“Not at all. They make my knees go weak and my heart race. I can’t stop laughing at all the people’s faces. What they’ve heard about the new pharmacist in town is true. He’s spending time with Cricket Lawson when he could have had any woman in Bloom,” she whispered.
“But I like Cricket,” he chuckled. “She’s my kind of woman.”
Laura Kay, the café owner, came over to their table and asked, “What can I get y’all to drink?”
“Sweet tea for me,” Cricket said, “and I’ll have a double bacon cheeseburger and fries.”
“I’ll have the same, and with an extra order of fries,” Bryce added.
“Have it right out,” Laura Kay said, “and welcome to Bloom. I’ve been meaning to get down to the drugstore and meet you, but it’s been crazy in here all week. I’m Laura Kay Franklin, and I own this café.”
“It was busy at both our places today, too,” Bryce said, “and thank you for the warm welcome.”
“Sure thing,” Laura Kay said. “Hope to see you in here often.”
“Maybe not, since Cricket has been cooking for me,” Bryce said.
“Well, I’m sure what you get in here wouldn’t be as good as what she makes,” Laura Kay said and rushed off to pour refills of tea for other customers on her way back to put their order in.
“You do know that she’s telling all the folks where she’s refilling tea glasses what you said, don’t you?” Cricket looked up to find that he was staring at her.
“I hope so,” he said. “You have the most beautiful eyes, and your smile lights up the whole room.”
“Flattery will get you—” she started.
He put a finger over her lips. “That’s not flattery. It’s the pure facts.”
She closed her hand over his finger and kissed it. “With all this to feed the rumor mill, the gossip about Anna Grace will fall by the wayside.”
“I told you we’d give them something to talk about, but it’s not rumors, it’s the truth,” Bryce said.
Laura Kay must have refilled the customers’ tea glasses five times each because no one seemed to be in a hurry to leave the café. The place was buzzing with conversation when Cricket and Bryce finished their burgers and fries, and when he paid for the food, the noise got even louder.
They had barely gotten into his SUV when both their phones rang at the same time. Cricket answered hers, and Bryce stepped out of the vehicle and sat down on the bench in front of the store to talk.
“Hey, I hear that you went to supper with Bryce at the Bloom Café,” Jennie Sue said. “I should leave town more often.”
“Holy smoke! We just walked out of the place,” Cricket laughed. “How did the news get all the way to Florida that quick?”
“You know what they say,” Jennie Sue giggled right along with her. “There’s three ways of fast communication: telegraph, telephone, and tell-a-woman. The latter is the fastest by far. Someone in the café called Lettie and she called me, but she thought y’all were going for ice cream tonight and burgers tomorrow night. She’s not going to be happy when she finds out that someone else jumped the gun on her when it comes to gossip.”
“Tongues were wagging.” Cricket told her what Bryce had said about giving everyone in town something to talk about. “He did an amazing job, but he said it was all real, not just for show.”
“Like I said, I should leave town more often,” Jennie Sue said, “and you should keep me informed a little better. I don’t like getting things secondhand either.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Cricket agreed. “Bryce got a call at the same time I did, and he’s on his way back. Talk to you later.”
“I’ll expect details,” Jennie Sue said.
“I know, I know,” Cricket groaned.
* * *
A quarter moon hung in the dark sky with bright stars dancing all around it when Bryce walked Cricket to her door that evening at ten o’clock. They’d had ice cream, talked about anything and everything while they ate it, and then talked some more on the way home. She’d never been so comfortable with a guy in her whole life.
“I told you that the call back at the café was my father, and I’ve been trying to figure out a way to ask you to meet him and my mother. Is that too forward or too soon for you? Dad and Mama are coming to Bloom on Saturday and staying over until Sunday after church. Since my place is so small, they’ll bring their motor home. I called Lettie right after I talked to them, and she said they could park it in the driveway and hook up to the electricity in the garage. They want to take us out to dinner so they can meet you on Saturday evening. If you’re not comfortable with that, or if you think I’m rushing things…” He hesitated.
“I’ve got a better idea,” Cricket said. “Bring them out to the farm when they get into town and have gotten things hooked up. We’ll grill some pork chops and cook supper at home. We can visit more that way. Tommy and Anna Grace will be there, too, so we’ll have a perfect group—three guys and three ladies.”
“Like I’ve said before, you are amazing,” he said. “Will you go to church with us on Sunday morning? They’ll have to leave right afterwards. Maybe we could take another picnic to the creek after we say our goodbyes?”
“I’d love to,” Cricket said, “on all of it.”
Bryce caged her by putting a hand on the door on each side of her, and then he leaned down and kissed her good night. Just like all the other times, he could have sworn the earth moved under his feet.
Cricket rolled up on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck for the second kiss. “This has been the most awesome week of my life. I’m still not sure if it’s real or if I’m dreaming.”
“If you’re dreaming, then I am, too, and I don’t want to wake up.” Bryce kissed her one more time, and then whistled all the way to his SUV.
Cricket waved at him until she couldn’t see his taillights any longer and then went into the house to find Anna Grace cuddled up beside Tommy on the sofa.
“You look like you’re in love,” Anna Grace teased.
“So do you,” Cricket shot back.
“Guilty as charged, and happy to boot,” Anna Grace said. “Mama called this evening just before I closed up shop and begged me to come home. She said that Daddy would give Tommy a job in the oil company, and I could have my big wedding. She’d already contacted a planner.”
“And?” Cricket stopped in her tracks.
“I told her no,” Anna Grace said. “Tommy likes what he does, and I’ve decided I don’t want a big wedding. I do need three more months to learn more about being independent, though, before we have a small ceremony on the beach on Padre Island. I told her that she and Daddy could come to the wedding, but none of the Belles are invited. Not one of my friends has tried to get in touch with me since I moved out of Mama and Daddy’s house.”
Cricket slumped down in a rocking chair. “As strong as you’ve gotten in just the past few days, you should be able to bench-press an Angus bull by the end of three months.”
Tommy chuckled. “That’s similar to what I told her, and she cooked supper all by herself. We had chicken enchiladas.”
Anna Grace blushed. “It was a simple recipe. I can read; therefore I can cook.”
“Yep,” Cricket said and remembered what Jennie Sue had said. “I should leave you alone more often. Hey, just a heads-up. Bryce’s folks are coming over on Saturday for dinner.”
“I’ll do what I can to help.” Anna Grace nodded.
“And I’ll take the guys fishing so you ladies can talk about us,” Tommy said.
“Thank you both.” Cricket pushed up out of the rocking chair. “I’m glad you’re staying all summer, Anna Grace.”
“Will you and Bryce come to Padre with us, and will you be my bridesmaid?” Anna Grace asked. “I’m only having one, and it will be really simple. We’ve decided on the first weekend in August.”
“I’d be honored,” Cricket said, “as long as the dress isn’t too frou-frou.”
“I can guarantee that,
” Anna Grace assured her.
Cricket went to her room, and sent Bryce a text: Will you go with me to a wedding on Padre Island the first weekend in August?
The answer came right back: Yes!
She fell back on her bed and stared at the ceiling. If someone had told her a few months ago that her life would turn completely around in one short week and that Anna Grace Cramer would ask her to be her only bridesmaid, she would have thought they were drunk or insane.
“But it’s real,” she whispered, and picked up her phone to call Jennie Sue.
Chapter Eight
Cricket, I’d like you to meet my parents,” Bryce said. “This is my mother, Darlene, and my father, Tim.”
“I’m pleased to meet both of you.” Cricket shook hands with them. “And this is my friend and roommate, Anna Grace, and her fiancé, Tommy Bluestone.”
“This is really sweet of you to invite us out here,” Darlene said.
“Yes, it is, and I hear there’s a good fishing hole right here on your property,” Tim said.
“There sure is,” Tommy said. “I caught several catfish yesterday. I thought us guys might grill them along with whatever we catch today. Or we can have a fish fry. Whichever way y’all like them best.”
“Grilled,” Darlene and Tim said at the same time.
Bryce leaned down and whispered in Cricket’s ear. “Do you want us guys to stick around awhile?”
Cricket shook her head. “Anna Grace and I have already made a blackberry cobbler and a chocolate cake for dessert, and the vegetables are prepped for supper, so we thought that us girls would go fishing with y’all.”
“Well, halle-damn-lujah!” Darlene grinned. “I love to fish. Let’s have a contest. If the ladies catch more fish, the guys have to do cleanup after supper. If they bring in a bigger haul than we do, then we’ll do cleanup.”
Bryce shook his head. “That’s not fair. We’ll be doing the grilling, and that’s half of making the meal.”
Cricket raised both eyebrows. “And we’ve made dessert and will be making the sides.”
Darlene took a step over to stand beside Anna Grace and Cricket. “I think they’re afraid we’ll show them up, girls.”
Cricket liked this woman. She reminded her of Lettie and Nadine twenty years ago. “Losing a fishing contest would be humiliating,” Cricket added, taunting the men.
“You’re on,” Bryce said. “And we won’t lose. Let’s gather up the equipment. Can we all go in the truck?”
“Sure.” Cricket grinned. “You guys can have the back of the truck. Just hang on tight. I’m driving, and I could hit a few potholes.”
“Want some pillows to sit on?” Anna Grace teased.
“We’re tough.” Tommy gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. “I’m just glad that dessert is already made. If you ladies lose the bet, you might burn it, and my sweet tooth would cry if a cobbler was ruined.”
“I’ll get the keys then and meet y’all at the truck.” Cricket headed into the house. She went straight to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator door, and took out a plastic container. She put it, several bottles of water, and some cookies into her tote bag; grabbed the keys for the truck from the end table; and went back outside.
The guys were already sitting in the back of the truck, but none of them was brave enough to sit on the tailgate.
Anna Grace pointed to her bag. “What’s that?”
“A few cookies in case we get hungry, some water if we get thirsty, and what’s going to help us win this bet,” Cricket answered. “And we are willing to share with the guys. We don’t want them to say they lost the bet because they were so thirsty and hungry that they couldn’t concentrate on their fishing powers.”
Anna Grace giggled. “I can’t believe I’ve missed out on all this fun for so many years.”
“Why’s that?” Darlene asked as she got into the truck and slid over to the middle of the bench seat.
“You’re the smart one,” Cricket said, smiling, as she settled in behind the steering wheel, “but there are no gates between here and the creek.”
“What does that mean?” Anna Grace asked.
“It means that the smart farmer always sits in the middle. Then she doesn’t have to get out and open and shut the gates,” Darlene explained. “Now, tell me why you missed out on fishing.”
“A week ago, I was employed by my father in an oil company,” Anna Grace began and went on to give her a brief explanation of what had happened in the last week, “and Cricket was kind enough to forgive me and hire me, and she’s teaching me to be independent. Today is the first time I’ve ever been fishing. I hope I don’t hold y’all back any and cause you to lose the bet.”
“You’ll be our ace in the hole. Beginner’s luck will be with you.” Darlene patted her on the knee. “And Cricket, please be careful with the potholes. I would like grandchildren in the near future.”
Cricket laughed out loud. “Yes, ma’am.” She had always been skeptical of people until she really got to know them, but she really did like Darlene—just like she’d been drawn to Bryce from the first time she met him. She parked under a tree, and a vision flashed through her mind of those kisses she had shared with Bryce a couple of nights ago. A nice rosy glow filled her cheeks, and her pulse jacked up a few notches just thinking about the way his lips on hers had heated her from the inside out.
“The race is on!” Bryce called out as he and the guys unloaded and carried the fishing rods and tackle boxes to the edge of the creek.
“I have no idea how to bait a hook,” Anna Grace whispered.
“I’ll teach you,” Darlene said. “There’s nothing to it. Just think of the worm as a piece of spaghetti. Come to think of it, we could use cooked spaghetti.”
Cricket opened the truck door. “That’s part of my secret recipe for bait. I brought some along, and we won’t be sharing that with the guys.”
“Do you share your recipe?” Darlene asked as she and Anna Grace got out on the other side.
“Not with many people, but I might with you,” Cricket whispered. “Men think that bait has to stink to high heaven. I’m of the opinion that any smell will bring a catfish to see what it is. Let’s see how you like it before you write it down.”
“Fair enough.” Darlene nodded.
The guys went upstream twenty yards and sat down on the bank. Cricket took Darlene and Anna Grace downstream about ten yards. “This is a better spot. It’s a little deeper and a little colder, and there’s shade. Catfish like murky waters. If you follow the creek that way”—she pointed to the west—“the water clears up, and it’s a perfect place to lay out and let the clear water cool you off on a hot day.”
“Or go skinny-dippin’,” Anna Grace giggled.
“I remember being young and doing that,” Darlene said.
Cricket got a visual of Bryce with the clear creek water flowing over his body, and immediately felt her cheeks burning. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay, ladies,” she said to get the picture out of her head, “grab a fake worm and put it on your hook.”
“Are those fettuccine noodles?” Anna Grace asked. “But what’s the smell?”
“A little cinnamon, some nutmeg, and ginger whipped up in a flour mixture and made into balls, then the noodles are wrapped around them so that when they get into the water, the pasta kind of comes undone and wiggles like live worms,” Cricket answered.
“Beats the devil out of stink bait.” Darlene grabbed one of the balls, slipped it onto her hook, and tossed her line out into the creek.
“Okay, here goes,” Anna Grace said when she’d baited her hook. “I watched how y’all did it, so I’m going to give it a try. I hold this button down, and throw, and oh my gosh, I did it! I can’t believe I did it!”
“Beginner’s luck. It’s going to be with us today,” Darlene assured her.
Minutes after Anna Grace sat down on the bank, her red and white bobber went under and her line got tight. “What do I do no
w, Cricket? Help me!”
Cricket laid her fishing rod down and hurried over to Anna Grace. “You reel it in just a little at a time. Looks like a nice-sized one, but the bigger they are, the harder they fight. Easy now, just a turn or two, and let him think he’s won.”
“I can’t believe I’m catching a fish,” Anna Grace squealed.
“It’s not caught until it’s on the bank and on ice,” Darlene reminded her.
“All right, now a little more,” Cricket said.
“Tommy, I’m catching a fish!” she yelled.
“That’s great,” he hollered back. “Need some help?”
“No, we’ve got it,” Anna Grace answered.
In another five minutes, they brought the catfish to the bank, and Anna Grace stared at it as if it were made of pure gold. “I can’t believe I caught the first fish.”
“Now you pick it up like this.” Cricket held it up. “And put it in the cooler on the back of the truck.”
Anna Grace flinched only once when she took the four-pound catfish by the gills and carried it to the cooler. Cricket was as proud of her as she figured she would be when her first child started kindergarten.
“She’s doing pretty dang good for a woman who’s never done anything for herself,” Darlene whispered.
“Love kind of does that for you.” Cricket grinned.
“Yes, it does.” Darlene nodded.
Cricket noticed that the woman was staring at Bryce when she said it and wondered what was on her mind. “We should have bet on the greatest number of pounds rather than how many fish.”
“We’ll win either way,” Darlene said with so much conviction that Cricket believed her.
By the end of the time they had to fish, both teams were tied with two fish each. Bryce had caught two, and Darlene had caught the second one on the girl’s team.
“Looks like we’ll be sharing the cleanup,” Bryce said as they all piled back into the truck to return to the house. “But we do have enough to grill along with the pork chops you’ve got marinating. Let’s make a deal. We’ll clean the fish and fillet them if y’all will do cleanup.”
Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch Page 33
