by Alison Bliss
“Maybe I should remind you that you bailed on me for lunch three times last month because you went home for a nooner.”
“That wasn’t my fault. Leah lured me there with the promise of two things: a chocolate dessert and her being naked by the time I got there.”
Max chuckled. “The woman sure knows your weaknesses.”
“No doubt,” Sam agreed. “But she’s not the reason I’m late. At least not this time. She’s busy over at the bakery today. She’s been training a new girl ever since Valerie started working full-time at the bar with Logan. This time my holdup was actually work-related.”
“What’s the problem?”
“That dumbass plumber I hired broke another pipe, and we had to shut off the main water supply before I left the construction site. It’s the third time this week he’s done that.”
“Jesus, man. You were having problems with him before I left for vacation. Why don’t you just fire the guy already?”
Sam sighed. “Because I’m a sucker, that’s why. One more incident and I’m going to find another plumber to bid this damn job and finish it for me.”
“Yeah, sure. You said that two weeks ago.”
Pops came out of the back with a glass of water in one hand and a plate of food in the other. “Hey, Sam. Good to see ya.”
“How are you, Pops?”
“I can’t complain.” Pops set the glass of water down on the table and slid the plate in front of Max. Then he looked at Sam. “What can I get for you today?”
Sam glanced over and eyeballed Max’s plate, which held a grilled chicken breast, a baked sweet potato, whole green beans, and a side of fruit salad. “What are you having?”
“What I always order. The special,” Max replied, grinning.
“I’ll have one of those too with a glass of sweet tea.”
Pops shook his head. “Sorry, Sam. I’m all out of the special today. You’ll have to order something else.”
Sam glanced around the empty restaurant, and his brows drew together in confusion. “Okay, well then I guess I’ll have a cheeseburger and fries.”
“Coming right up,” Pops said with a nod before heading back to the kitchen.
Sam’s brow rose as he turned his attention onto Max. “You know, in the past whenever I’ve tried to order the special and there’s none left, the restaurant has always been packed. This time, there’s no one here and there’s still none left. I’m starting to wonder if Pops just doesn’t like me.”
“Maybe.” Max shrugged. “Or maybe I’m just special.”
Sam groaned. “I think I’ll stick with the theory that Pops doesn’t like me. Seems more logical somehow.”
Max laughed. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, buddy.”
A few minutes later, Pops delivered Sam’s cheeseburger along with the side of greasy fries and glass of iced sweet tea that Sam had ordered. “You want dessert today, Sam?”
“No thanks,” he replied, digging into his lunch.
Unfazed, Pops nodded and went on his way, but Max sat there staring at his friend in surprise. “You’ve got to be kidding me, right? Since when do you ever turn down dessert?”
Sam finished chewing a bite of his burger and swallowed. “I don’t. But I’m saving up a little room for tonight. Leah promised to make me a chocolate truffle cheesecake, and I plan on eating the whole damn thing in one sitting…after she gets herself a slice, of course. I’m a gentleman like that.”
Max shook his head but didn’t even bother to ask Sam if he was kidding. The guy rarely joked when it came to his wife’s desserts. After all, she was the owner of Sweets n’ Treats, a popular local bakery. And judging by the way Leah’s cheeks pinked up every time Sam walked into the same room, the baked goods she created weren’t the only thing Sam was insatiable about.
For a few moments, they ate in silence. Sam practically inhaled his food like a starving lion while Max picked at his like a baby bird learning how to eat. He had been hungry when he’d first arrived, but after hearing the news about Pops possibly having to close down, he didn’t really have much of an appetite anymore.
The moment Sam finished, he wiped his mouth and rose from his chair. He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and tossed a few bills on the table to cover his meal. “All right, buddy. Sorry to run off, but I have to get back to work. I need to see if that idiot fixed that busted pipe yet. See you here tomorrow?”
Max nodded. They always ate lunch at the Empty Plate. “Yeah. Do you need me to come back early? I wasn’t supposed to start back until tomorrow, but I can go in today if you need a hand with something.”
“Nah. Take the day off. You can start doing all the wiring on the house tomorrow afternoon like we’d planned. The last thing I need is for you to be playing with electricity while that good-for-nothing plumber is busting waterlines all over the place. Someone could get electrocuted.”
“Well, it wouldn’t be me. I’m a master electrician for a reason. I know what the hell I’m doing.”
“True, but chances are good that it would end up being me who gets electrocuted. I already scared the hell out of Leah once by getting shocked. I don’t need to do it again.” Sam grinned and headed for the door. “Thanks, Pops,” he called out.
“No problem, Sam. See ya tomorrow,” Pops yelled from the back room.
Max painstakingly finished the rest of his meal and then pushed his empty plate away. He rubbed at his content belly and sighed. The entire time he’d spent with his parents, he couldn’t wait to get back to eat at the café. Now, there was a good chance that Pops would be closing down for good.
Max didn’t know what he would do if that happened. It was bad enough that whenever he shopped for groceries and made himself a basic meal, he struggled with cravings and portion control. If it wasn’t for Pops cooking him a healthy lunch every day, he would be back to eating bagged salads. Jesus. He couldn’t live on that rabbit food for the rest of his life. If it hadn’t been for Pops feeding him every day, Max had no doubt that he would’ve eventually gained some, if not all, of his weight back. Damn it, he needed him.
Ten minutes went by before Pops came back out to grab the two empty plates left on the table. But Max barely noticed because he was still staring out the window and stewing over the newcomer across the street who was screwing his good friend out of business. The whole thing just pissed him off.
He wished like hell that the old city health inspector hadn’t resigned and moved away. The guy still owed him a favor, and Max would’ve definitely called it in to get the food truck removed from the area. Surely the guy running the food truck had made some small infraction that the health inspector could’ve called him out on.
But it didn’t matter. The old health inspector was gone, and the new one hadn’t started yet. That guy wasn’t going to be of any help though since Pops had already said he couldn’t hold out much longer. Too bad there wasn’t a temporary health inspector that Max could sic on the imbecile across the…
Max’s train of thought came to a crashing halt as a crazy, half-baked scheme took over his brain. No. He couldn’t do that, could he? The whole idea was stupid. Yet, he couldn’t help but feel the plan might actually work. Even if it didn’t, he couldn’t just sit by and let someone take advantage of Pops like this. The man had gone out of his way to help Max out lots of times during the past ten years, and it was about damn time he returned the favor.
Over the years he had pulled some stupid-ass stunts, but this one would really take the cake. “Okay, that’s it. I’m going over there.”
Pops had already stacked the two plates onto a tray and was wiping the table down, but he paused mid-swipe to peer at Max. “Where? To the park? For what?”
“To get rid of that damn food truck once and for all.”
“Son, it’s a public road. You can’t force them to leave.”
“You’re right. I can’t.” He grinned. “But the city health inspector can.”
“But the new health inspector hasn’t started work
ing for the city yet.”
“I know that and you know that,” Max replied, still smiling. “But that doesn’t mean the owner of the food truck knows it. You said they were new to town, right? Then they won’t know who I am. I’ll just pretend to be the health inspector and run them off.”
Pops sighed and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. “While I appreciate what you’re trying to do, I can’t let you go over there and harass that—”
“Oh, come on. It’ll be fine.” Max chuckled as the grateful look on Pops’ face changed to one of concern. “Seriously, Pops. I’m not going to bully him…much. I’m just going to go over there and give this guy a bit of a hard time. Maybe that’ll be enough to have him wanting to move on and find a new town to park his truck in.”
“No, Max. That’s not a good idea. There’s something you don’t know about—”
“Pops, it’s okay,” Max said, rising from his chair. “Don’t you worry about a thing. I’ve got this.” He headed for the door before the old man tried to talk some sense into him. “I’ll have this food truck pulling out of here by the end of the day.”
* * *
Jessa Gibson scraped the pieces of prime beef, sliced scallions, and strips of red peppers into a pile with her metal spatula and gave them a quick toss. The medium-rare meat sizzled as it hit the searing-hot grill, and an aromatic puff of steam lifted into the air. She loved that mouth-watering scent almost as much as she loved the taste.
And apparently she wasn’t the only one. Her gourmet steak tacos were one of the bestselling items on the menu, and customers constantly praised her for the delicious aroma hovering around the Gypsy Cantina.
That was the great thing about owning a food truck.
In most restaurants, the chefs were way back in the kitchen, hidden from view, unable to see or speak with anyone other than the staff members. Most of those poor souls never got the chance to communicate directly with their diners, much less receive any feedback on their edible creations.
But that wasn’t the case for Jessa. No matter how busy she was, she always managed to prepare the customers’ meals while chatting with them. And not only had getting to know her customers been great for business, but it had been a huge help to her as well.
When she’d casually mentioned to a few of the local folks that she needed to hire some extra hands to keep up with the growing demand, her customers had jumped to the rescue. Through their reliable recommendations, Jessa had quickly found two dependable employees who had experience in the food industry.
Lisa, a middle-aged mother of twin girls, had once been a line cook but had decided to quit her job and become a stay-at-home mom. Now that her daughters were in kindergarten, she had been looking for a part-time job to help supplement her husband’s income yet still enable her to make it home in time to greet her kids at the school bus. Which meant the truck’s flexible working hours had been perfect for her.
The other worker, Mary, had once owned a restaurant in Midland but sold it five years ago when she and her husband had moved to Granite to retire. Unfortunately, her husband had passed away last year, and Mary had grown tired of sitting around the house by herself. Working on the truck had been keeping her busy, and Mary loved seeing all the familiar faces.
In a week’s time, both women had proven themselves to be dedicated employees of the Gypsy Cantina. They were great at multitasking, always on time, and both women seemed to really enjoy their jobs. Jessa couldn’t ask for more than that. Besides, she’d made two new friends in a town where she had none. That was a huge bonus.
Working fast, Jessa lifted the two homemade corn tortillas from the back of the flat-top grill, where she’d left them warming. She folded each in half, placing them side by side in a paper boat, and then filled the empty shells with a good-sized portion of meat, onions, and peppers. She added some pico de gallo, crumbled queso fresco, cilantro for garnish, and then finished each off with a drizzle of her signature sweet lime sauce.
Then she slid the completed dish down the counter to where Mary stood at the pick-up window. “Order up.”
“Thanks, Jess,” Mary said, glancing down at the ticket before calling out the customer’s name through the window.
An older gentleman in brown corduroy pants and a checkered knit sweater stepped forward with a pleasant smile. “Thank you, ladies. I’ll see you three beauties tomorrow,” he said with a wink. “Same time, same place?”
Mary nodded over to Jessa. “That’s up to the boss lady.”
She laughed and gave him a wave. “We’ll be here, Tom. Have a great day.”
Lisa had just finished helping someone at the order window when the next woman in line stepped up, sniffed appreciatively, and said, “Goodness, that looked and smelled great. What did that gentleman order?”
“Those were the steak tacos,” Lisa told her with a smile. “You should give them a try. They’re terrific.”
The woman nodded. “That sounds good. I think I will.”
“Two steak tacos coming right up,” Jessa chimed in, tossing more meat on the grill.
Lisa came closer. “Jess, why don’t you let me get this one. You probably could use a break.”
“I’m okay,” Jessa said with a shrug. “I’m used to being behind a hot grill all day.”
But Mary shook her head firmly and used her motherly tone on Jessa. “Lisa’s right. You’ve been on your feet for hours. Step outside and get some fresh air. We’ve got this handled for now.”
Jessa couldn’t help but smile. These two had only been working with her for a week, but they were constantly telling her to slow down and take it easy. “Okay, then I’ll take these squeeze bottles that Mary filled out to the condiment station and check the trash while I’m out there. How about that?”
Lisa laughed. “God. Can’t you sit still for even a minute? You always have to be doing something.”
Jessa grinned. “I guess I’m just used to working by myself and having everything fall on my shoulders. But it’s been nice having you two helping me out. Definitely makes my life a whole lot easier.”
“We’re not going anywhere,” Mary said, moving to take over Lisa’s vacated window. “I think I can speak for both of us when I say that we’re with you until the end.”
Lisa nodded. “Or until you fire us for bossing you around.”
Jessa smiled, and her heart swelled inside her chest. “I wouldn’t dream of it. I’m so glad I found the two of you. I really needed the extra hands, and I couldn’t ask for better employees…or friends.”
Both women smiled, and then Mary handed her the squeeze bottles and shooed her toward the door. “Go on already, Jess. And do us a favor. Take an actual break. Don’t just work while you’re out there.”
Laughing, she nodded. “Yes, ma’am,” she said in a childlike tone.
The moment Jessa stepped out, she realized that she was still wearing her disposable pink gloves and white plastic apron. Crap. Oh, well. It was probably best to keep them on until she finished with the trash anyway.
She continued on her way to the condiment station, which was sitting around the front side of the truck near the pick-up window. Jessa left the squeeze bottles on the table, grabbed a bottle of water from the drink bin on the outside of the truck, and moved to stand in the shade of a nearby tree. She sipped the water slowly, letting the cold liquid trickle down her dry throat.
After standing in front of a searing hot grill for the past few hours, the cool breeze wafting over the perspiration on her skin felt like heaven. But it did make her wonder if a storm was coming in. Even though it was the start of the fall season, South Texas had never been well known for its cool air.
At least not according to her deceased mother. Mariah Gibson had been quite the free spirit back in the day. Before Jessa had been born, her mother had rolled through this town faster than a rampant tumbleweed, letting the wind sweep her in whatever direction it had been blowing. Maybe it was the gypsy heritage in her bloodline or the thrill
of adventure, but Jessa’s mom had never stayed in one place for very long.
But one thing was for certain. The woman had loved every minute of the short time she’d spent in Granite, Texas. She had always spoken so fondly of the people in this town and their overall sense of community. In fact, her mother had loved it so much that she’d even planned for the two of them to return together someday.
Unfortunately, that day never came. Her mom had always been the picture of health and a woman of vitality. She took chances, made daring moves, and lived her life in a way that most people could only dream to live theirs. But the cancer had seemingly come out of nowhere and swept through her body so fast that her mom’s desire to do anything had quickly faded out, along with her spirit and the light in her eyes.
After her mother passed away, Jessa had tried her best to live her life in a way that her mother would’ve been proud of. She spent a few years traveling from town to town, working as an assistant to a well-known chef who specialized in pop-up venues. At first, the traveling had been fun and inspiring, exposing her to lots of different cultures and new people. It had been just what she needed at the time.
But since the pop-up dining events were never in the same location twice, Jessa had quickly grown tired of never seeing a familiar face. And she hated that.
Unlike her mother, Jessa had the strong urge to plant her feet and put down roots, which is why she’d chosen to move to Granite in the first place. Maybe it was strange for someone who longed for something familiar to move to a new place where she’d never been and knew no one, but Jessa had a desperate need to fulfill her mother’s dreams as well as her own.
Now she wanted to pursue the rest of her mother’s dream by coming back to the one place her mother had loved so much. Besides, being in this quaint, little town that her mom had visited, even for a short time, somehow made her feel closer to her.
Jessa’s eyes flitted over to the colorful mural decorating the side of her food truck. A redheaded gypsy woman—painted in her mother’s likeness—stared back at her with a bright crimson-colored head wrap, dangling gold earrings, and a slight smile on her calm face. As much as her mother had loved to travel, it seemed only fitting to take her along on a new adventure.
