided to do his best to keep it that way.
Dominick the swashbuckling pirate would toss her over his shoulder and have wild sex with her, Garret thought with a laugh. But then he pictured himself doing this with Mattie and had to turn the air-conditioning in his car up on high. Although he was attracted to her, Garret couldn’t remember when he’d had so much fun talking to a woman. He’d shared some of that with Addison, but he’d been too self-centered back then to realize that friendship was every bit as important in a relationship as sex. That being said, he did wish she would have stayed the night at his place so he could have seen her sleep rumpled and sexy in the morning. And when he’d found her lacy bra and panties in the dryer, he couldn’t chase the image of her wearing them from his brain.
After Garret arrived at the cabin he opened the bag filled to the brim with delicious-smelling food. “Holy cow,” he said when he lifted the lid on the shepherd’s pie and decided to text Mattie and invite her to come over early to share the huge dinner. He told himself that it was just because he had so much food and not that he was trying to spend a bit more time with her. He stared at his phone and waited for the answer. When she accepted he blew out a sigh of relief and then shook his head. “Back off, Ruleman,” he muttered, and opened the bottle of bourbon he’d bought because Mattie said that was what she preferred. After pouring two fingers into a cocktail glass, he added some ice and gave it a sip. “Nice,” he said, and let the smooth Woodford Reserve slide down his throat, leaving a trail of warmth in its wake. All he had to do was keep his hands to himself and teach her the finer points of being feminine.
Easy enough.
“Right. . . .” He took a bigger swig of the bourbon and sighed. Who was he fooling?
But Garret liked the feeling of this newfound integrity. He wasn’t about to fall back into his take-what-you-want way of living. He would just have to power his way through dinner and then teach her how to entice Colby into asking her out on a date. The thought had him staring into his glass as if the amber liquid held all the answers.
Garret inhaled a deep breath. Flicking his wrist, he made the ice clink against the glass.
Surely he could do it. He took another sip.
But he damn well didn’t want to.
10
Luck Be a Lady
“YOO-HOO, MATTIE?” LAURA LEE CALLED. “ARE YOU IN your bedroom?”
“Yeah, come on back here,” Mattie shouted, and then angled her head at the mirror. She gave her reflection a critical once-over. She wasn’t used to wearing dresses except for special occasions and she felt silly going to Garret’s for dinner and her how-to-be-a-lady lessons this dressed up.
When Laura Lee entered the room, she gave Mattie a low whistle. “Well, now.”
“I think I’m going to change into jeans. I feel silly.”
“What you should feel is beautiful, because you are! Don’t you even think about changing, Mattie Mayfield! Lavender is such a good color for you.” Laura Lee came up beside her and smiled into the mirror.
“That’s what Violet told me. Laura Lee, I have to admit that I had such fun trying on dresses today at her shop. Of course, it helped that she kept oohing and aahing at every single thing I tried on.”
“Oh, sweetie, you’d be pretty wearing a darn paper sack. You’re cute in jeans, but you are simply stunning in a dress.” She reached up and touched Mattie’s hair. “And the French twist is nothing short of elegant.”
“I looked up how to do it online. It was actually very simple.”
“Garret is going to be blown away.”
“But I feel silly. Like I’m way over-the-top.”
“But it’s part of your lessons. He told you to get dressed up like you were going out, right?”
Mattie nodded. “But I guess that’s the problem. This is just for the lessons. Laura Lee, I think I’ve wanted him to kiss me since the moment I met him. How crazy is that?”
“Not crazy at all.”
“It’s so frustrating. And we talked and talked last night about everything under the sun. He’s so easy to be around.”
“Because you like him.”
“And he listens like he cares.”
“I’m sure he does care, Mattie.”
“I could have wrung his fool neck when he jumped over the railing to come to my rescue.”
“But you liked it, right?”
Mattie smiled. “It was like a scene from a romance novel, for sure. Except the rescue didn’t end with a hot, steamy kiss but a sprained ankle instead.”
“Maybe it should have. Perhaps you should have encouraged him a bit.”
“I guess I’m not so good at the whole flirting thing.”
Laura Lee arched one eyebrow. “Hmm . . .”
“I know that look. What?”
“I’m just . . . thinking.”
“Thinking what?” Mattie asked, and then she got it before Laura Lee could answer. “Wait. Are you suggesting that I ask Garret to teach me . . . things like kissing? How to be, like, se-duc-tive?”
Laura Lee widened her eyes and put a hand to her chest. “Child, I would never suggest such a thing.”
“Right.” For a moment Mattie believed her, but when Laura Lee’s lips twitched
she gave herself away. “Wait. Should I?” She shook her head but felt a little thrill slide down her spine. “No . . . no, I couldn’t.”
Laura Lee lifted one shoulder. “Do you dare?”
“Did you just dare me?”
“I do believe I did.” Laura Lee pressed her lips together and shrugged.
“You know I can’t refuse a dare.”
Laura Lee chuckled. “It’s the Southern way, right?”
“How would I even go about voicing such a proposition? Oh God, my heart is just racing simply thinking about it.” She closed her eyes. “No. No, I can’t do it.”
Laura Lee put her hands on Mattie’s shoulders. “Open your eyes, Mattie.” When she did Laura Lee met her gaze in the mirror.
“Risk it for the biscuit?” Mattie whispered, and caught her bottom lip between her teeth.
“A kiss is a powerful thing. I’m thinking that if you do kiss Garret you’ll know if there are fireworks or if you simply have a passing crush.”
“I don’t care that he’s a celebrity of sorts, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“Are you kidding? I know you better than that, Mattie. But he is different and oh so charming. That in and of itself is exciting in a way you’ve probably not experienced before.”
Mattie nodded. “I know. I’ve already thought of that.”
“Look, I know that you’ve set your sights on Colby for so long that this sudden turn of events has to be somewhat emotional, sort of like giving up on a dream.”
“Before I even gave the dream a fair chance,” Mattie admitted softly. “Laura Lee, I’ve thought about all this. It’s just that Garret seems to always be on my mind these days instead of Colby. I can’t wait for the day to end so I can get to my lessons with him. When the door opens at Breakfast, Books, and Bait, I hope it’s him walking in. When he texted me to ask me to dinner before our lessons, my heart thudded so hard I thought if I looked down it would be doing one of those beating-out-of-my-chest things you see in a cartoon.”