Page 12 of Sweet Temptation

He nodded. “Yep. And one of those kids over there is my nephew Mason.”

“That explains her indoctrination in the local religion.”

“Definitely sounds like you’ve been chatting with our local corn hole evangelist.” Garret couldn’t hold back his amusement. “Her and Aunt Liz could convert anyone to corn hole.”

“She’s sweet.” Jackie smiled. “Invited me to visit their shop and the candle shop, and the café.”

“What, she left out the ice cream parlor and beauty salon?”

“There wasn’t enough time.” Jackie laughed, pointing to his aunt and the kids. “The natives were growing restless.”

He glanced at her grip on her purse strap. “Were you about to leave?”

“Oh, well, actually, I was thinking of stopping at the café first.”

“Really,” he tried not to grin like a cat with a belly full of cream, “I was just going that way for a cup of Agnes’s coffee before I head to the ranch.”

“Oh.” Her gaze darted down the street and back.

“Would you care to join me for a cup, maybe a bite to eat?”

Her hesitation almost had him backpedaling the offer before she smiled and nodded. “That would be nice.”

“So.” Walking the short distance to the café, he kept his hands in his pockets resisting an odd urge to hold her hand. “What did you think of our little town?”

“It’s charming. Very different from Houston. Or Millers Creek, for that matter.”

“Born and raised here. It grows on you. Even after leaving for college, I had to come back. Couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.” Reaching the café, he opened the door and waved her in, not at all surprised by all the heads that turned to face them. Clearly, his aunt hadn’t had time to spread the word an available female was in town.

Agnes hurried over, two menus in hand. “Always nice to see you, Garret Sweet. Staying or take out?”

“Staying. We’ll take a table.”

“All I have are booths.” Without waiting Agnes turned on her heel and walking past a couple of open spots, led them to the last booth in the place. By tomorrow, tongues would be wagging. What he didn’t know was if that would turn out to be a good or bad thing.

Chapter Six

Seated with her back to the rest of the patrons, Jackie tried not to think about all the people who might be watching them.

“Don’t let them unsettle you.” Garret smiled.

“Them?” She brushed at a nonexistent piece of dust on the tabletop. “Is it that obvious?”

“That you noticed the place staring at us as we walked in? Or that it made you nervous?”

She shrugged. “Both, I guess.”

“I teach junior high, when something is obvious, it’s easier to just go with it.”

This man was so relaxed and easy-going, that no matter how off kilter she might feel, he seemed to be able to put her at ease. Or maybe two meals together wasn’t enough to draw such sweeping conclusions and her observations were nothing more than wishful thinking. The same wishful thinking that had gotten her in trouble with Brad.

“When do you leave for Houston?”

Jackie hesitated. Should she share that she’d actually been thinking about looking on that bulletin board for work in town? “I need to return the car to the airport tomorrow. I was supposed to return it in Millers Creek since I thought, well, you know what I thought.”

He nodded but didn’t speak.

“But I couldn’t bring myself to actually buy a ticket to Houston, so I’ll probably hop on the next available flight after I return the car. Maybe Midland will be more interesting than I remember and I’ll stick around a bit.” She forced a relaxed smile. “Or, who knows, maybe I’ll wind up someplace exotic, like Paris.”

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