Breakfast at the Honey Creek Café

by Jodi Thomas

  The only plaque on the wall was a diploma from UT.

  “You’re a lawyer?” Sam said the words aloud.

  The women stopped talking. Anna’s voice came fast and sharp. “Look, Stella, he can read.” Before he could answer, she added, “Is it that hard for you to believe that I’ve got an education?”

  “No, I’m just surprised. I would have guessed you were a social worker or something like that.”

  “Keep wandering, Preacher. Make yourself at home and try not to break anything.” The women went back to talking.

  An hour later Sam was sitting on the tiny porch with his legs hanging over the railing, when Anna came out. Walking out a few feet, she stared up at the stars. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

  He leaned his head sideways and looked inside. Stella was asleep on the table, correction, the guest bed. He straightened, in no hurry to go.

  “Yeah, I love the stars this far from town. To think there are folks who never get far enough from lights to see how crowded the heavens are.” He was looking at Anna now. She was far more interesting than the stars.

  Dang if she wasn’t growing on him. Anna had said all the right things to Stella. She’d calmed her down, told of her rights, and even made her laugh by describing Benjamin doing his own laundry.

  Sam kept his voice as low as she had. “I’m not as dumb as you think I am, Anna.”

  “I know,” she admitted. “I just came out to tell you that you can go. Stella’s staying with me for a few days. Do her a favor and don’t tell her brother where she is.”

  “I won’t say a word.”

  When she didn’t answer, he added, “I’ve figured you out, Anna. That quick wit is a defense. Strike before you get hit. Reject before you’re rejected. Right? Maybe you’ve been hurt and don’t want to let people close. Maybe you hate all men. Maybe I remind you of—”

  She moved so fast he barely had time to set the front legs of his chair down before she was nose-to-nose with him. He braced to be yelled at, but her voice came soft. “Don’t try to figure me out. Just stay out of my way.”

  If she’d been a man he might have shoved hard, but the porch light flickered in her eyes. Behind the anger was a pain so deep it might shatter her into a thousand pieces if she admitted it was there.

  Sam stood, climbed in his car, and drove away. All the way back to the church he told himself that he’d give Anna her space, but deep inside he knew he was lying.

  The fiery little redhead was the first woman he’d been attracted to since April Raine.

  Getting close to Anna might burn him more than any forest fire he’d ever been in.

  But if he could get close, it might be worth all the scorches he’d endure on the journey.

  Sunday

  Chapter 16

  9:00 a.m.

  Piper

  The clatter of pans in the kitchen below her room rattled Piper awake. As she rolled out of her covers she fell, her bottom hitting the floor hard.

  “Ohhh,” she whined as she gripped the timeworn settee that had served as her bed.

  Piper froze as all movement on the first floor below stopped. After a moment, she rubbed her bruised bottom and smiled. The staff would have another ghost story to tell this morning. She tried to be out of the house long before eight when the pastry and bread cooks came in. On Sundays they came in early to make enough for the after-church crowd.

  Piper had promised Jessica, the owner and her second cousin, that she would do her best to remain silent if anyone was downstairs, but sometimes she forgot. At first sweet Jessica had been annoyed by the resurgence of ghost stories, but she was more forgiving when that turned out to be good for business, drawing in traveling strangers.

  Piper and Jessica were the only two Mackenzie women under the age of sixty. They had to stick together. Officially Piper lived at Widows Park, but she liked her retreat on the second floor of the Honey Creek Café, and it also allowed her to watch over things after Jessica went home to her tiny farm where she raised most of the food used in the café.

  Piper stood up and kicked the settee for the poor night’s sleep it gave her. Speaking of strangers, there was one in her bed whom she needed to get out of not only the bed but the house.

  She tiptoed over to the bed. Colby was still there. Sound asleep. He was on his stomach, arms and legs out and taking up most of the space.

  For a minute she just stared at the muscles along his back and his arms. He was well built, all tanned except for his bottom, where a bathing suit must have kept the sun away.

  Piper started, creaking the floor again. The man in her bed was naked. Naked!

  She’d dated in college. Even married. She’d seen men before. But not like Colby. He was perfect except for a few white patches she’d taped over wounds.

  Slowly she sat on the edge of the mattress and poked him.

  He didn’t move.

  She poked him harder.

  He growled like a hibernating bear.

  “Wake up. Get out of my bed. Don’t make a sound.”

  When she poked again, he twisted and caught her hand. Sleepy amber eyes met her stare. “Stop that, PJ.”

  His whisper was low and gravely. “I’m awake. Why do we have to be quiet?”

  She leaned closer to him and softly said, “They think we’re ghosts.”

  He sat up and pulled the sheet over his middle. “Oh, thanks for explaining it.” He scrubbed his face. “So what do we do? Make a little noise, then wait till they come up, or stay in bed until they are gone. I feel like I could sleep all day.”

  “No, you have to get up very quietly and get dressed and get out of my room.”

  “I see a few problems with that plan. One, you ripped my shirt off last night, so what do I wear? And two, I’m not going down the honeysuckle again and the only other way out appears to be that wide staircase that leads to the main dining area.”

  She gave him a look that said this was all his fault. “We’re stuck here. Jessica doesn’t close until three.”

  “You wouldn’t happen to have some of your ex-boyfriend’s clothes lying around?”

  “I don’t have any ex-boyfriends.”

  “Really?” He’d heard the rumor that she never dated, but he didn’t believe it.

  “Really. The last guy I dated I married, and that was one mistake I do not want to repeat.” She leaned against the headboard, crossed her bare legs, and pouted. After a few minutes she figured out that the wounded, naked man beside her wasn’t going anywhere. “What about you. Have you ever found a woman willing to marry or even date you?”

  “I like women from a distance mostly, you know, dressed up to party in a low-cut, almost see-through blouse and one of those short skirts girls only wear in bars. My kind of date.”

  He grinned.

  “Then, over a few dates we get to know each other. Maybe we’ll sleep together for a month or two if I don’t see them too often. But women have the shelf life of yogurt. No matter how good they look or taste, after a while they turn bad. Asking all kind of questions, wanting you to do what no man wants to do, like go visit their grandmother or get matching tattoos or cook together.”

  She shook her head. “I can’t believe you’re not married.” She didn’t have to ask. She knew he had no tattoos.

  “I’m smarter than most men, I guess. Women treat boyfriends like pets once their claws are in. They tell their friends, ‘My boyfriend does the dishes . . . buys me whatever . . . takes me wherever I want to go . . . brings me breakfast in bed . . . sends me flowers.’ If he’s good enough, does enough tricks, they marry him and keep him.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “You certainly changed from last night when you wanted to kiss me.”

  “I was drunk.” He shrugged as if the one sentence explained everything. “But . . . I still wouldn’t mind kissing you. You got lips that look like they haven’t been kissed near enough.”

  “But women sound like the enemy in your life, cowboy. Haven’t you given up on them?
”

  “I have. I’m like the guy who smokes. I’ve given up a hundred times.”

  She stood and tiptoed over to the wardrobe. “I do have clothes, so I’m getting dressed. We’ve got plenty of time to talk. You know, Colby, I’m suddenly interested in what you have to say. I have a feeling you’re a dying breed.”

  “You like my theories about the opposite sex?”

  “No, but I do wonder how you’ve managed to stay alive this long.”

  Just as she pulled a sweatshirt on, a light knock sounded at the door. The knob turned. “Piper, you still . . .”

  Jessica poked her head in and saw Colby in bed, the sheet now up to his chin.

  Piper loved her cousin because she never judged people, but from the look of her rounded eyes she’d assumed the worst.

  “How can I help get you two out of here? We’ll talk later.” Jessica set a breakfast tray beside the bed and focused on Piper as if she was the only person in the room.

  Bless her heart, Piper thought. “We need to disappear fast. He has no clothes and no one can see me, or that will be the end of my hiding place.”

  Jess tiptoed to Piper and whispered, “What happened to his clothes?”

  Colby grinned that grin she hated. “The mayor ripped them off me.”

  “I was doctoring him.” Piper knew that one sentence wouldn’t cover it, but they had no time.

  Colby was nice enough to drop the sheet to his waist so the cousin could see the bandages.

  Jessica walked to the bed and addressed the naked man in the room, “Can you cook?”

  “I make a mean grilled cheese sandwich with bacon.”

  Jessica turned back to Piper. “Get dressed, Sunday best. I’ll make an announcement in thirty minutes and you can slip downstairs while everyone is looking at me.”

  She whirled back to Colby. “You’re my new cook. I’ve got a uniform I ordered for a man about your size who quit before it came in. I’ll leave it on the landing. Before I make the announcement in the dining room that we’re serving kids free cheese sandwiches you start down the back stairs that leads to the kitchen. When you hear me talking to the staff, you slip in. I’ll put you on the grill.”

  Piper shook her head. “This will never work.”

  “Sure it will. Who doesn’t love grilled cheese with bacon for free?” Jessica turned to Piper and whispered, “Don’t worry, your man won’t get hurt. I’ll have an assistant at his side.”

  “He’s not my man.”

  No one was listening. Piper felt like Colby was a lost dog following her around. If she didn’t do something, she’d end up taking him home and feeding him.

  Chapter 17

  Morning

  Piper

  Piper tossed clothes around as she tried to think of what to wear. It was Sunday. Church clothes. Lunch with her grandmother and the other ladies at Widows Park at one o’clock. All was back to normal . . . Right?

  Of course not. Her almost boyfriend was still missing. Stories, none to flattering, were beginning to come out about him. It seems he wasn’t the big-time lawyer he claimed to be, and there were rumors of another woman. People would think she was a fool for dating him and feel sorry for her at the same time. Could it get any worse?

  To add to her fears, memories of her childhood circled like stagnant water blown by the wind. She remembered how peevish Boone had always been. He’d wanted all the attention, and he always knew how to make sure he got it.

  Meanwhile, a trooper who had slept in her bed last night might be trouble, but she did believe he had her best interests at heart. All her life she’d felt protected, by her brothers, her father, her grandfather, but now, none of them were near.

  Reluctantly, she smiled. Even a beat-up, naked, irritating bodyguard was better than none. Piper knew trouble was coming. She could stand alone, but it helped to know that Colby had her back.

  Of course, Colby could become the problem all by himself. She could almost see the headline. Mayor caught in a secret hideaway bungalow with a naked man.

  She’d live that one down. Her career wouldn’t be over. Every time she ran for office, if she ever did again, the rumors would fly, but it wouldn’t be too bad. She wasn’t married. People would forget that gossip. Boone, on the other hand—if he did something crazy she might have that hanging over her head forever.

  She pulled out one of her three brown suits, then put it back. Church clothes. A spring dress and heels. Her mother had always liked to see her in pretty dresses. Though her mother died when Piper was eight, she’d never felt unloved. Her brothers were in college, her father covered his sorrow in work, but she had her grandfather for a while and all the aunts to help her grandmother raise her. Granddad had left Piper the huge old house as if saying that now was her time to look over the family. But that didn’t mean she didn’t enjoy her private space above the café.

  Piper slipped on the dress and stepped out of the bathroom.

  Colby was gone. He must have put on the uniform, then gone down to the kitchen in his muddy boots to cook. No one would bother to ask questions. A good-looking man can get away with anything, even crashing a kitchen.

  She sat at the tiny makeup table and tried to figure out the trooper. Like any logical person, she started with the facts.

  One, she didn’t like Colby McBride. He seemed very efficient in his job. He’d done his homework yesterday, but he bugged her. He called her PJ and he didn’t hesitate to argue with her. He wanted to kiss her, well maybe he still did, even though she obviously didn’t want to kiss him. She’d only suggested it to keep him still so she could doctor his wounds.

  Maybe he’d forgotten that promise. She hoped so. But then, if he remembered, she’d carry out her promise even though she didn’t want to. She couldn’t very well call her brother and tell him to fire the trooper just because he didn’t seem the least impressed with her being mayor.

  As she buttoned up her satin summer Sunday dress, she thought of another problem he had. Last night he’d touched her several times. Well, once she did fall into him when she’d slipped climbing out of the river, so that might not count. But twice he held her hand and once he’d slid his arm along her side to steady her.

  Then when she was doctoring him in her bedroom, she’d touched him a few more times than necessary. Just making sure he hadn’t developed a fever.

  Maybe that was nothing to him, but she was very aware that Colby had handled her. No one touched her. Not the way he did. It was like he cared for her. Like he’d always touched her, protected her.

  She needed to inform him she didn’t need any help. She could take care of herself.

  Besides, the last thing she needed in her life was a man who cared for her.

  Since her divorce, Piper never let men close. As soon as they got out of this mess, she’d give Colby a piece of her mind. She’d set boundaries.

  By the time she was ready for church, she had settled down. He had just been helping her. That’s what he’d been hired to do. She was surely imagining anything more. Maybe the fact that she was attracted to the man was not due to what he said or how he looked, or anything he was doing on purpose, but to the way she felt when they touched. That might explain why she’d touched him a few times more than she needed to.

  It was almost as if they were communicating on another level. Maybe by touch she was saying she needed him. Maybe he was silently saying he was there for her.

  By the time she heard Jessica start an announcement in the main dining room, Piper was ready to sneak down the front stairs. She was cracking up. What chance did she have of slipping into a roomful of people without any notice?

  One two-year-old turned to watch as she moved down the stairs, but all other eyes were on Jessica.

  Since she was two hours early for church, Piper decided to have a light breakfast at the café, then work at her office for a while. As the diners clapped for the new addition to the menu, Piper slipped into a seat near the windows. She’d pulled off the impossible.<
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  She’d just finished an omelet and coffee when she heard Colby’s voice.

  “Morning, PJ.” He stepped around the waitress. “How’s my sexy mayor this morning.”

  That urge to slug him was back, but Piper managed to smile. “I’m not sexy and I’m not yours. Don’t tell me you got a job in this café.”

  People were listening and Colby stepped into his character. He did look the part of a cook. He even had a stain on the uniform.

  Colby whispered something in her ear that she couldn’t make out, and Piper noticed the three couples at the next table all smiled. Then aloud he added, “I’d do anything to be here with you. You want one of my grilled cheese? I’d make one special for you, darlin’.”

  “No, thanks.”

  Ten minutes later and without being asked, he came out and sat down at her table with a plate loaded down with today’s special. “You don’t look like you got enough sleep last night, darlin’. I’ll share my breakfast if you’re still hungry.”

  He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and she kicked him under the table.

  “I’m the luckiest man in the world to get to see you this early. How about we spend the day together? You could show me your town and I could talk you into loving me. I’m definitely lovable. Just ask my mother, she’ll tell you.”

  A few feet away, they had an audience, who was now chuckling.

  “Not happening.” She stared at him as she folded her arms. “What are you wearing?”

  Colby straightened his uniform. “I’m the new chef. I got a real job. I think that’s worth one kiss from my sweetheart.”

  Several nearby diners laughed. The waitress refilled Piper’s coffee. “Go ahead, Mayor, give the poor guy a kiss. He’s been working hard in the kitchen.”

  “Not happening.” She looked straight into Colby’s amber eyes. “He may be cute, but he has the IQ of a flea. Go away, cowboy.”