by Jill Sanders
He smiled quickly. “Not at all.” Then he held his hand out again and shook Roger's hand once more. “It truly is an honor to meet you both.”
Three hours later he drove back up his driveway, thinking about how Sam and Terry had come to be some of the best friends he'd had in Boston. Terry still had her quirks, but by the time his mother had served up dessert, he believed Terry was no longer under the assumption that they were an item.
They'd talked about the online business Grant’s father was trying to start with him. He was on board even knowing he was most likely going to be doing all the work. It was a legal advice site that would help customers with basic legal filings and paperwork. They'd found a company in Houston to design the site and they had done all the background work for them. All they had left were some small basic things, which his father was currently taking care of. His dad had talked in great detail about the business with Regina and Roger. They'd been so interested that his father had pulled out his laptop and they’d spent almost an hour going over everything. Now Grant’s eyes burned, as well as every muscle in his body.
When he hit his bed after taking his boots and tie off, he fell face-first into his soft mattress and was out like a light.
Chapter Five
Alex had been working at Mama's Diner since her sophomore year. She loved working for Jamella, aka Mama, the owner. Jamella was in her late sixties and was big enough that most everyone gave her space and respect. Mama's Diner had been hers for the past twenty years. Jamella knew everyone's business and everything there was to know about the small town of Fairplay.
Mama had been like a surrogate mother to Alex ever since her own mother had died in that tornado when she was just six. Since then, Jamella had treated the three sisters like they were her own, and they loved her for it.
Not only did Alex love the job, she loved the people. Seeing almost everyone in the small town had its perks. You were always up-to-date on the gossip and the first to hear any news. She even enjoyed working there when it meant serving the woman who had broken up her engagement.
It was a few days after her picnic with Grant that she “accidentally” spilled a whole plate of spaghetti over Savannah Douglas' white lace dress. She had apologized profusely while using the greasiest rag in the kitchen to help her wipe the mess off her new dress. Once Savannah had screamed loud enough that everyone in the next two counties could hear her, she marched out of the restaurant, threatening to sue Mama.
When Alex went back into the kitchen, Jamella and Willard, the longtime cook, were laughing so hard, Alex had to join in.
“You sure showed dat girl. Maybe now she keep her oily hands to herself,” Jamella said in her Louisiana drawl. She smiled and slapped Willard's shoulder.
“It did feel good.” Alex crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the countertop, smiling. But her good mood went away later that evening when she overheard one of the clerks from the Grocery Stop talking to Patty Nolan, Travis' mother, who was a regular at Mama's, about how the Holton's had had out-of-town visitors earlier. Alex had been dealing with Patty ever since she'd started dating Travis. The woman always seemed to have her nose in their business, but after a while, Alex had found a method for dealing with her. She pretty much ignored her.
From what she'd overheard, it seemed that Grant's fiancée and her parents had come into town for dinner. Alex's heart dropped.
Grant was engaged? She kept trying to persuade herself that it didn't matter. After all, she'd been pretty much using him, right? And she had planned to keep using him to help her get over Travis and the whole ordeal. Then she got angry. How dare he use her like that! She tried to shake the thought out of her mind, but for the rest of her shift, the whole mess kept playing over and over in her head. By the time she left the dark parking lot, she had a slight throbbing behind her eyes. She didn’t know what sent her driving past the turn off to Saddleback Ranch, but she found herself heading towards Grant’s farm. When she pulled up and saw that his bedroom light was still on, she slammed the car door and marched to the front porch. She knocked until someone answered, praying the whole time that it wasn't some half-dressed woman.
Instead, she was greeted by a very angry Grant, who was shoeless and looked like he'd slept in his clothes.
“What?” He drew up and shut his mouth quickly when he saw who was banging on his door at one in the morning. “Alex? What are you doing here?” He looked around. “Are you in some sort of trouble?”
“What? No.” She looked past him, trying to see if there was anyone inside with him. Maybe they had just started undressing each other?
“Then I'll repeat my first question. What are you doing here?”
“I…” Her mind went blank. She'd driven here and banged on his door, expecting to find his arms wrapped around some other woman, but she had never expected to have to explain herself. “I heard you had dinner with your fiancée’s family,” she blurted out.
He looked at her, and his eyebrows slowly went up in question.
She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Grant Holton, are you going to let me in or are you going to make me stand out here trying to see if you're alone in that house.”
His smile was quick. “Alexis West, would you please come in.” He bent at the waist and bowed, waiting for her to walk past him. Then he turned and shut the door with his foot. “As you can see, it's just me. You're welcome to come and check under my bed, if you feel so inclined.” She turned and saw him flash a smile at her.
“That won't be necessary.” She walked into a large room, which she happily noticed was his living room. Walking over, she sat on the couch and started biting her nails. She never bit her nails unless she was nervous. How was she going to explain herself to him?
He walked over and sat across from her, then rubbed his hands over his face.
“I'm sorry if I woke you. I worked the late shift at Mama's and overheard Jenny, the clerk at the Grocery Stop, talking about your mother coming in, bragging about cooking dinner for some out-of-town guests…”
She stopped when he groaned. She looked up at him, in question.
“Now it'll be all over town.” He put his head in his hands and shook it. “Just great.”
“Will you please tell me what is going on?” She sat forward.
“It was Terry. She dragged her parents all the way from California to meet me. Well, they'd wanted to meet me anyway, for Sam's sake, but she neglected to mention that we'd broken it off over a year ago, oh, and that we were never really engaged.”
She released the breath she'd been holding and leaned back in the couch. “Is that all?” When he nodded, she started laughing so hard she had to hold her sides.
“You think this is funny?” He looked at her like she was crazy.
“Yes.” She nodded her head. “I spilled hot spaghetti sauce all over Savannah's new white dress today, then proceeded to mop it up with the oiliest rag I could find, and you spent a night having dinner with a crazy ex-girlfriend and her parents.” She laughed some more.
Then she looked at him and noticed he was frowning.
“What?” She dropped her smile a little. “What's wrong?”
“You're still crazy for Travis, aren't you?”
“Of course I am.” She smiled a little. “Crazy is the right word. I've come to realize that I stopped loving him years ago.” She leaned back again and looked at him. “I think I was in love with being in love. I had always wanted what my folks had.” She sighed and looked off, past his shoulder. “I remember them dancing in the kitchen, holding each other. I never heard my pa say a bad word about my ma, nor the other way around. I suppose I was hoping one day that Travis and I would be like that.”
When she looked at him again, he was smiling. “Why Alexis West, you're a romantic.”
She balked. “No I'm not. You take that back.”
Then he was laughing. “That's a good thing, sweetheart.”
She started blushing. “Oh.”
She shook her head. “I must be tired.” She looked down and fiddled with the bottom of her uniform skirt.
“Where you really upset over the possibility of me being engaged?” He walked over and sat next to her.
“No.” She pulled her hand out of his.
“Alex?” He put his fingers under her chin and turned her head towards his.
“Fine, yes. I was trying to figure out what I could spill on you the next time you walked through Mama's doors.” She pulled back and crossed her arms.
He leaned forward and kissed her quickly. “Thanks.”
“What for?” She wanted him to kiss her again.
“In a roundabout way, you just told me that you care about me.” He smiled and she noticed for the first time that he had a slightly crooked smile. Had he always had that? And why hadn't she noticed how sexy his smile and his eyes were before? Before she could say anything, however, a large yawn escaped her.
“I'm sorry. I pulled a double shift today. I've missed a couple days work this last week.” She yawned again. He smiled at her.
“Don't worry about it. I was so tired during dinner the other day that my mom had to keep kicking me under the table when I would nod off.” He chuckled. “If you want, you're welcome to crash in my spare bedroom upstairs.”
She stretched her arms over her head and thought of how wonderful it would be to sleep in a room next to him, in his house, or next to him in his bed. Then shook her head. “That's okay. I want a shower and my own bed. Thank you, though.” She stood up and smiled when he quickly followed, then pulled her close for another kiss.
“Alex?”
“Hmmm?” she said against his lips.
“How is it that you can make grease and coffee smell so sexy?” He nibbled on her neck for a moment. She chuckled and pulled back.
“I'm sorry for barging in on you this late. I suppose I wasn't thinking clearly.” She pushed her hair back out of her eyes. No doubt she looked like the tangled mess she felt like.
“Any time.” He smiled and walked her to the door.
When she got home, she tiptoed past her sisters’ bedrooms. She doubted she would even make it through a shower, so instead, she filled the new garden tub that Chase had installed a few months back. Resting her head against the pillow while the hot water soothed her muscles, she dreamed of Grant.
Grant was beginning to wonder if he had gone crazy. He was a lawyer, not a farmer. His animals meant a lot to him, and he was driven to take good care of them, but sometimes he just wished they could talk.
He'd called Chase over more times than he wanted to admit, afraid that one animal or another was sick. Chase had assured him that every one was perfectly healthy.
But now he stood looking down at one of his goats, Mojo, wondering why she wouldn’t get up. He'd sat with her for the last few minutes before rushing into the house and frantically calling Chase, who had arrived just in time to see the first kid being born.
“Why didn't you tell me she was pregnant?” Grant asked. He looked over at Chase, who just laughed.
“I never got a look at her before. You had me look at all the other animals first. Besides, you should have been able to tell by looking at her.”
“I thought she was just fat,” Grant said, sitting next to her on the hay floor, holding her head. He looked up in time to see Chase shaking his head and laughing.
“Here comes another one.” Less than ten minutes later the third and final girl was born.
“Congratulations.” Chase slapped Grant's back and laughed, watching the first two kids stumble around the small space. “You're the proud papa of triplets.”
He kept his friend there for over an hour asking him question after question. What did they eat? What shots did they need? And more important, what did the mama need?
Chase was patient and answered all his questions, even showing him how to clean the little girls up, but Mojo was doing a fine job of it herself. Then they reloaded the small stall with fresh hay and Grant walked Chase back to his truck.
“Heard your folks had some company the other night.” Chase leaned against his truck and smiled.
Grant groaned. “Yeah. What's the best way to spread a rumor around town that I'm not engaged?”
Chase laughed. “You could start dating every available girl in the county.” Then he chuckled. “Or tell everyone you're secretly married. That seemed to work well for me.” They laughed.
Later that night, Grant swung out to the barn to check up on the new family. The kids were snuggled down fast asleep in a corner. Mojo, on the other hand, looked wired. He sat and talked to her for a while, then made his normal night rounds. During his nightly routine, he'd come up with a plan to get the rumors stopped around town.
The next day, he walked into Mama's Diner with the biggest bouquet of flowers he could buy at the Grocery Stop, making sure to write the little note within sight of the clerk and a few of the ladies standing in line behind him. He sat down at the booth and waited for Alex to walk out from the back room. Then he stood and, to the surprise of her and everyone else in the diner, swept her into a long, heated kiss, then handed her the flowers.
“Oh, Grant,” she beamed, “these are beautiful.” He could see a hint of humor in her eyes and wondered if she knew what he was doing.
“I saw them and thought of you and of our picnic the other day.” He actually heard several people start to gossip right there in the diner and felt like laughing.
“They're perfect.” Then she stepped closer and hung her free arm around his neck and purred. “How about another picnic this weekend?” She smiled and winked at him. He could only nod in reply and was sure his face had just turned a deep shade of red in front of half the town of Fairplay.
By the time he'd driven home after a very long lunch and dessert at the diner, he was sure the gossip had changed about him around town. If his name was going to be tied to anyone, he wanted to make sure it was someone he was actually actively pursuing.
He parked his truck in front of the barn and decided to check on the animals. He didn’t know what made him choose to go inside the barn instead of the house, but something called him to step into the building.
When he opened the door, the smell of gasoline hit him immediately. Throwing the door wide, he started to frantically look around. He didn't smell fire, but knew that there was no way he'd left that much gas in the barn.
Less than five minutes later, he was rushing into the house to call the sheriff. He'd left everything where he'd found it. By the time Stephen Miller, the local sheriff who'd been in office since Grant was two feet high, pulled in to park behind his truck, he was steaming.
“Now, Grant. What do you mean someone tried to burn down your barn. It's still standing.” The older man slammed his car door and took off his hat to wipe his sweaty brow.
“Someone wanted to burn it down, Sheriff.” He'd spent the time waiting for the sheriff getting all of his animals out of the fume-filled building. “Just have yourself a look.” He motioned towards the door.
“Whoo-wee.” The sheriff stood back and waved his hat in front of his face. “What do you have in there?” He walked in and looked around. Grant knew what he'd find. Someone had poured four of his five-gallon buckets of tractor fuel all over the barn. They had even splattered some on the animals. But what had really disturbed him was the matchbook sitting right inside the barn doors. It had been a warning.
“They wanted me to know they could have burned it all down.” He stood just behind the sheriff, who was looking down at the matchbook from Mama's Diner.
“Well, damn.” The sheriff banged his hat against his leg. “I guess we'll need to sit down and find out who you've pissed off lately.”
Grant laughed sharply. There was only one name running through his mind. It was the first one that had popped into his head when he'd seen the matchbook.
“Travis Nolan.”
The sheriff turned towards him quickly. “Now Grant, don't you go throwing t
hat name out too quickly. We both know any trouble that boy gets into, his pa is going to sweep it under the rug so fast, I can't even finish filling out my paperwork.”
“I know it was him. I stopped by the diner today and publicly made a move on Alexis.” Grant registered the smile on the sheriff’s face. Then the old man whistled.
“Didn't even let the dust settle before you started to make a play on that girl, did you?” He smiled again.
“No sir, not when I've waited forever for her.” He smiled a little when the sheriff patted him on the back.
“You're a good kid, you know that. You take after your folks.” Then he turned and looked back into the empty barn. “Well, I guess I'll fill out this paperwork and see how far we get. I'll swing by the Nolan's and ask Travis' whereabouts. When did you say you left the house?” He pulled out a little notepad and asked Grant a few questions before walking through the barn looking for anything else out of place.
It took the rest of the evening for Grant to get the gas-soaked hay out of the barn. The son of a bitch hadn't, thankfully, crawled up the ladder and gotten any gas on the stacked hay. But it still ate at him while he shoveled and used the wheelbarrow to pull load after load of ruined hay out of the barn. Once the place was fairly gasoline-free, he moved the animals back in and fed and watered them. Then he drove into town and bought himself a couple heavy-duty locks for both the front door and the back door of the barn. He even grabbed a smaller one for his chicken coop.
Just around sunset, he watched Alex's car drive up and park behind his truck. When she got out, he smiled at the pretty sundress she was wearing. The turquoise blue suited her.
