Page 52 of Home Body
But then none other than Chad Damon showed up. At first Dalia was confused at his appearance, as she didn’t know the guy except for two instances, first at the gentleman’s club and then at Kenyon’s wedding-funeral. She felt certain he didn’t recognize her from Babette’s, and he hadn’t noticed her in the church for the wedding, either, with the all the ruckus. For some reason she couldn’t understand, he seemed mad at her.
“I need to talk to you.” It was a demand, not a request.
Pissed off at his tone and terrified he somehow did recognize her from the club, she said, “Well, I don’t need to talk to you unless you’re buying a loaf of bread.” She held up a loaf and stuck it in his face.
He flinched. “I don’t need any damned bread.”
“Then I don’t need to talk to you.”
“Fine. Give me the damned bread.” He pulled some bills out of his pocket and threw three ones onto the table.
“It’s five.”
“It says three dollars right here.” Indignant, he pointed at the sign.
“That’s just for bread. You want talk, too.”
“You’re a real bitch, you know that?”
She glanced over to make sure her mama, daughter, and customers weren’t within ear shot. They were busy at the other table. “So I’ve been told,” Dalia retorted as cattily as she could manage.
Chad threw down two more ones. “I’ve heard that you and my fiancée…”
“Ah, ah, ah. Former fiancée.”
The tips of his ears reddened with anger, which Dalia found funny.
“You and Kenyon have become friends.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Everybody in town knows that. There are no secrets in Farmdale. I was told Kenyon had a new friend at the wedding and was given your name. When I asked around, I heard you were here. I need you to tell that bitch to stop ruining my billboards. I’ll sue her if I must. Tell her to lay off!”
“Why don’t you tell her yourself?”
“Oh, believe me, I’ve tried. I’ve called their house a dozen times. No matter who answers, they hang up on me. I’ve tried to catch her away from home, but she keeps alluding me. Tell her to decease and desist!” He spun around to leave.
“Hey, Chad, you forgot your bread.” She held it up.
“Keep your damned bread.” He left in a huff.
A customer stepped up, took the loaf of bread, handed her three bucks, and left. More buyers flooded the kiosk. Dalia fell into automation mode until a charming deputy took a turn and stood in front of her, his out-of-town work apparently done.
“Deputy McIntyre, what can I do for you?” She delighted in her little joke. The two of them knew good and well what they could do for one another.
He glanced back at the people in line behind him, threw her a cockeyed grin, and said, “I’d like one of your tasty cream-filled eclairs, please.” His lowered chin and raised eyebrows revealed his not-so-hidden code.
“Of course. I’ll be right back.” Her body tingling from head to toe, she went to the back table where the individual goodies were kept and scooped the plumpest éclair onto a napkin. When she handed it to him, their fingers touched, sending a shock wave through her.
“Thank you. It looks delicious.” He never looked at the éclair, staring only at her.
He walked away and she had to force herself to calm down. It wasn’t as if she could make love to him right there and then. Her inner talk scolded her for her lascivious thoughts, and she forced herself to turn her mind back to the business at hand. It wasn’t until then she realized he’d left a five-dollar bill on the table. A single éclair was only two dollars. She also had the extra cash from Chad. So, when two little kids stepped up asking how much a cupcake cost, they each got one for free. They went away deliriously happy and that made Dalia happy.
The day proceeded without anything else out of the ordinary until late afternoon when Kenyon O’Brien showed up. Dalia had never seen her at market before. They greeted each other warmly and Rose ran up to her with outstretched arms for a hug.
“Where’s your dress?” Rose wanted to know. “The pretty one for getting married.”
“Oh. Um, it’s back home in my bedroom. I didn’t think it would be a good idea to wear it to Farmers’ Market.”
