Hope clapped her hands. “Yay! What’s a mum?”
Sally came back to the table, balancing a huge tray. She set a short stack of pancakes in front of Hope, huevos rancheros in front of Casey, and scrambled eggs, sausage, and buttered grits in front of Jessica. It all smelled delicious, and for the next few minutes they ate in silence, except for the occasional groan of delight.
“Are you going to eat that last piece of bacon?” Jessica asked, pointing at Casey’s plate with her fork.
“Damn, woman. You always could pack it away.”
Jessica looked at her plate, which was practically licked clean. “Don’t judge,” she said. “I’m an emotional eater.”
Casey put his hands up. “No judgment,” he said. “And you’re welcome to eat my bacon.”
Jessica’s fork stopped midway to his plate. Why had that sounded so dirty? She glanced up and was met by a cocked eyebrow and sexy smirk. Because he’d meant it to sound dirty.
Suddenly, Hope snatched the bacon with her chubby little hand and hightailed it to the other side of the diner.
“Sheriff,” Sally said. “We have a bacon bandit!”
* * *
Casey watched Hope settle into a corner booth with her stolen goods.
“It’s not even her first offense,” Jess said, standing up.
“Sit back down,” Sally said. She held up a handful of crayons and a piece of paper. “She can stay in her own booth and give y’all some privacy.”
Jess sat, but she bit her lip, glancing nervously at Hope in the corner.
“She’ll be fine over there,” Casey said. “I’ve got my eye on her.”
The tension across Jessica’s brow disappeared, and she stopped gnawing on her lip. “It’s such a relief to not have to watch her like a hawk everywhere I go,” she said. “Believe me. In Houston, she would not be sitting in a restaurant at her very own table. I can’t let her out of my sight.”
Casey couldn’t imagine the stress Jessica had been under all these years, particularly the last two, where she’d been responsible for Hope by herself. “It must be hard,” he said.
Carmen seemed like a good friend, but Casey couldn’t help but feel that Jessica’s life would be easier in a small community like Big Verde, where everyone looked out for each other. At the idea of Jessica and Hope living in Big Verde, Casey’s heart thudded around his chest like a battering ram. Would the thought occur to Jessica, as well?
“You have no idea how hard,” Jessica said. “The school bus used to drop her off at our apartment. But since Mom died, she goes to an after-school program. She hates it. But she can’t always be at work with me, and I can’t always be at home.”
“You don’t have any place like Hope House in Houston? A teacher walks Dalton and some other kids over after school. It’s right across the street.”
“Oh, there are lots of great places. But they’re not near La Casa Bleu or Hope’s school, and Houston traffic is horrendous. It’s not like I can just get her somewhere in ten minutes.”
Casey wanted to point out that you could get from one end of Big Verde to the other in under ten minutes, but he didn’t want to sound as desperate as he felt.
He reached across the table and took both of Jess’s hands in his. Now that they’d finished eating, and they had a modicum of privacy—Sally pretended to adjust the blinds in the booth behind them—it was time to take on the elephant in the room.
“Your mom was undocumented?”
Jessica stared at the cup of coffee in front of her. “Yes,” she whispered.
“It must be hard to talk about something you’d been forbidden to speak of for so long. But there’s nothing to be ashamed of, Jess.”
“I didn’t know her status when we lived in Big V. And I’m glad I didn’t. Because at least for my childhood, I didn’t live in fear. In Houston, every day was filled with dread and anxiety. I was terrified of coming home to find Mom gone and Hope all alone in the apartment.”
“I wish you’d told me. Maybe my family could have helped. There’s something called asylum—”
“She did ask someone from your family for help. That’s how she met Wade. She naively assumed the county sheriff would know how to get her on a path to citizenship.”
Wade. Casey was going to have a hard time not punching the guy the next time he saw him.
He wanted to soothe Jess with words like what’s passed is past and you’re safe now. But he knew from trauma training that those words were hollow. Jessica needed time. And someone to talk to.
And that led to the one burning question tumbling around inside his mouth, waiting for an opportunity to spill out. “When are you heading back to Houston?”
“We have a two o’clock checkout,” Jess said. “That is, if Carmen makes it back in time.”
“What the hell kind of business could she be stirring up with Gabe?”
“Oh, it could be anything, really. Somebody texted or e-mailed or called about an emergency involving rights or insurance or contracts and whoala! She’s sitting in front of a lawyer. It happens all the time. Her life is crazy.”
“I bet that means your life in Houston is also crazy.”
Jess took a sip of coffee, and Sally topped it off again. “Let’s just say I’ve enjoyed this weekend in Big Verde. I mean, we’ve definitely had some excitement—”
Casey laughed at the understatement.
“But it’s a different kind,” Jessica said. “I’ve missed this place.”
Casey swallowed. How could this work out? “Jess, I don’t want to lose you again,” he whispered.
Sally, who was now pretending to clean a spotless table nearby, sniffled loudly.
“And I don’t want to lose you again, either,” Jess said, squeezing his hand.
“You say you missed Big Verde. That you had never wanted to leave.”
“And that’s all true. But there’s also reality to consider.”
“The reality is that you and I were torn apart by our families. We had plans, Jess. Plans to be together. And as far as I know, neither one of us intentionally changed them.”
Jess took a deep breath.
Dammit. She was going to say something reasonable.
“I’m raising a Down syndrome child by myself. Thanks to Carmen, I’m able to do it on a good salary. I do love Big Verde. But what would I do here? Where would I work? And Casey—”
Sally stopped wiping the table, and Jessica lowered her voice to a whisper. “We don’t really know each other anymore. We’re not eighteen.”
Casey shook his head and took a couple of seconds to gather his thoughts. She still had feelings for him, that was obvious. And he’d never stopped loving her. Letting her walk out of his life again, without even trying to pick up where they’d left off, seemed like a catastrophic mistake. “I know damn well how old we are. But we do know each other. Shit, you made me who I am today. How can you say you don’t know me?”
Sally approached with her goddamn coffeepot.
Casey held up his hand. “Not now, Sally.”
“Hope!” Jessica stood swiftly, and Casey did the same, without even knowing why.
“I got it, sweetheart,” Sally said.
Hope had somehow ended up behind the counter. She was straightening the napkin holders and condiments. Putting them all in a row. Sally praised her for tidying up. “Do you like to put things in nice, neat rows?”
“Sally volunteers at Hope House,” Casey assured Jess.
“These are crooked,” Hope said. Then she went to work making sure everything lined up, poking her tongue out of one corner of her mouth from the effort.
Jess sat back down with a sigh, and so did Casey.
“Listen,” Casey said. “We’ll work it out. There are five-star restaurants in Austin where you could work. That’s not too far away. We just have to iron out some details is all.”
Jess began frantically twisting a strand of her hair. “I’m not sure Carmen can live without me.”
Casey leaned across the table. Kissed her on the nose and watched her blush. “I’m the one who can’t live without you. I’ll cancel my reelection campaign. At the end of this term, I can move to Houston, if you want me to.”
Boom. He hadn’t meant to say it. Hadn’t even thought about it. But as he watched the tears build up in Jessica’s sweet brown eyes, he realized that’s what made it honest. Every word had come straight from the heart.
He’d follow her anywhere, because dammit, they deserved to be together.
Forever.
* * *
Jessica couldn’t believe her ears. And yet, Casey gazed at her with a fierce intensity that said he meant business.
The man was serious. He was willing to leave his career and home to be with her.
Sally stood wide-eyed, clutching the coffeepot like it was a life preserver and the Corner Café was the Titanic. Rusty stared openly from the other side of the counter, spatula suspended in midair.
These were Casey’s people. How could she live with herself if she took him away from Big Verde? But how could she live if she had to do it without Casey?
The little bell above the door jingled. Sally wiped her nose on the back of her hand and reached for a stack of menus. Not that anybody in Big Verde needed one.
Then she gasped at the sight of Carmen breezing in.
“I was hoping I’d still find you two here,” Carmen said, yanking out a seat.
“Oh, my,” Sally said. “Are you who I think you are? Well, of course you are. That’s a silly question, isn’t it? I’d heard you were in town. Can I get you some coffee? A Danish maybe?”
“Both of those things sound delightful,” Carmen said. “And do you have anything weird for me to try?”
“Um…weird?”
“Yeah,” Carmen said, shrugging her shoulders. “I’m kinky that way.”
“I have some goose jerky.”
“I’m down for it,” Carmen said. “Bring it.”
Sally hurried off.
Jessica shifted in her seat. “Listen, Carmen, Casey and I are talking. This is kind of bad timing.”
“So I did a thing,” Carmen said, ignoring Jessica entirely.
Jessica rolled her eyes. “Tell me there’s no restraining order. Was it one of those twins?”
Carmen laughed. “This has nothing to do with them.”
“Oh. Well, then maybe it can wait—”
“I bought the Village Château restaurant. Well, part of it. The chef, Frederick, is in on it too. He wanted to buy it but didn’t have the resources. I’m the majority owner. We’re going to call it Le Château Bleu and we plan to fuse French and German—”
The words Carmen was stringing together finally formed themselves into sentences in Jessica’s mind. “Are you serious? You bought the restaurant at the Château?”
Sally came back and set a plate down in front of Carmen. It looked like dehydrated dog poop, but it was set on a fancy doily. “You’ve got to hold it in your mouth for a few seconds to soften it up.”
“Looks delish,” Carmen said.
“My son, Bubba, made it.”
“Carmen!” Jessica said. “Did you hear me? Did you really buy the Village Château?”
“Not technically. Closing date is a few weeks away. But it’s happening.”
Jessica’s brain was on overdrive. She knew where this was heading, and it was too good to be true. She glanced at Casey across the table, and he was grinning and wiggling and appeared to be about ready to pop out of his skin.
Carmen picked up a piece of jerky and eyed it curiously. “We’d like a manager on the premises as soon as possible, of course. Current owners are cool with it. It’s going to be a big transition. Lots to do. Because I have huge plans and we’re going to have a lavish and extreme grand opening. I’m talking celebrity guest list. Big Verde won’t know what hit it.”
“A manager? You need a manager?”
“Yep. Do you know anybody who might be interested?” Carmen’s eyes twinkled, but she managed to keep a straight face as she stuffed the jerky in her mouth.
“Careful now,” Casey said. “That’s going to expand.”
Carmen, cheek bulging, gave him a thumbs-up and mouthed I’ll miss you to Jessica. At least Jessica thought that’s what she said.
Beneath the table, a big boot rubbed against Jessica’s ankle. Casey raised his eyebrows. “Well? What do you say, Jess?”
She gazed at Casey, noting the slight wrinkles around his eyes. They hadn’t been there when she’d left twelve years ago. She took his hand and traced some light scars, wondering what had caused them. She’d missed parts of his life. Major parts. But the expression on his face, so hopeful and anxious, belonged to the boy she used to know.
Casey squeezed her hand. “We have our whole lives ahead of us, Jess.”
He’d said the same thing on the night they’d promised to be together forever. It was true then, and it was true now.
“Oh, Casey,” she said, choking back tears in disbelief. “I think I’m finally coming home.”
Casey leaned over the table to kiss her, and when their lips met, applause broke out in the Corner Café.
Home was where her cowboy was, and he was in the best little town in Texas.
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