The soft sound of country music could be heard amongst the chatter going on in the restaurant. Marie ushered Stacy inside and greeted friends and neighbors as they in return greeted her and Stacy. Introductions were made, and Marie consciously noticed that Stacy seemed to gain the attention of just about every male in the place. The young woman was definitely attractive. She didn’t flaunt it, though. In fact, it appeared that the more attention Stacy received, the shyer she became.
“Okay, y’all leave New York alone now. We need to get supper. Her plane came in late and we’re starving.”
“You picked a good time to move out here Stacy. We’re getting ready for the big BBQ and festival. It’s a lot of fun. I’m sure Marie will tell you more about it and bring you,” Francine stated.
“If you’re a newcomer to Pearl, you won’t want to miss this event,” someone stated, and when Marie looked up, she saw Max Cantrell and Dr. Jones standing near Stacy. Marie watched as Stacy turned toward Max and blushed. Max smiled, showing off those adorable dimples of his, and Marie smirked. This could get interesting.
“I’m Dr. Jones, the town physician. It’s nice to meet you, Stacy. Marie mentioned she was going to have someone stay in the old cottage and help her out. Welcome to Pearl.”
Stacy shook his hand and said thank you.
“I’m Deputy Max Cantrell. It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.” He shook her hand and smiled.
“You met Max’s brother Eric with Ron today on your way to the farm from the airport.”
Marie noticed Max’s eyes widen, and he looked a bit taken aback by that information but then stared at Stacy.
“Thank you for the welcome.”
“Well, if you men don’t mind, Stacy and I are starving.”
“Sure, sure, Marie. We’ll let you get back to your dinner. See you around,” Dr. Jones stated, and he and Max headed toward the counter.
* * * *
Max’s heart was pounding in his chest. Stacy was gorgeous and had the most amazing green eyes he had ever seen. He was immediately attracted to her and instantly wondered what his brother Eric would think of her. When Marie said that Stacy and Eric met already, he was initially jealous then hopeful. If she looked at Eric the way she just looked at him, then things were promising. He wanted to get to know her, and he wanted to talk to Eric and see what he knew about Stacy. It was interesting, and as he took a sip of his coffee and peeked around to look at Stacy, he noticed that he wasn’t the only one watching her. His temper flared, and he had to rein it in before he did something stupid. Like punch Clay Rhino or Gutry Lewis in the face.
* * * *
Stacy tried to focus on what Marie was saying about the town barbecue, but she couldn’t focus completely. She felt numerous sets of eyes on her and hoped it was just curiosity about the new girl in town. However, she unconsciously kept looking toward the counter where Max Cantrell, the town deputy, sat. Every time she glanced in his direction, she saw him staring. At first he appeared real friendly and even had a smile on his face, but now he looked downright annoyed. Was he pissed because she wasn’t batting her eyes and going all gaga over those cute dimples he had? She wondered why she was getting all worked up about him. His brother was just as good looking and big as Max. She was instantly attracted to both of them. That was definitely a problem. Well, not really a problem. She wasn’t looking to get involved with any man. Instantly, she had reservations about the possibility of being sexually attracted to the men. She was scared of intimacy, and although her boss hadn’t succeeded in sexually assaulting her, she still feared being touched by a man. It was crazy but for some reason the whole masculinity and domineering attitude that most men have made her feel intimidated and insecure. With such feelings there was no way she was ready to get involved with a man, never mind two men, and especially not cowboys. She definitely wasn’t going to cause trouble between two brothers. She felt the perspiration reach her brow, and her stomach felt unsettled. Plus, the sheriff had the same last name, from what Marie had told her. Marie said he was a cousin. In a town this small, she assumed a lot of people would be related.
“So you said you cook. Do you know anything about making chili?” Marie asked Stacy, interrupting her thoughts.
“Who knows how to make chili?” Francine asked as she delivered drinks to the table. Stacy felt her cheeks blush. She had totally missed the conversation.
The plump waitress placed her hands on her hips and stared at Stacy.
“’Fess up, girl. Don’t be teasing Francine that way. The town’s been looking for a good chili cook for years,” Marie added with a grin before she took a bite into her cheeseburger.
“I just mentioned to Marie that I know how to cook and wouldn’t mind cooking for the two of us when it was necessary.”
“Do you or don’t you know how to cook chili?” Francine demanded to know with her voice raised.
“Does this young thang know how to cook chili?” some cowboy asked over Francine’s shoulder. The place seemed to quiet down suddenly. Stacy felt that ache in the center of her gut.
“I, um…I can cook a lot of things.”
“How about bake? You know how ta bake, too?” another older gentleman asked as they gathered around the table.
Stacy nodded her head but was perplexed at their intense interest in her cooking abilities. Stacy looked to Marie for some kind of reassurance, which alone got under Stacy’s skin, but then when the older woman just kept eating and smiling, Stacy got angry.
“What’s so funny?” Stacy asked.
“Hey, y’all, we just found our entrant into this year’s chili and pie contest,” one of the older men yelled to the rest of the restaurant. Before Stacy could stop him, the cheers went through the restaurant and more people came by to wish her good luck and welcome her.
“Man, I can’t wait to see Betsy Whinston’s face when she loses this year,” Francine stated, and others added similar comments.
Stacy looked to Marie for help.