Savage in a Stetson (Crossroads Book 4)

by Em Petrova

  She nodded. “I’ll think about it.”

  They sipped their tea, and she appreciated that Joss didn’t feel the need to fill all the silence with chatter. She understood Jada needed some quiet to process the loss of the day plus the dilemma she faced.

  After they finished their tea, Joss rolled her eyes. “Gotta make a potty run. CT is sitting right on my bladder.” She’d been calling the baby CT for Cort the third for months, even though her husband groaned each time she did. Jada wondered if her sister would get her way on this matter. Knowing her, she would.

  Jada chuckled as her sister scampered to the bathroom. She walked out into the front of the boutique and browsed the clothing, each item made by her sister’s hands. She would be jealous if she wasn’t so thrilled for Joss for living her dream. She slipped a deep purple scarf around her neck.

  “Wow, that color’s fabulous on you. Your dark eyes make it possible for you to wear all the deep jewel tones, but your blonde hair means you can wear the pastels of the season too.” Jada tilted her head. “When can I get you in a photoshoot?”

  “I don’t know about that…”

  Joss drew near and tied the scarf around Jada’s neck. “Think about it, Jada. And keep the scarf.”

  “I can’t do that. At least let me pay for it.”

  “No, it’s a gift. Take it. And think about the pediatrician’s office.” She studied her. “Okay?”

  “I will. I’m heading home and get out of these scrubs. Text me later after Lamaze.”

  After she left the boutique, she felt a bit cheered by the tea and her sister’s company. Joss had so much happiness to add to the world, and her designs were only a part of it. Jada only offered a comforting letter to the family of the loved one who died at the nursing home.

  She climbed behind the wheel and drove through Crossroads. Her own rental home sat on the other side of town, and she rolled over the big bridge, past Antonio’s Pizzeria and the Crossroads Confection Connection. As she drove by, she imagined she smelled the delicious goodies inside—cakes and cookies and hand-churned ice cream on homemade waffle cones.

  She swung her head right and left, taking in the town. She passed the church, spotting a couple old sedans parked out front. That would be the old church ladies who traveled in a pack to visit the nursing home weekly. Jada turned her gaze away.

  It landed on the barbecue joint. The big black and white sign had a smaller sign beneath it.

  BUSINESS FOR SALE

  She drove past the restaurant with the quaint colorful umbrellas and outdoor seating. How many good memories did she have at this place? Snacks after high school cheerleading. On the odd date during her college years. Stopping with her family to grab some barbecue to take on a picnic.

  She whipped her pickup into the next parking lot and turned around. She bumped onto the street again and then parked in front of the FOR SALE sign. She sat there staring at the lettering for a moment.

  She jumped out and walked up to the takeout window.

  “What can I get you, hon?” the clerk asked.

  “Is your owner in? I’d like to ask about the business.”

  Her heart took off at a crazy erratic beat as she heard the request she made. Was she seriously considering—

  A man appeared outside the building. She’d seen Mortimer Brown before. Crossroads was pretty small, after all. But she’d never spoken to the man.

  “Hi. Miss Ellis, is it?”

  She nodded.

  “My employee said you wanted to ask about the business.”

  “Yes.” Her mouth dried out. “It’s for sale?”

  He smiled. “It’s been a long run for me, but it’s time to start the next chapter of my life. My wife and I bought a house in Florida, and we’d like to make it our permanent residence. Your parents are down there, aren’t they?”

  “Yes, they moved a few years ago.” Did she really intend to inquire after his business? “What does the sale involve? Besides the property.”

  “You lookin’ to make a career switch?” Mortimer eyed her in her nurse’s scrubs from under the ballcap he was recognized by.

  “Considering it.” She straightened her shoulders. Why not? She didn’t have anything to lose.

  “You get the property, the equipment, everything you see here, plus the secret recipes. I’m sure the employees will stay on.”

  “What’s the asking price?”

  He named an amount that had her knees threatening to buckle. She raised her hand to brush her hair over her shoulder.

  “Would you consider a lease-purchase agreement? I’ll make monthly payments to you? We could draw something up with the lawyer.”

  Mortimer gave a small shake of his head. For a moment, her heart fell. Obviously he’d deny her offer. Anything but a sale would be an inconvenience to him.

  He gave her a pointed look. “You’re one determined woman, I’ll say that for you. Do you know what you’d be getting into owning a restaurant?”

  She met his eyes. “It can’t be as difficult as caring for sick and infirm human beings. At least not as rough on the soul.”

  He compressed his lips. “I’m sure you’re right. Okay, why don’t you come inside my office and we’ll discuss some ideas before we take it to the table?”

  * * * * *

  When Dominick Cole was seven years old, he had a dog who chewed up his cowboy boots.

  Before he discovered the evidence, the dog slinked into his bedroom, head down and tail tucked between his legs. At the time, oblivious as to why his pet was behaving this way, Dom had given him pets and love until the dog smiled at him again.

  After he found the chewed, destroyed leather, he couldn’t bring himself to scold the dog for its wrongdoing.

  He was the dog in this case.

  Dragging his pride behind him, he returned to Crossroads. He hadn’t faced his grandfather in too long. When Dom broke the news to him that he was leaving town to rodeo again, this round in the big-time, he’d seen for himself the devastation his words wrought.

  Before his eyes, Grandpa seemed to diminish and age. He might suffer from Alzheimer’s, but Dom knew he’d recall his grandson going against his wishes and leaving Crossroads.

  Seated behind the wheel of his truck, he pushed out a sigh and picked at his Stetson on his lap. Looking across the parking lot of the nursing home, he wondered how Grandpa would greet him. With love and affection as he’d done for his dog when it made a mistake?

  Hell, he wouldn’t find out sitting here in his truck like a coward.

  When he stepped out onto the asphalt, he automatically glanced toward the employee parking area. Jada’s vehicle didn’t sit there. She must be working another shift.

  The woman would prove to be another difficult mountain to climb. He’d dumped her to chase his dream of fame and fortune. Another person hurt by his decision to leave…but he had to find out.

  He had to know if Dominick “Savage” Cole could rise from the ashes.

  Just thinking that made the scar on his jaw itch beneath his short beard, but he resisted scratching it.

  The feet between him and the entrance to Crossroads Manor seemed like a mile of desert. He even felt his mouth dry out. All those miles between him and Crossroads didn’t offer him the words to say. He and Grandpa had exchanged harsh words. Dom knew now the old man only wanted to see him happy, comfortable and settled. In his eyes, following his own footsteps of living in Crossroads his whole life and raising his family here would do that.

  Regret lay thick on his tongue as he pushed open the front door and approached the reception desk. The redhead in glasses and wearing a bun low at her neck looked up and did a double take.

  “Dom!”

  Though he couldn’t remember smiling since his drive from Texas, he offered her his most friendly smile. “Hi, Jodi.”

  “We haven’t seen you in ages. It’s so good to see you again. Your grandpa will be elated, I’m sure!”

  Dom wasn’t so certain about that,
but he was here to try to make amends. Life was too short for a rift between family.

  “Go on back to his room. You know the way.” Jodi grinned, and he tipped his hat in thanks before moving down the long corridor.

  His boots thumped on the tile, and usually the sound would bring Jada out of some room to greet him as he passed. Only she didn’t appear, and she never would. He’d thrown that all away, and for what? Eight seconds of fame?

  He reached the door. He knocked and then pushed it open without waiting for a reply. But when he heard, “What the hell do you want?”, he drew up, blinking in surprise.

  He opened the door all the way and stepped inside. His grandpa sat in a chair by the window, where he liked to watch the birds outside on the grass. “It ain’t time for lunch yet, and I don’t want your damn chicken anyway. Or what passes for chicken in this place.”

  “Gettin’ awfully ornery, aren’t ya?” Dom’s statement made his grandpa whip around in the chair. For a long heartbeat, they stared at each other. Dom’s stomach dipped sharply—had the Alzheimer’s progressed so far that he no longer recognized Dom?

  “Savage is back in town, I see.” He looked him over, from boots to hat. “Sportin’ a new beard and a buckle. Won a few?”

  He nodded and entered the room. The time since he’d seen his grandpa hadn’t been kind to the older man, and Dom’s stomach knotted at the sight of more wrinkles on his face and the down turn of his mouth. Knowing he was responsible for his unhappiness gutted him even more.

  Doffing his hat, he approached the extra chair where he spent countless hours enjoying his grandpa’s company. He nodded toward the chair in question, and Grandpa nodded.

  As he sank to the seat, he felt himself relax into the regular swing of their visit. Maybe things weren’t so changed between them as he first thought.

  “How many wins?” William J Cole had once been a formidable man in Crossroads. Then he’d lost his wife, who he endearingly called “my Ellen,” and within months had grown confused enough with his progressing disease to be placed in Crossroads Manor.

  “Thirteen.”

  “Not too shabby.” Grandpa sat back, head cocked in that familiar manner as he contemplated him. At least that hadn’t changed.

  “Who did you think was knocking on the door just now? You sounded grumpy.”

  “I didn’t think it was you, that’s for sure. I don’t want any lunch today, not if it’s gonna be that terrible chicken they serve around here.” His mouth drew down again.

  “I’ll see if I can get you something besides chicken.”

  “You plan on stickin’ around, Savage?”

  He inflated his lungs and eyed the older man. “Look, Grandpa. You know I love and respect you, and I understand my leaving took its toll on you. But you’re the one who always encouraged me to follow my dreams. I did, and that’s ended.”

  “Get kicked off the Tour for fighting again?”

  He dropped his head at the well-deserved accusation and to painful knives of grief. “No. I made this choice myself. I did a lot of soul-searching while I was away from Crossroads. I found somethin’ I’m good at besides ridin’ bulls.”

  He cocked a gray brow. “What’s that?”

  He ran his fingers over the denim on his thigh. “You’re not gonna believe it, but I got to be friends with one of the chefs on the Tour. He taught me a lot about food, but I discovered that I have a talent for barbecue.”

  “Oh? You bring any samples with ya?”

  He chuckled. “Not today. But that’s why I’m back in Crossroads—to start up my own place.” A thousand miles of soul-searching on his drive here had given him that goal at least, even if he was clueless about how else to live his life.

  “Crossroad’s already got a barbecue place.”

  Nodding, he thought again about his choice. “That’s true, but mine would be different. They mostly sell chicken. I can do brisket and pulled pork and ribs.”

  Grandpa sat back in his chair and folded his hands. “You’re serious, son?”

  “I am. I thought about it a lot and from every angle. I didn’t spend much o’ my prize money, and I plan to sink it into the investment.”

  “I hope you’re taking investors, because I want in.”

  Leaning forward, he examined his grandpa for signs of lucidity. Mostly he was fine, but sometimes his mind slipped. Those times he couldn’t be trusted with driving or cooking or any number of homeowner issues that could end in catastrophe.

  Right now, he saw nothing but the sharp wit in the man’s dark brown eyes, so much like his own and his father’s too.

  “You’re serious, Grandpa?”

  “If it means I get free ribs, then hell yeah, I’ll write you a check.”

  Dom laughed and then he couldn’t resist anymore. He reached out and squeezed his grandpa’s hand. The bones still felt strong and solid under his, and he was glad of it. He was more than relieved to find that he hadn’t deteriorated so much in Dom’s absence.

  “So you plan on stickin’ around Crossroads? You won me back easy enough, but I’m not so sure that pretty little nurse of yours will be the same.”

  He removed his hand from his grandpa’s and looked down at his fingers. “I don’t expect she waited around for me.”

  “She didn’t. She doesn’t work here anymore.”

  Dom bolted up in his chair. “What?”

  “She left over a month ago.”

  All this time he really hadn’t expected Jada to hang around pining for his return, but hearing she gave up the work she loved? The hole in Dom’s chest carved out a little more, leaving him feeling hollow and empty.

  He’d never stop in to visit Grandpa and run into the beautiful and witty blonde who captured his attention from day one. No wonder Grandpa appeared so sad too—with two people he relied on for company gone, he wouldn’t have known the same quality of life.

  “I’m so sorry, Grandpa. For all of it.”

  “You said yourself you had to go off and try. You did and now you’re back, and I won’t say I’m sorry to see your face.”

  Dom shot him a crooked grin. “Glad to hear it.”

  “I like the idea of you going into business for yourself. Always did try to talk you into the business end of a rodeo instead of the bulls. But you’re like any young man out to blaze his own path.”

  That much was true. He shifted to his feet. “What do ya say about going down to the cafeteria and we’ll try to find something besides chicken.”

  “I’m in. Unless it’s their meatloaf. Poor-ass substitute for my Ellen’s…” He stood and shuffled toward the door with all the energy Dom had always seen from him. He hoped that going forward, he could make up for some lost time with his grandfather, at least.

  Jada was another story.

  Was she okay? What would prompt her to leave the nursing home? She told him once that she couldn’t picture herself doing anything else, and yet she’d left. He’d love to drive to her house and sit down together like old times, talking and sharing dreams and passions about life.

  He gave all that up when he left Crossroads. Yeah, it was a dick move for him to get involved with her and then leave only a couple months into their relationship, but at the time, he could only see his dreams on the horizon, and all he had to do was hop into his truck and drive toward them. Who knew that he’d be leaving behind so much more?

  Paying Jada a visit was out of the question. He could only hope she was well and happy.

  Chapter Two

  “Where do you want this?” Cort and Kaoz backed into the kitchen carrying a stainless steel prep table between them.

  “Oh! You picked it up for me! Thank you so much. Put it right here.” Jada pointed to the empty space between smokers, wall ovens and friers.

  The two cowboys maneuvered through the room and set the table down. She stood back to eye her new purchase. “It’s bigger than I expected, but that’s okay. We need the surface space in here.”

  “Good buy.�
� Her brother-in-law Cort tugged on the brim of his hat in that way all cowboys had of showing approval.

  “I couldn’t have picked it up myself. I hope you’ll both let me buy you a beer at the very least.” She smiled from one cousin to the other.

  “You’re on. And if you got any barbecue laying around here anywhere, we’d be happy to take that as payment for our services too.” Kaoz’s grin couldn’t get wider.

  Jada stepped up to the oven and pulled open the door to reveal a fresh pan of brisket.

  The men gave a collective oooh.

  “It’s a recipe I’m trying out. I want to expand beyond the chicken and ribs Mortimer served before. I figured this is the time to experiment with the menu. You willing to be my taste-testers?”

  They nodded in sync like cowboy bobble heads. She laughed and grabbed a couple oven mitts to remove the pan from the oven. When they crowded around, deeply sniffing the delicious scents of custom-blended spice rubs, she couldn’t help but beam at their enthusiasm.

  “Usually you allow the meat to rest, but it looks like you two won’t be patient enough for that. Grab one of those knives there, Kaoz.”

  He did, and she sliced off a bit of the brisket and then separated it into two chunks. Cort reached for his sample. “That’s hot!” she warned a split second before he ignored her and popped it into his mouth despite the temperature.

  “You’re going to burn your mouth!” No sooner did she scold Cort than Kaoz popped a big chunk of meat into his mouth too. They chewed. She watched their faces.

  Cort closed his eyes and groaned. “That’s goooood,” he drawled.

  Kaoz reached for another bite. “It’s better than good, cuz.”

  They quickly cleaned off the plate, and Jada served them up more.

  “The juices… Dang, that’s a good brisket. Wait until I tell Joss you let me taste it first.” Cort’s eyes danced at the thought of upping his status in the family.

  “You’d better take some to her or she’ll be waddling in to get some herself.” Jada reached for a takeout box and then placed a couple nice-sized samples inside and closed the lid. She held out the box to Cort. When he reached out to accept it, she yanked it back. “Promise me this will reach my sister.”