Curves and the Rancher

by Jenn Roseton

  Curves and the Rancher (BBW Romance - Coldwater Springs 3)

  by

  Jenn Roseton

  Copyright © 2013 by Jenn Roseton

  All rights reserved

  No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places and events are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously.

  This is a sexy contemporary romance novelette.

  “Take this over to Luke, hon.” Betty, the gray haired and matronly waitress who ruled the diner, gestured to the plate sitting on the counter. “I’ve got to take my pie out of the oven.”

  “Sure.” Cassie smiled at her new boss and picked up the plate of eggs over easy. She threaded her way to the man sitting alone in a leatherette booth. On the overhead speakers, a country singer crooned softly about love lost and found again. Pictures of mountainous landscapes adorned the faded blue walls.

  She’d only been working at the diner in Coldwater Springs for two days. Never realizing before what a tough job waitressing was, she was grateful Betty had taken her under her wing. In fact, she thought hopefully, she might even be able to get her confidence back. She’d already started to feel a little more like her old self--

  “Ohh!” Cassie stumbled on the old vinyl flooring, the china plate flying through the air and landing upside down on the customer’s lap. Gripping the Formica table to steady herself, she stared in shock at the bright yellow egg running down the customer’s denim jeans.

  Her gaze slowly traveled up from his lap to his face. His light brown hair barely brushed the collar of his red checkered shirt. She bit her lip as his compelling, dark brown eyes met hers met hers for a split second before he looked down at the gooey food on his crotch. At any other time, she would probably have felt a little flutter at meeting a man in his early thirties with such clean-cut good looks, but she was too mortified to register much beyond the mess she’d made.

  She shrank back, blinking away the tears that threatened, her hair swinging around her face. “I’m so sorry. So sorry.” Drawing shallow breaths, she waited for his reaction.

  He grimaced. “Can you grab me some napkins?” Looking up at her, his expression gentled. “It’ll wash off.”

  Cassie grabbed a handful of napkins from the neighboring empty booth and handed them to him. “I’m so sorry,” she repeated, unable to take her eyes off the mess on the man’s jeans.

  “You okay, Cassie?” Betty appeared, her concerned gaze switching between the two of them.

  “I’m sorry, Betty.” She wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. She couldn’t believe what a klutz she was. Maybe Phillip was right. Maybe she was fat and hopeless.

  Betty put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Go take your break now, Cassie. I’ll clean this up.”

  “But--”

  “Go on now.” Betty patted her back. “I can handle things here.”

  Her lip wobbled and then she nodded, turning away and hurrying to the tiny employee’s room at the rear of the diner. She heard Betty behind her.

  "Sorry about that, Luke. Cassie hasn't been waitressing long."

  Before she slipped inside, she turned to look back. Betty handed Luke more paper napkins.

  She couldn’t do anything right! Any minute now, Betty would tell her she was fired.

  ###

  On Saturday, three days after what Cassie privately referred to as the egg incident, Luke came into the diner mid-morning. She blushed when she saw him stride inside, and she hid behind a booth, hoping he wouldn’t see her, and that he wouldn’t sit in her section.

  To her surprise, she hadn’t been fired on Wednesday. Instead, Betty told her that kind of thing could happen to anyone and had given her a slice of freshly baked cherry pie.

  Cassie’s mouth watered as she remembered the taste of the pie and looked down at herself ruefully. Her plump figure didn’t need any more pie, no matter how delicious it tasted.

  “Cassie.” Betty appeared, expertly juggling three breakfast specials in her hands. “There’s a cup of coffee for Luke on the counter. He’s sitting in your section.”

  Her heart sank. She didn’t want to be responsible for pouring hot coffee over the man. “But--”

  “You’ll be fine, hon,” Betty said reassuringly. “Go on, now.”

  Cassie nodded and walked over to the counter. In her five days of working at the diner, spilling the eggs on Luke had been her only incident. “One and only,” she muttered fiercely to herself. Picking up the coffee, she carefully made her way over to Luke’s booth and set the mug down on the Formica table.

  “Coffee?” Embarrassed about spilling hot eggs on him the other day, she peeked up at him from beneath her lowered lashes.

  “Thanks.” He gave her an easy smile and she found herself tentatively smiling back.

  “I’m--” She drew in a breath and smoothed her hands nervously down the large apron which covered most of her curvaceous figure. “I’m sorry about the other day.”

  He chuckled wryly. “Don’t worry about it.”

  Relief made her smile a little more confident, and she noticed just how good looking he was.

  “Betty said you haven’t worked here long.” He kept eye contact with her, interested in her answer.

  “That’s right.” She couldn’t think of anything else to say. She’d always been shy around guys, and now, thanks to Phillip, she was a little wary of them too. Besides, this man - Luke - wouldn’t be interested in her life story - or how she wound up in Coldwater Springs.

  Two curvy girls around her own age walked in, stopping at the counter to place their order. The brunette laughed at something her blond companion said, then they threaded their way to an empty booth in Cassie’s section.

  She turned her attention back to the man sitting in front of her. “May I get you anything else?”

  He smiled and shook his head. “No thanks.”

  “Okay.” She didn’t understand why, but she was both relieved and sorry he didn’t want anything else. She offered him a little smile and walked to the counter.

  Arnold, the grizzled middle-aged cook, gestured to the two steaming cups of coffee and plates of cherry pie. “For Sarah and Libby.” He nodded in the direction of the booth where the two girls talked animatedly.

  Cassie loaded up a tray and walked over to their booth. “Cherry pie and coffee?”

  “Hi,” said the dark-haired girl. “I’m Sarah.”

  “And I’m Libby, her cousin,” the blond chimed in. “You must be Cassie.”

  “I’m not wearing a name badge. How did you--”

  “News travels fast.” An impish grin lit up Libby's face. “How are you finding it here?”

  “I like working here.” Cassie realized she was speaking the truth. “Coldwater Springs seems like a nice place.”

  “It is,” Sarah assured her, before she and Libby exchanged a satisfied smile.

  “So what have you done to Luke Jackson?” Libby enquired.

  “What...what do you mean?” Cassie frowned. Surely they hadn’t heard about the egg incident.

  “This must be the third time he’s been in here this week. Usually he only comes in for breakfast about once a month when he’s getting supplies. He’s sitting over there.” Libby gestured to Luke’s booth on the opposite side of the diner.

  “I haven’t seen him since I...since he came in three days ago.” Cassie wrinkled her brow. She’d worked the afternoon shift yesterday instead of her usual morning shift.

  The blonde girl’s eyes sparkled. “I have it on very good authority he came in o
n Wednesday and Friday. And he’s here again today.”

  Cassie tried to fight the rising tide of pink creeping over her cheeks. Libby’s suggestion was laughable. Who on earth would want to come back to the diner after having hot eggs splashed on him by a clumsy waitress unless he really was hungry or thirsty? “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “I don’t see any other new waitresses.” Libby stifled a giggle. "Especially one with cute auburn hair and blue eyes."

  “Libby.” Sarah glanced at her cousin.

  Libby sobered. “Sorry, Cassie. My boyfriend told me he’s a good guy, and he happens to be single.”

  “He lives on a ranch outside town,” Sarah added. “Which is why he doesn’t come in toooften.”

  “Oh.” Cassie hoped her blush had faded. Even if Luke was a nice guy, that didn’t mean he was interested in her. In her limited experience with men, not many seemed to like curvy women. Except Phillip - at first.

  “So where are you staying?” Libby asked curiously.

  “At the motel down the road.” Libby’s enquiring gaze encouraged her to elaborate. “My car broke down a few days ago while I was passing through. Bob said it would take a couple of weeks to get the part.”

  “Where were you headed to?” Sarah asked.

  Cassie hesitated. “I hadn’t really made up my mind,” she finally said.

  “And you wound up working here.” Libby smiled at her.

  Cassie couldn‘t help smiling back. “Betty offered me a job when I came here for lunch one day.”

  “Betty’s great.” Sarah’s eyes sparkled. “And she makes the best cherry pie I’ve ever tasted.”

  “I know,” Cassie and Libby said at the same time. All three girls laughed.

  “Hey, I’ve got an idea.” Libby sipped her coffee. “Instead of staying at the motel, why don’t you stay with me until your car gets fixed? I’ve got a spare bedroom and I live four blocks away, so you could walk to the diner, or I can give you a ride in the mornings when I start work at the library.”

  “Oh no, I couldn’t.” Cassie felt flustered at the offer. “It’s kind of you, but I couldn’t impose on you like that.”

  “It’ll be fun.” Libby grinned at her.

  “What if it doesn’t work out?”

  “Then we’ll say no hard feelings--”

  “And I could move back to the motel.” Cassie slowly warmed to the idea. Although clean, the one and only motel in Coldwater Springs was a little drab. Alone with her thoughts every night, she couldn’t stop thinking about how long her money would last and if Phillip had tried to track her down.

  “We could move you in after your shift finishes,” Sarah suggested.

  “Are you sure, Libby? You don‘t even know me.”

  “Betty hired you.” Libby smiled. “That’s good enough for me.”

  ###

  Smiling, Cassie unpacked her clothes. Her new bedroom was a small, rectangular room decorated in soft peach colors and a twin bed. It would be great if she became friends with Libby and Sarah. But then she remembered that once her car was fixed, she needed to get back on the road. Her smile vanished. How long would she have to keep running? Surely Phillip wouldn’t be able to track her to Coldwater Springs? A total urbanite, he hated even getting dirt on his shoes. Would he really travel all the way to Wyoming to find her?

  “Cassie,” Sarah called. “Come and have some coffee with us.”

  Cassie shook off her troubling thoughts and walked down the hall to the kitchen. As she reached the threshold, she overheard Libby. “I think Cassie and Luke would make a cute couple.”

  She peeked around the doorjamb and watched Sarah stir cream into her coffee. “Maybe,” the brunette murmured.

  Libby almost snorted. “More than maybe. I think they‘d be perfect for each other.”

  “Libby,” Sarah cautioned. “Cassie has barely been in town for a week. And we don’t even know what her plans are.”

  “I bet if she got together with Luke she’d want to stay.”

  Cassie’s stomach fluttered as she unintentionally eavesdropped. After the fiasco with Phillip, she didn’t know if she wanted another boyfriend - ever. Let alone a husband. Once she’d moved in with Phillip, he’d started to find fault with just about everything she did. Taking a deep breath, she deliberately pushed away the disturbing memory and entered the kitchen.

  “Hi,” she said brightly.

  “Hi.” Libby offered her a cup of steaming coffee, embarrassment crinkling her brow. Cassie decided to pretend she hadn’t overheard their conversation.

  Sarah sat at the large kitchen table. “I thought I’d start planning the menu for my wedding.” She gestured to a large notepad in front of her

  “When are you getting married?” Cassie glanced at Sarah’s hand.

  Sarah smiled, displaying her large diamond solitaire engagement ring. “In just over two months. Saturday June twenty-nine.”

  “She’s marrying Chase McCord.” Libby giggled. “The guy she had a crush on forever.”

  “As if you can talk.” Sarah punched Libby lightly in the arm. “She was almost arrested by her boyfriend,” she explained to Cassie.

  “That was before he was my boyfriend.” Noticing Cassie’s expression of silent enquiry, Libby elaborated. “My boyfriend’s the sheriff. Jake Morgan.”

  “Oh.” Relief flickered through her. Staying with Libby would be a lot safer than at the motel. She sat at the table and sipped her coffee.

  “Hey, I’ve got a great idea,” Libby said excitedly. “Why don’t you come to the wedding?”

  “I couldn’t.” Cassie shook her head. “You hardly know me.”

  “Luke’s invited.”

  “Libby,” Sarah hissed.

  “What?” Libby looked innocent.

  “It’s kind of you, but I couldn’t.” Cassie gripped the coffee mug. She didn’t even know where she’d be in two months’ time. But it didn’t matter where, as long as Phillip couldn’t find her.

  “You’re more than welcome, Cassie.” Sarah smiled at her. “I’m having an old-fashioned Wyoming wedding. The reception’s going to be at my parents’ house after the church ceremony.”

  “I’m her maid of honor and Jake’s going to be the best man. It would be fun if you were part of it.”

  Cassie wavered. It did sound fun. Although she’d just met them, she really liked Sarah and Libby. Would it be possible to stay here and work at the diner? She just didn’t know. “I’m...I’m not sure if I’ll still be here.”

  Libby looked disappointed.

  Sarah patted Cassie’s hand. “I understand. But if you are still here, I expect to see you at my wedding.”

  ###

  A few days later, Cassie confidently navigated her way through the diner, carrying a tray loaded with coffee and pie. She was definitely getting the hang of waitressing. Although her feet hurt at the end of a shift, she realized she liked working at the diner. Betty, Arnold the cook, and most of the customers were patient and friendly with her. And there was Luke.

  Don’t think about him, she told herself, stopping at a corner booth and setting down the order for two elderly ladies.

  Thoughts of Luke had flitted through her mind since she’d been invited to Sarah’s wedding. Last night she dreamt that she and Luke had attended the wedding together. He’d taken her breath away. Tall, broad-shouldered and leanly muscled, his gray suit fit him like a glove. And the way he looked at her sent delightful shivers through her. She had definitely remembered that when the alarm woke her.

  The door jangled and she automatically looked up. Luke entered the diner, ordering at the counter and then making a bee-line for a booth in her section. Butterflies danced in her stomach as she picked up her tray and headed back to the kitchen.

  This was the fourth time in seven days that Luke had visited the diner. At first, she had brushed off Libby’s suggestion that she was the reason. But now…

  “Coffee and cherry pie for Luke.” Arnold placed the order on th
e counter. “Don’t know what he’s doing here at this hour,” he muttered, turning back to the grill.

  Cassie looked at her small silver watch. Eleven am. Carefully loading her tray, she walked over to Luke. “Coffee and cherry pie.” She repeated the order shyly, willing herself not to think about last night’s dream.

  “Thanks, Cassie.” His deep, rich voice forced her to look at him - at his straight nose, firm, sensual lips… And then she found herself drowning in the dark pools of his eyes.

  Get a grip, she scolded herself. Straightening, she picked up the tray. “Would you like anything else?” She forced the words past her suddenly parched throat.

  “Are you busy?”

  She looked around the diner. There weren’t any orders waiting on the counter and nobody else had come in since Luke. “No.”

  He gestured to the opposite side of the booth. “Why don’t you sit for a minute?”

  “I don’t--” she stuttered.

  “I’m sure Betty won’t mind.” He grinned and her heart flip-flopped. “And if she does, I’ll tell her it was all my fault.”

  Cassie paused. Her feet were starting to ache and her break was due in another ten minutes. Hesitantly sliding into the booth, she clutched the tray in front of her. “If a customer comes in, I’ll have to go.”

  “I understand.” Luke’s eyes crinkled at the corners and he gestured to the piece of pie in front of him. “Have you tried Betty’s cherry pie yet?”

  “Mm-hm.” She smiled shyly. Why did he have to be so tall, so muscular, so...so...yummy? She just didn’t know what to say to him.

  He’s just being nice, she warned herself. He couldn’t possibly be interested in her. After all, what did she have to offer him? A generous figure that she thought she’d accepted until she met Phillip, a temporary waitress job and a broken-down car. And not even knowing if she would still be here two months from now.

  “Do you like working here?” His eyes never left her face as he waited for her answer.

  A flush ran through her. She was so bad at reading signals. Libby’s remark about her and Luke making a cute couple flashed in her mind. “Yes,” she said softly. Say something else! “It’s different from my previous job, though.”